Search Results for: flute

Johnny Andreu “Almendra”. Bandleader, percussionist and founder of Los Jóvenes del Barrio

Growing up and listening to music, he played with various objects around the house. Taking things seriously at the age of 16, he started with bongos, then congas and then timbales, which is the instrument he is best known for.

Andreu y Los Jovenes Del Barrio, the band was led by his ex-wife, the American born singer JILLIAN (1962-2009) able to charm you in two languages, a great loss at a young age, another victim of the scourge of our time, cancer. Blending elements of Charanga, Jazz, Typical Latin, the group dominated radio stations for a decade.

Brooklyn-born composer Johnny Andreu, who from an early age was introduced to and kept in touch with Latin rhythm through family influences, received his musical training at U.C.L.A., the “University on the Corner of Lexington Avenue. When he was 18, Mario Lebran, a musician with Ricardo Ray and author of ‘Mambo Jazz’, helped him get into the music business. He has learned a lot by listening to his records and playing his instruments.

Lebran Andreu also encouraged him to audition for his first job as a percussionist working for “Mike y Su Rítmico”. From there he moved on to the Bobby Matos orchestra whose pianist Paquito Pastor said one day he named him Andrews after Andreu. You are Latin, you are an ‘Almendra'”. That’s how Johnny Andreu became Johnny Almendra.

In the late 1960s he teamed up with Johnny Colon, they performed at the Corso and the legendary Cheetah, and after a year, Almendra and Louie Bauzo left to form their own band, Tambo.

This group lasted about four years and later worked with Almendra Charanga ’76, Orquesta Broadway, and the Típica Novel. Playing with Típica Ideal, he met Milton Cardona, who became a lifelong friend.

Band director, percussionist and founder of Los Jóvenes del Barrio. — Johnny Andreu “Almendra”

One day Cardona invited Almendra to see Willie Colón at Casa Borinquén, and as it turned out, they were in need of a timbalero. They invited Almendra who stayed for eight years.

During 1977 and 1978, Willie Colón Rubén Blades recorded history-making albums. A large number of the best musicians of the time were brought together, including Héctor Lavoe, percussionist José Cándido Rodríguez, bassist Víctor Venegas and many others. This material was released in 1998 for the RMM label.

For International Salsa Magazine through www.SalsaGoogle.com it is a great pleasure to review an artist of the stature of Jhonny Almendra, catalogued as one of the greatest percussionists in the city of New York for his ability and skill still in the forefront of Latin Music.

Johnny Almendra, Los Jóvenes Del Barrio Reconfirmando “1997”

Tracks

Todo el Mundo Necesita

Pasión Sin Freno

Hechicera

Everybody Plays the Fool

Borincuba

Zapato Apartao

Cumbiaranga

Compassion

Rent

Cold and Darkness, The

Hechicera Reprise/A-Files

Musicians

Regina Carter – trombone

Ozzie Meléndez – trombone

Ronnie Bar – backing vocals

David O’Quendo – flute

Karen Joseph – flute

Kimson Plaut – accordion, piano, synthesizer

Oriente Lopez – flute, synthesizer, backing vocals

Ray Sepulveda – vocals

Tito Nieves – vocal

Robert Thomas – violin

Sam Bardfeld – violin

Al Bello – percussion

Andreu Johnny Almendra – percussion

Frank Seguinot – vocal

Miles Peña – vocal

Sources:

https://lasalsaesmivida.com/johnny-almendra-y-los-jovenes-del-barrio-reconfirmando/https://www.pinterest.com/bobbymartell/johnny-almendra/

Article of Interest: What Ángel Meléndez has to say about his brilliant musical career

Freddy de Jesús Ortega Ruiz “Coco & su Sabor Matancero”

Born on December 7 he comes from a very humble family but full of lots of love and flavor.

Roots:

my dad played the guitar and serenaded all the women in the neighborhood, my mom loved to play and sing, she would take a pewter plate and improvise a güiro and start playing and singing hahahaha. I also had an uncle who was a singer of Mexican music (Rancheras) my first recording was in 1965 with the Sexteto Tropical.

That’s where I come from.

Freddy de Jesús Ortega Ruiz “Coco & su Sabor Matancero” y Dj. Augusto Felibertt

How many productions do you currently have?

In total I have about 45 productions with different groups, but with my Conjunto COCO Y SU SABOR MATANCERO I have 8 productions.

In your musical trajectory, which musicians have left their mark on you?

The first one was my debut in the professional field with Maestro Porfi Jimenez and the stars of Venezuela.

This was in 1974 where I had the joy of being the first Venezuelan singer to perform with Las Estrellas De Fania at the Nuevo Circo de Caracas.

And also to have accompanied great stars of Latin music with my Conjunto COCO Y SU SABOR MATANCERO.

Among them the Queen Celia Cruz, the Inquieto Anacobero Daniel Santos, Celio Gonzalez, Leo Marini, Nelson Pinedo, Lino Borges, Mundito Gonzales, Canelita Medina, Trina Medina Cheo Garcia, Memo Morales, Oscar D Leon and others.

Of the productions you have, which is the most significant?

One of them is the album entitled Coco y Su Sabor Matancero “Sabor Ritmo y Calidad” where the great singer and (sonero) José Alberto el Canario participates as director, chorus and co-producer.

And the other significant one is COCO Y SU SABOR MATANCERO CON “TODO” because there I managed to bring together several artists of the stature of Wilmer Lozano,

Mariana la Sonera de Venezuela, the comedian and singer El Moreno Michael and Rodrigo Mendoza, also the floor singers Luis Muñoz and my son Coco Ortega Jr.

How many productions have you participated in as an independent producer of your own?

Born on December 7th, he comes from a very humble family but full of love and flavor. — “Coco & su Sabor Matancero”

The first was Yo Soy El Son Cubano, Coco y Su Sabor Matancero en Concierto, a Gozar con Mi Son Cubano, Coco y Su Sabor Matancero Original, Coco y Su Sabor Matancero Tremendo Comban and Coco y Su Sabor Matancero “Con todo”.

Where are you currently living and how do you see the music scene there?

At the moment I am in Caracas Venezuela

At present, as in all parts of the world, we musicians have been the most affected since the work has declined too much, but we hope that with God’s favor things will open up little by little and that we will become aware that this is not a game and that we have to take care of each other.

Have you been in the best time of your life and what do you miss the most?

What I miss most is the era of the 70s, 80s, 90s.

When we played in three and four places on the same night.

Tell us about your last production?

As I told you, I had the pleasure of bringing together first class singers and the result was Coco y Su Sabor Matancero “Con Todo” (With Everything).

Coco y Su Sabor Matancero (ft: Rodrigo Mendoza) – Margot, tell us about this song?

Let me tell you that this song Margot is a Venezuelan waltz pasaje of which three versions have been made, the first interpretation was made by a great representative of our Venezuelan Music as it was Don Mario Suarez, then it was made by a great Peruvian musician Don Lucho Macedo.

And the most resent by Coco and its Matancero flavor and the person selected to interpret it was one of the great singer (sonero) Rodrigo Mendoza for his great interpretative quality of our Latin Music.

Do you miss Venezuela, your homeland?

The time I was living in the United States I missed daily my dear and always loved Venezuela, now I am in my homeland Venezuela.

What are we currently expecting from Coco & su Sabor Matancero?

My most recent production titled “Un Guaguancó Páramo” which was released on December 16, 2021.

“Un Guaguancó Pá mi Barrio” by Angel Flores, a song that brings together eight great

manages to bring together eight great exponents of our Latin music.

Freddy de Jesús Ortega Ruiz “Coco & su Sabor Matancero”

Performers:

Coco Ortega Jr.

Coco Ortega

Mariana “La Sonera de Venezuela”.

Angel Flores

Yorjan Cardona

Jimmy El León

Marcial Isturiz

Rodrigo Mendoza

Arrangement and Musical Direction:

Félix Guzmán “Guachafa”

Members Coco y Su Sabor Matancero:

Coco Ortega general director – singer, minor percussion

Andrés Romero “Tapón” – Trumpet

Cesar Guares “El Guaro” – Trumpet

Félix Guzmán “Guachafa” – Bass guitar

Franklin Infante – Piano

Igor Cochyze- Timbalito

José Araujo – Tumbadora – Singer

Coco Ortega Jr. – Singer

Yorjan Cardona – Singer

Backing Vocals:

Carlitos Guzmán

Eloy Blanco

Special guest:

Leo Pérez – Flute

Article of Interest: Fabián Rosales Araos Chilean singer-songwriter, native of the city of Valparaiso

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición frontman Tregar Otton talked to us

What Orquesta La Moderna Tradición is

Tregar Otton playing — Tregar Otton, founder of the orchestra, playing the violin

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición has been one of the most legendary groups of Cuban music in its entire history. It is a group whose members are based in San Francisco, California, and consists of 11 members who play different genres such as danzón, timba, guaguancó, cha cha chá, son, rumba, charanga, among others. They also mix in elements from American jazz, violins, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.

The beginning of this orchestra’s story goes back to 1996, since they started to perform throughout the United States to bring the best of traditional Cuban music to every corner of the country and transport Cuban immigrants back to the Havana’s streets and clubs during the 50’s. All the success accumulated allowed them to perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Lincoln Certer and many other venues of high prestige.

Recently, Orquesta La Moderna Tradición once again displayed their talent at Yoshi’s, a jazz club and restaurant located in Oakland, California, whose reputation in the San Francisco Bay Area is not up for discussion. Our editor Eduardo Guilarte was present at the show to cover the details of the event, which left all those present in awe.

Conversation with Tregar Otton, founding director of the orchestra

Tregar Otton and Maru Pérez-Viana, his wife and an important part of the orchestra

Based on the above, we talked with Tregar Otton, founder, director, composer, and violinist of the group. This talented musician, born in the Marshall Islands and raised in Texas, started to learn about classical music from an early age and joined the Berkeley Symphony while he still was a teenager. By the 1990s, this musical promise worked as a regular part of Virgilio Mart Y Sus Majaderos, La Tipica Novel and the Charanga Orquesta Broadway.

By the year 1995, Otton founded Orquesta La Moderna Tradición with Roberto Borrell. At the beginning, the group started to become well-known for its soft sounds of Afro-Cuban charanga, which are accompanied by a set of wind instruments and violins that give a unique touch to this group’s music.

Today, we have the welcome presence of the musician to talk about each and every one of the issues raised in this brief review and anything he wants to reveal to our dear readers. It is such a pleasure to have you here today, Tregar. How are you feeling?

I am fine here near San Francisco. Good to see you today.

Very good, Tregar. You got started in the world of music at a young age. Could you tell us a bit about your beginnings?

I started playing violin when I was four years old and my family had a violin teacher as a neighbor. My parents did the laundry for all our neighbors, so we met her and she ended up giving me classes every day. After that, I studied a lot of classical music, bought music when I was about 20 and fell in love with it because it used the violins differently from classical music. I really enjoyed playing dance music because the connection with the public is quite different from that of classical music. In the case of classical music, many people get bored, but Cuban music and salsa music make a much more direct connection to the audience. There is nothing like playing for a floor with dancers.

We understand that you were born in the Marshall Islands, but grew up in Texas, is that correct?

Yes. After my dad married my mom, they both moved to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the Pacific. After that, I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, till I was 13 or 14 about when I moved to California.

I asked because it is very interesting how you set your eyes on Cuban music despite your origins. Where does this interest in Cuban music and the rhythms you play come from?

For the same reasons I play dance music. It caught my attention when I heard Charanga de La 4 or one of these New York bands. I was impressed that violins were part of the percussion and were making repetitive sounds with the refrain and the son montuno. We are more part of the rhythm section than the melodic section in many of our songs. We can dance while we are on stage. I was also impressed by the improvisations of Cuqui and Alfredo de la Fé. I had many Latin friends I met in college while learning Spanish because no one in my family spoke it.

How did Orquesta La Moderna Tradición come about and who joined you in its foundation?

I was working with a group. I was in New York, where I was playing with the Broadway Orchestra and the Orquesta Tipica Novel. I was very lucky to have been in that city because I got to know many veteran musicians in the 80’s like Renato Valdés, Virgilio Martí, and Adalberto Santiago. I visited a Cuban friend from San Francisco named Fito Reinoso, who had a group called Ritmo Y Armonía and he visited us here in New York. I was tired of the cold in New York, so I decided to go to San Francisco, where Tito and I had the idea of creating a group. It was there that I met a great drum instructor and dance teacher Roberto Borrell, who joined us to found Ritmo y Armonía. After two years, we had to be apart, but Roberto and I still wanted to play danzón. At least here in the Bay Area, it is very difficult to get singers. The ones we have are good, but there are not so many. So, we planned to make a danzonera or danzón group. When the orchestra began to work, we only played danzón songs, rehearsed every week and did many tours with this musical genre because there was a boom with swing dancing and dance music during the 40’s. So, we were surfing that wave. So, we were surfing that wave and doing collaborations with swing groups because it was older music. Danzón is a very rich genre, but it is no of interest to many people because they do not know how to dance it, so we started expanding our repertoire to include more modern and dance music. We still play danzones, but only two per set. There are still musicians from the original group in the orchestra including Michael Spiro. Roberto went to Peru about a decade ago, so Michael and I stayed with the group and invited Eduardo Herrera, who is a singer born in Caracas, Venezuela, to perform with us. We expanded the repertoire by doing the best we could with my own creations. Let’s remember I am the arranger of the group, so I do some songs and we have one that is included in the new recording in which I wrote the music and maestro Carlos Caro from Cuba added the lyrics.

Orquesta La moderna Tradición at one of its shows

Although rhythms like danzón are not so popular, did you feel the acceptance of the public?

There were many people who knew danzón who began to notice that it was a very interesting genre due to the presence of the violins. As Roberto Borrell is a dance teacher, he teaches many of his students how to dance danzón, which is not easy because they should be affixed on each turn they have to make according to the sounds of the instruments.

Can you go from one genre to another in the same song?

Yes, we do that a lot. On our new album, we have rhythms with batá drums from music of Santería, which we use for our danzón songs. It sounds complicated when I explain it, but it is easy at the time of listening to it.

What makes Orquesta La Moderna Tradición different from other Latin music groups in the United States?

Well, I know no other group that plays danzón or charanga. There are two genres of popular dance music in Cuba that come from son montuno, which uses violins and flutes. In the case of charanga, the musicians use violins and flutes. Since the 70’s and 80’s, charanga is now no longer heard in the United States. In Cuba, neither do you hear danzón much. We are a group that has so many danzones in the repertoire. There are not too many groups that play cha cha chá. Me being an arranger, I try to create cha cha chá songs that are not copies of what was played by Orquesta Aragón and other bands in the 40’s and 50’s.

Given that music has evolved so much, what reaction do you perceive from the young public when you play charanga, cha cha chá, danzón and other rhythms?

Interesting question. For young people who do not know and are not salsa fans, our music sounds like salsa because it is difficult to distinguish the genres without knowing them well. However, I work as a music teacher and I have many groups of children, in which there are many salsa fans. They listen to Ray Barreto, Willie Colón, and Hector Lavoe. They also like charanga and understand it well. However, I think danzón is more difficult because it has to be a reflection of what people are feeling in their culture. Cha cha chá is simpler and innocent, but danzón is finer and refined. I think music can influence people and play its part in changing the direction of their culture.

Can you tell us a little bit about your performance at Yoshi’s?

Because of COVID-19, for a year and a half, we could not do anything. We could not even rehearse until the vaccine came on the market. We got this date with Yoshi’s because we have played there many times before as well as Yoshi’s in San Francisco. So, they gave us a date and we had the support of local DJs like Luis Medina, Chuy Varela and Jose Ruiz. We also made use of social media to promote us, sell our CDs and attract people to our shows. The staff of Yoshi’s was impressed because it is rare that a local band has been able to sell so many tickets. We were very excited to see so many people loving us and showing how much they love music. We have a large audience that is very loyal to us and has been going wherever we perform for over 20 years.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición performing at Yoshi’s

What are your future projects?

We get everything ready for the repertoire of the new album. When I was in New York, I was working with Juan Carlos Formell, Juan Formell’s son, who is the bass player and took over his father’s position in Los Van Van. I was one of the first people he met here in the United States and we became very good friends. Then he told me that I could arrange any of his songs without any problem, so I have about four or five of his songs ready and some others that I have not finished yet. We have enough material to make at least two albums, but it is very expensive. One could only cost us about $15 to start with.

Cover art work for the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición new album El Encantado

Your social networks or websites

Official website: www.danzon.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrquestaLaModernaTradicion

Bandcamp: https://orquestalamodernatradicin.bandcamp.com/album/encantado-2

DJ. Andy and his Salsa Council

I have known DJ. Andy since he was the resident DJ. at the Embassy Suites in Isla Verde (Puerto Rico) for the salsa nights that I remember attending religiously every Saturday.

However, everything changed when one Saturday night we went to the weekly event as usual. There we realized that DJ Andy was no longer there. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. It must have been out of sheer necessity that the man who would later become DJ Louie Love suddenly learned to play records on his own and without having planned it quite abruptly.

So, years later, destiny took me to the American capital because of a highlight of which there is no longer only the memory. From that highlight that I would like to forget, in Washington, DC I remember with a deep affection to have met again with the one who had already been called “the most danceable”: DJ Andy. Life and its twists and turns, we lost track of each other again until one day during one of my missions to New York I decided to go for a little dance without knowing that there I would meet again with DJ Andy. Andy was already making his way in the Big Apple, the same place where salsa was cooked more than half a century ago.

Anyway, what we came to, to share with you my impression of the third album in which DJ Andy immerses himself in a parallel way in his facet as executive producer. So, I am reviewing this catchy collection of fifteen tracks because I loved the programming and the variety of what I consider a very complete album, while achieving a first class musical performance.

Consejo Salsero (Venezuela All Stars)

Despite being performed by Venezuela All Stars, the arrangement of this salsa song is in the best New York style and very well done. The title track opens the listener’s senses in an invasive but good way; something like a sure way to arouse curiosity about the production and the tracks that follow it. Marcial Istúriz is as always a sure shot. Good voice, impeccable rhythm and one of those sonorous sounds that could make him the new owner of sonorous music. I summarize here from my corner without offending anyone, Marcial is a great sonero.

The son came to the city (Secreto a Voces)

If not the most, one of the most danceable songs of the production. Bravo!

Como se atreve (Renzo Padilla y su orquesta)

The singer’s voice is fresh and synchronized with the kind of lyrics that ask for another chance and shout sincerity. Before the second minute, the bongo takes over the transition announcing the mambo and the take-off of the “trip” injected by the pregones and the play on words in the soneos. The winds are carried by a trombone played with cleanness and precision. The end is announced with a percussive interplay between the winds and the piano, which almost takes center stage without dulling the leather beats.

Señora Rumba (Julio Cortez and his court)

The singer, once again, fits the theme like a glove, since his voice recalls the metallic melody that a bravo theme requires. The piano harmonizes perfectly with the coros and percussion. Here there is a perfect harmony between piano, conga and timbales. It seems to me that I hear a xylophone flirting with the conga, without detracting from the piano.

Mary Juana (Carlos Guzmán y su orquesta)

The introduction of the song reminds me of the arrangements of the glory days of Orquesta La Solución, but with a bongó playing in the arrangement. The trombones announce themselves early on and ask the bongo for permission to join them around the first minute. The piano harmonizes and gives way to the brass without conflicting with the musical change that around the third minute adopts a style of those with which Wayne Gorbea established his sound. Masterful the way in which the arrangement moves through varied styles without running over the flow of the music.

Salsa pa’ ti (Grupo Tahona)

This is a very heavy song, one of those that starts with the chorus without shyness. The boldness of the arrangement threatens to go straight to the mambo in a very elegant way. A gentle piano solo crosses over from a minute and a half in. The piano solo gives way to a melodic trumpet solo that doesn’t allow screaming. The conga takes the lead from just before the third minute, making sure that the brass does its thing, in anticipation of the return of a piano that dictates the chords of the distant line. All in all, this is a very tasty track.

Quiéreme (Gumby Navedo and his orchestra)

The interpretation sounds great and the singer’s voice is one of those indisputable and unforgettable ones. The lyrics are worthy of the interplay between the saxophones and the rest of the wind instruments. At three and a half minutes the pregón changes with a lot of class and distinction before handing over to the saxophones at the end to give way to the closing, which the cueros make precise.

I come from New York (Son del monte)

The flute enters quite early and quite forcefully. The violins match the flutes and the typical charanga bell ringing. I imagine that Andy wanted to include a variety of rhythms within the range of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and manages in the process to give us a complete collection. Even dancing pachanga doesn’t let us forget. Thank you!

Vengo del Congo (Julio Estrada y su orquesta)

The arrangement of the song is one of those classics that could be used as an example to demonstrate the salsa sound without pretension or fuss to anyone who has never heard salsa before. At two and a half minutes, Julio Estrada plays a heavy piano solo before the mambo enters in all its splendor. Winds, timbales, conga and piano come together to take us on a journey into a synchronized, non-competitive melody.

Pa’l bailador (La Negramenta)

The introduction of this unquestionably salsa song gives prominence to the baritone saxophone in a flirtation that walks between salsa and boogaloo. However, the boogaloo sound is short-lived, giving way to a well-defined, traditional salsa. At the third minute, the trumpets enter in correspondence with the percussion. At minute 3:45, the conga takes over the distant line, giving way to the trumpets and timbales, announcing that the song is elegantly descending in intensity.

El rumbero (Leo Pacheco Jr. y su orquesta)

This song wants to highlight the essence of African music within the salsa music made in Venezuela. This arrangement seems to be inspired by the evolutionary inventions that today are a winning formula. I am referring to the adjustments that Bobby Valentín made, at the request of maestro Willie Rosario. The big difference is that this arrangement is somewhat louder than the ones that started this formula several decades ago. The trombone and conga take over, anticipating “salsa, guaracha y bembé” as the song says.

Nací pa’ cantar (Wiwi Buznego y su orquesta)

The song is pure salsa, conga, pregones and lots of rhythm for the dancer who responds to a fluid arrangement without much distraction. The first significant percussive cut that captures the dancer’s attention hits the senses at minute fifteen (1:15). From then on, the performer plays between conga beats, trumpet blasts, pregones and soneos. The mambo is unforgiving and if the dancer lets himself be carried away by the music, he can feel it to the last drop of blood running through his veins.

Camina y ven (Charanga Masters)

A Cuban song from the heart made in the best charanga format, taking into account that technology allows to improve the sound of the past. The flute and violins play with the percussion in a daring way, modernizing what was the charanga in its original form.

Mi propuesta (Robert Burgos and Descarga Zason)

The closing track travels to Cuba in pure timba sound. The singer harmonizes perfectly with the arrangement and the execution of the orchestra, his voice being the typical Cuban voice that stands out in timba format. Very successful to close the trip of the compact disc with timba. Very well achieved farewell.

Although the release of this CD was in 2019, for me it is new. So I take the trouble to assure you that if you listen to it you will love it. If you dance, you’ll wear out your sole. And if you don’t, you’ll be encouraged to learn to move your skeleton to the rhythm of this tasty treat.

Thanks, Andy, congratulations!

Facebook: Andy Rodríguez

By: Bella Martinez “La Escritora Irreverente de La Salsa”

Puerto Rico

WebSite: Bella Martinez

Article of Interest: From Italy Albert Giorgio Giovanni DJ. Lindo Salsa and Bachata

Flashback: Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill

The Architect Of Afro-Cuban Jazz

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill with reading glasses and sitting — In memory of the 20 years of his physical disappearance

Arturo O’Farrill, better known as “Chico” O’Farrill was born on October 28, 1921, in Havana (Cuba) at the height of Son. He had a normal childhood like any son of a Jewish family raised to continue the family profession, Law.

In the 1930s Chico was admitted to the Riverside American Military School in Gainesville, Georgia. His father, an eminent Irish lawyer recognized in the Afro-Caribbean country, decided to intern him to continue his studies.

During his stay at that institution, O’Farrill discovered the great jazz orchestras that made life in that territory. Those bands were known by the name of Big Bands. He entered that musical environment and began his process of love and passion for the industry. He listened to recordings by Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey while learning to play the trumpet on his own. In almost immediate time Chico became the trumpet player for the school’s military band and large dance groups.

Years later, Arturo returned to Cuba. He studied the same profession as his father (Law) and at the same time with his studies, he developed his facet as a composer. He received composition and harmony classes from important island musical instructors such as Félix Guerrero.

His progress, determination, and development in music were unstoppable. He was a member of the Armando Romeu Bellamar Orchestra and the Isidro Pérez Orchestra at the time of Mambo and Son, rhythms that prevailed and enhanced Latin music for decades.

MUSICAL HISTORY

Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill seated and in black and white — Chico O’Farrill dabbled in rock

“The Architect of Afro-Cuban Jazz” worked for four years (1943 – 1947) in Montmartre, the Cuban cabaret with the greatest French style. In the same way, he belonged to the Bellamar Orchestra, directed by Armando Romeu with Luis and Pucho Escalante, and Mario Romeu, among many other members.

As a trumpeter, Arturo traveled to Mexico and Europe. He created Los Raqueteros del Swing band, being the director and member of the orchestra. Subsequently, he founded Los Beboppers (the first Cuban bop group) with continuous performances at the Hotel Saratoga. Here, Chico was once again at the helm as director of the band and musician with his related instrument, the trumpet.

In the 1950s he began his successes as an arranger, working briefly for various musical directors such as Gil Fuller, Noro Morales, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Benny Goodman.

Likewise, he composed his first masterpiece, Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite in five movements: Canción, Mambo, 6/8, Jazz, and Rumba Open. This masterpiece of composition was made and recorded for the imprint of the businessman Norman Granz, with the Machito Orchestra as the rhythmic base and accompanist.

The expert comments on Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite were numerous, but here are two of the most outstanding opinions:

Luc Delannoy: “It begins and ends with a hypnotic flute and conga duo that reflects the essence of Cuban treatment; the union of musical universes: the European (the flute) and the African (the conga). These two instruments are joined by the oboe, followed by the trumpets, saxophones, and the double bass “Tumbao”… After a return to swing and bebop in the fourth movement, Chico takes us back to the origins of Latin jazz with a melody of clear Arabic accents, before immersing himself in the universe of Afro-Cuban percussions.”

And Benny Carter commented on the Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite the following: “The reason for the coherence of the rhythmic parts and their relationships with the solos that have their own life and independence, Masterpiece of a genius.”

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill dressed in black and with a red background — His last album was Heart Of A Legend

After the enormous success of this powerful piece of music, O’Farrill wrote Cuban Fantasy for Stan Kenton during his stay in New York (EE.UU). However, Kenton eventually changed the name of the piece and it was called the Cuban Episode.

In 1953 he moved from New York to the California state and founded his orchestra with renowned musicians such as Mario Bauzá, Doug Mettome, Jimmy Nottingham, Eddie Bert, Fred Zito, Lenny Hambro, Flip Phillips, and the saxophonist Eddie Wasserman. The orchestra used the Afro-Cuban rhythmic section of Machito, harp, and oboe.

Under this concept, he recorded for Norman Granz and performed in two emblematic venues of the American Jazz music scene: Birdland (New York) and Hat Ballroom located in Los Angeles, California. During this period he composed three new movements: “La Jungla”, “Contrast”, and “Rhumba Finale”, baptized as “Manteca Suite”. The latter recorded in 1954 with Jazzist Dizzy Gillespie and an orchestra with 21 talented musicians.

In 1956 he returned to Cuba in search of inspiration and immediately began to work for the best record companies such as Panart and RCA Víctor. In this record label, he made “Chico’s Cha-Cha-Cha”, adapting the Charanga rhythm to the Big band format. This album was released, once again, on compact disc by BMG during the last decade of the 20th century.

Two years later the restless O’Farrill traveled to Mexico due to the great platform that this country provided for Latin American musicians at the time. During that residency, he once again stood out with a special sound. He appears on television as music director for singer Andy Russell, and there his life takes a dizzying turn. He started the semi-retirement period but never stopped composing. By that time, he composed his next and one of his greatest works “Azteca Suite” for trumpeter Art Farmer. And he made history once again!

In the 60s and with the rise of rock, Chico returned to New York and made arrangements for such important figures as La Lupe (They Call Me La Lupe); Cal Tjader (Along with Comes Cal); Count Basie (High Voltage); Gato Barbieri (Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata); Ringo Starr (Night and Day) and dabbled in Rock music with David Bowie (I Know That It Will Happen and Looking for Lester) and finally was the director of the Venezuelan Aldemaro Romero’s Orchestra.

In this stage that lasted until the end of the 20th century and already in the 70s, the Big bands went from being an innovation to being displaced by other rhythms that were rapidly increasing in popularity. These genres used new techniques, styles, sounds, and harmonies. It led to the appearance of icons in Jazz and the disappearance of the exclusive Bing bands for ballroom dancing.

For this reason, Chico O’Farrill reinvents himself and begins to work in the lucrative field of music for audiovisual advertising.

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill in black and white — Pure Emotion album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance

In the mid-nineties, American Jazz producer and director Todd Barkan contacted the “Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” to pay tribute to his career with a compilation of his musical hits. The name of the album was Pure Emotion and it got a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards.

O’Farrill toured Europe with his orchestra in 1996 and recorded his latest album entitled “Heart Of A Legend” with 14 tracks.

For this album, they had an orchestra of 18 musicians and a collaboration of international artists. The arrangements and musical direction of “Heart Of A Legend” were in charge of his son Arturo O’Farrill Jr. and who continues with his legacy.

On June 29, 2001, at 80 years old in New York City, Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill passed away.

Undoubtedly, Chico O’Farrill was always a visionary, and he was at the forefront for more than half a century of the musical genre today recognized worldwide as Latin Jazz.

In memory of the 20 years of his physical disappearance

Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill Forever!

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