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Puerto Rican singer Irma Kaché speaks exclusively to us

Irma Kaché is a talented singer born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, who has a very interesting story behind her, so we have set about communicating with her to talk about the most important facts of her life and career.

Irma Ortiz, the artist’s real name, shows us that it is possible to achieve a lot with little whenever there is the will and desire to get what we want. What she tells us below proves it.

Irma was born in Ponce — Talented singer Irma Kaché was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico

How Irma first became interested in music

In her native Puerto Rico, music was always in Irma’s home since she was very young, as her mother was a singer in a radio station and won talent shows, but all that changed when she got married and had children, since it was not seemly for a wife participate in such activities.

However, she and her siblings inherited the taste for music from their mother and she always instilled in them everything related to it. This is how the children began to play and sing the songs they listened to at home, many of which belonged to Los Condes, Los Panchos and other trios from that time.

Although Irma’s mother was proud that her children played music as one of their main hobbies, she did not think they would follow it professionally. Irma’s older brothers already have their own orchestras and one of them calls himself Julio Kaché. That is where she took the name of Irma Kaché.

While it is true that music had a very important place in her life, Irma finished high school and studied social work at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, so she did not practice her great passion at that time. She only limited herself to imitate her favorite artists of the time such as Yolandita Monjes, Ednita Nazario, Sophy, among others.

Upon graduation, she moved to New York with the hope of singing professionally, but she became a single mother and found it difficult to have evening performances with a small child. In addition to that, her son presented certain language problems and had to attend therapy constantly. She only had her older sister’s support, who is also a singer by profession.

On top of that, breaking into salsa as a woman was very complicated in a world dominated by men.

Irma’s beginnings were not easy — Irma’s beginnings in music were not easy, but her talent and effort led her to be the artist she is today

Irma’s transit in music

Just as Irma met ”dream merchants” who caused her to lose time and money with empty promises that went nowhere, she also met people who supported her and contributed a lot to her career as the composer and singer Miguel Angel Piñeiro, who is a very prominent figure in the salsa scene.

Piñeiro discovered her on the local TV show Diamante Show, contacted her and they became good friends for a while. At that time, she was working with a record company, but things were not going as she wanted, so she let her new friend guide her in many aspects of her career. Piñeiro accompanied her to the studio, rehearsed with her, introduced her to important people in the industry and many other things that helped her become the singer she is today.

Among those people she met thanks to Piñeiro, we can mention arranger Harry Rios, who was the one who made each and every one of the arrangements for her new album and played a pivotal role in its final result.

In addition to this, he made a small monetary investment in Tumbao Media Productions, which is a marketing and PR agency, which has been highly beneficial for his career and the chance to become known to a wider audience. In addition to this, the work she has done in her own social networks to create her own community around her music.

Orquesta Salsa Libre NY

Irma has been part of the Orquesta Salsa Libre NY since 2008 without uninterrupted, although the group has been through hard times such as the pandemic, which caused the loss of its most important members. This led Miguel, director of this orchestra, to seek new musicians to replace the previous ones.

The pandemic had also prevented them from performing live for a very long time and Irma was anxious to return to sing in front of an audience, so she talked to Miguel to remedy the situation and be back to the stage as soon as possible. This is how Miguel, who was also Irma’s producer, contacted the Sound of Brazil (SOBs) nightclub to study the possibility of performing a small concert there. So, Miguel and Irma accepted the venue’s proposal and got to work.

In fact, the Puerto Rican singer and her orchestra performed a wonderful show at SOBs with renowned producer and vocalist Javier Luis, who was already experienced in singing in that place and many others of its kind, so most of the responsibility fell on his shoulders. He was the one who made the arrangements for the show and sent her copies of the emails so that she could see how the organization of a show like theirs was handled.

In the end, the performance was a success and Irma learned a lot from this experience, which would help her to replicate the right steps on other occasions. In addition, that night opened many doors for both of them.

Luis Perdomo

North America / USA / Nueva York

Luis Perdomo, one of the most eager jazz pianists in New York.

Luis Perdomo is one of the most active jazz pianists in New York. Originally from Venezuela, she began playing the piano at age 10, and by age 12 she was playing professionally on radio and television, as well as in concerts and clubs.

Luis later moved to the US to attend the Manhattan School of Music on a scholarship, graduating in 1997 and later earning a master’s degree from Queens College, where he was a student of the great pianist Sir Roland Hanna.

Shortly after moving to New York, he quickly established himself as an in-demand pianist amassing an impressive resume.

Some of the artists Luis has recorded and/or performed include Ravi Coltrane, David Sanchez, Tom Harrell, John Patitucci, Ray Barretto, Brian Lynch, Miguel Zenon, Dave Douglas, David Weiss and The Cookers, David Gilmore, Ralph Irizarry and Timbalaye, Henry Threadgill, and Steve Turre, among others; a roster that is as remarkable for its high standard as it is for its diversity.

Luis is also recognized as a member of several bands, especially the groups led by Ravi Coltrane, with whom he spent 10 years and Miguel Zenón, with whom he has had a collaboration that is currently in its 18th year.

Luis has also made a mark as a performer. Composer and arranger on recordings by Ray Barretto, Ignacio Berroa, John Benitez and Ralph Irizarry.

He has also been commissioned as a composer by the Jazz Gallery, The Afro Bop Alliance and Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. He can be heard most recently on Ravi Coltrane’s Grammy-nominated “Spirit Fiction” and Miguel Zenón’s “Típico.”

In 2002 he won the 2nd Grand Prize at the “3rd Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition” in Paris, among a group of 66 international pianists. He can be heard most recently on Ravi Coltrane’s Grammy-nominated “Spirit Fiction” and Miguel Zenón’s “Típico.” In 2002 he won the 2nd Grand Prize at the “3rd Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition” in Paris, among a group of 66 international pianists. He can be heard most recently on Ravi Coltrane’s Grammy-nominated “Spirit Fiction” and Miguel Zenón’s “Típico.” In 2002 he won the 2nd Grand Prize at the “3rd Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition” in Paris, among a group of 66 international pianists.

As a sideman, Luis has performed at most major music festivals and venues in over 50 countries, and as a frontman, he has toured Europe, Japan, South America, and the United States.

Luis has also been very active around the world in recent years as a teacher, soloist and as the leader of his own trio: The Controlling Ear Unit and various other projects, and has released nine highly praised recordings as a leader: “Focus Point”. (2005), “Awareness” (2006), and the highly acclaimed “Universal Mind” with Drew Gress and Jack Dejohnette (2012) for Ravi Coltrane’s RKM Music label. “Pathways” in 2008, the “Childhood” project in 2012 and “Links” in 2013 were recorded for Criss Cross Jazz.

His “Twenty – Two” project, featuring “Controlling Ear Unit”, was released in 2015 on the Hot Tone Music label. This high-octane CD teams Luis with bassist/vocalist Mimi Jones and drummer Rudy Royston. The two most recent CD’s: ” Montage “; Luis’s first piano outing and “Spirits and Warriors”; a quintet release for the Criss Cross Jazz label featuring drummer legend Billy Hart, was released in May 2016. Luis Perdomo has also participated in over 200 recordings as a sideman.

As an educator, Luis has taught master classes at conservatories in Amsterdam and Paris, Princeton University, Hochschule Fur Musik und Theater (Munich, Germany), Berklee (Valencia, Spain), IUDEM (Caracas, Venezuela), Esmuva (Madrid, Spain) ; and the School of Jazz in Berkeley, California, among others.

He has taught jazz summer camps, including “Jazz in July” at the University of Massachusetts, Langnau Jazz Nights in Switzerland; The Banff International Workshop and the University of Manitoba in Canada, Badajoz Jazz Worshop in Spain; EAFIT University in Medellin; Tonica Jazz Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico and Guimaraes Jazz Workshops in Portugal, among others.

In 2016, Mr. Perdomo served as artistic director of the Langnau Jazz Workshops in Switzerland. Luis has also taught at the New School for Social Research, and is currently an adjunct professor of piano at Queens College in New York City.

For more information, visit www.luisperdomojazz.com.

Benny More

Latin America / Cuba

Benny More. The story of the biggest crowd idol that Cuba has given.

Benny More. He is not just another musician, he is unanimously the greatest popular artist that has ever existed in Cuba. It is the symbol, the myth, the legend, as the summary of Cuban popular music that is very rich and abundant. Benny symbolizes the peasant party, the sarao, the bohemia, the download, the coffee, the bar, the theater, the party, the carnivals, the show. El Bárbaro del Ritmo is the best of popular music.

Born on August 24, 1919 at 7:00 a.m. m. in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood of the town of Santa Isabel de las Lajas, belonging to the Cienfuegos province. His parents were named Virginia Moré and Silvestre Gutiérrez, and Benny was the oldest of 18 siblings. His surname Moré came from Ta Ramón Gundo Moré (a slave of Count Moré), who according to the tradition of the Congos, was their first king in Santa Isabel de las Lajas.

He was gifted with a flowing tenor voice that he colored and phrased with great expressiveness.

This context was definitive for his future career in music, he learned to play the insundi, the yuka drums, those of Makuta and Bembé, invokers of deities, with whom he sang and danced perfectly, but also to interpret the son, the guaracha and the rumba.

Since he was a child he manifested his great vocation for music, as he would spend all day humming a popular song or improvising and directing ensembles made up of machetes, bongos made from milk cans, guitars made from a board and nails made from strings of string. sew, two sticks as keys, etc. And when he was ten years old, he “grated” a “real” three that had been lent to him, with which he would escape from his mother to the parties near his house.

Moré was a master in all genres of Cuban music.

He could always be found standing on a table singing and reciting a son manigüero, surrounded by listeners. He spent his childhood and adolescence as Bartolomé, without the opportunity to study or get a permanent job. Like his brother Teodoro, Bartolomé was enrolled in the José de la Luz y Caballero School of Public Instruction, where he always stood out for his conduct and application.

He was gifted with a flowing tenor voice that he colored and phrased with great expressiveness.

Since he was a child he manifested his great vocation for music, since he would spend all day humming a popular song or improvising and directing ensembles made up of machetes, bongos made with milk cans, guitars made with a board and nails with strings of thread. cook, two sticks as keys, etc. And when he was ten years old, he “grated” a “real” three that had been lent to him, with which he would escape from his mother to the parties near his house.

Why is the Bacardi symbol a bat?

Moré was a master in all genres of Cuban music.

His voice particularly stood out in the son montuno, the mambo, and the bolero.

Since he was a child, his aptitude for singing and improvisation stood out, which he demonstrated when, barely seven years old, he escaped to entertain Guateques and parties nearby and stayed singing notes with his mother to prevent him from sleeping while ironing until late at night. .

Benny went through a complicated life, but he was willing to do anything to achieve his dreams of success. With almost twenty years of age, in 1940 Bartolomé said goodbye to his mother at the Ritz Hotel in Central Vertientes, where she worked, and traveled hidden, indistinctly, on a train and in a truck, to the City of Havana. He was definitely coming to try his luck in the bustling city. Since then he would be seen in the famous neighborhood of Belén, with a guitar acquired in a pawnshop, wandering through cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, and even brothels.

That same year he told his cousin, a fellow downloader: “I’ll stay in Havana, here I get up or I sink.” From then on the saga of the downloads began in the bars on the avenue of the port. Once, recalling those times, he confessed: “I went out into the street with a guitar on my shoulder to sing to the tourists. I am not ashamed of it; Carlos Gardel also did it in Argentina and he is the king of tango”

At that time, the Supreme Court of Art began to be broadcast on the CMQ station. Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré appeared on that program animated by Germán Pinelli and José Antonio Alonso. After presenting it and at the moment of starting his presentation, the bell rang for him. Later Bartolomé returned to Monte y Prado to the Supreme Court and on this second occasion he won the first prize. Possessor of a fresh voice, with a beautiful timbre, sensual and evocative, of a black peasant, despite his misery, Bartolo continued to sing with all the inner strength that Cuban rhythms demanded of him.

One of his escapades Siro Rodríguez, a member of the famous Trio Matamoros, heard him sing in the bar of El Templete restaurant, on Avenida del Puerto, and was very impressed by the boy’s voice and tuning. Bartolomé’s entry into the group led by Miguel Matamoros can be considered his true debut as a professional singer, since with said group he had a stable job for the first time as a musician and made his first recordings on 78 revolutions per minute records.

Benny knew he had a voice, an atche (luck), and a destiny. Perhaps he sensed it, intuited it, or simply trusted in his triumph. When he started with Miguel Matamoros and his group, he already wanted to make changes to the picket line. In Mexico, when Miguel got sick, he was able to direct the group, took command and made the friends enjoy themselves at the El Patio cabaret.

When the contract ended, the Matamoros group returned to Havana, but without Bartolomé, who decided to try his luck alone in Mexico. When communicating his decision to the famous author of the son El que sowing his corn, Miguel Matamoros would reply: “It’s very good, but you have to change your name from Bartolo, which is very ugly. You’re not going anywhere with him. You’re right, Bartolo replied, from today I’ll be called Benny, yes, Benny Moré.

The owner of the business was hypnotized by the tasty atmosphere that Benny created as a manager. After singing with several leading orchestras in Mexico, he stood up nicely with the most famous band of the 20th century: Pérez Prado and the Cuban mambo.

With this meeting, two geniuses came together: in Benny Moré there was talent and natural intuition; in Pérez Prado, in addition to all that, mastery of technique and an enormous facility for making music.

With Pérez Prado he conquered the noble Aztec people on tours of different states of that sister country. Due to the success achieved by Benny, the town awarded him the title of “Prince of the mambo” and Pérez Prado that of “King of the mambo”. He sang like no one else in the world and began his international rise.

By that time Benny’s voice was already known in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Venezuela, and of course, in his native Cuba. In the lively world of nightlife in Mexico City, the Cuban singer performed in countless theaters, among others the Margo, the Blanquita, the Folliers and the Cabaret Waikiki, alternating with renowned artists such as the legendary vedette Yolanda Montes (Tongolele ), the Mexican Toña la Negra, and the prominent Cuban pianist and composer Juan Bruno Tarraza, for whom Benny sang the bolero Ya son las doce. He participates in many films and upon his return to Cuba, he was already sure that he had to be counted on.

Nostalgia for his family, friends, for the Homeland, and the desire to obtain laurels on his Island, where he considered that he was not well known, made him return to his beloved Lajas at the end of 1950. The older sonero was definitely in Cuba, he had left behind comforts, material and spiritual satisfactions, friends and even the loves that winners usually do not lack.

For the next two years, he performed by contract for a program called “De fiesta con Bacardi”, which aired on the Cadena Oriental radio station with the Mariano Mercerón orchestra, and the singers Fernando Álvarez and Pacho Alonso.

As Benny Moré was an exclusive artist for RCA Víctor, this firm demanded his presence in Havana to make different recordings. To fulfill this commitment, he made alternate trips to Havana and thus maintained his commitment to the eastern radio network. After the engagement at Casa Bacardí and master Mercerón, in 1952 Benny Moré returned to Havana.

Certainly Benny concluded an era, closed a chapter of Cuban musical life, that stage of nightlife that was already declining. Benny’s life was related to a world that has already disappeared. Then everything became myths and legends. Benny kept singing, but now it would be on scratch records, which were digitized.

Today’s “oidores” (listeners) must travel back in time, abstract themselves, imagine those seedy bars in the Havana port full of curious tourists. Of Chinese inns that sold “complete” for poor people who passed the hat, after singing through the streets of Havana.

North America – December 2018

Israel Tanenbaum from The Latinbaum Jazz Ensemble in ISM

The Island of Enchantment never ceases to amaze us and we continue to marvel at the fact that this small territory has been able to give the world so much talent, especially in music. Today, it is up to talk about Puerto Rican producer, arranger, composer and pianist Israel Tanenbaum and the enormous contribution that this great artist has made to Latin music over the last few decades.

Israel Tanenbaum is also a bandleader who has produced more than 50 albums and participated in over a hundred recordings throughout his career, so his experience in this field is more than proven. We were fortunate to talk to him in just over half an hour and we will proceed to cover the most important issues in the following lines.

Producer Israel Tanenbaum — This is Puerto Rican producer, arranger, composer and pianist Israel Tanenbaum

Israel and his passion for the piano

Although Israel is widely known for his piano skills, this was not the first instrument he started playing, but the organ. As a child, he was given a toy organ and that was how he made up his mind and train his ear for music.

In addition to that, he told us an anecdote about how one day he went to a music store with his parents and they left him alone for a while, time that little Israel used to play a huge object that caught his attention: an organ much bigger than the one he used to play at home. It was by watching the organist that he decided to position himself in front of the instrument and started imitating what the musician was doing with his little hands.

He waited until the organist moved away from the instrument to sell it to a customer and Israel took the opportunity to get into the seat and start playing the instrument’s keys and foot pedal. After playing the five or six songs he knew, he noticed that he had a silent multitude watching what he was doing and once he finished playing, people started clapping their hands furiously at such a waste of talent in a child this small.

That was when his parents decided to buy him an organ and a piano. A few years later, namely when he was 12 years old, Israel was already playing on the streets in a more professional way.

Israel’s self-taught formation in music

Israel’s initial training as a musician was entirely self-taught for the first few years. In fact, he says that when he started studying the craft for real when he had already been earning a living as a musician for more than 10 years.

With regard to sound engineering, Israel says he had to become professional in this area ”in self-defense”, as he had problems with several sound engineers who did not have a good musical ear, so they ended up damaging some of his recordings unintentionally. This led him to learn to work on the engineering himself so that this kind of thing would not happen again.

On the other hand, the arrangements and production process had to do with some experiences he had had. One of them happened when, at the age of 16, a friend’s father, an important person in the industry, on one occasion, introduced him to Machito, who very kindly invited Israel to go on stage and sit next to him to learn from what he saw that night. This experience marked the pianist so much that he said to himself: ”this is what I definitely want to do for the rest of my life”.

Israel playing the piano — Israel Tanenbaum playing the piano during a performance

Colombia’s role in Israel’s career

Colombia has been key to Israel’s career for several reasons and one of them is that his most productive time of life was spent in the coffee-growing country. The artist had already traveled to that country to accompany artists such as Pete ”El Conde”, Marvin Santiago and Arabella, but the situation was different when he had to tour with the group Batacumbele. This tour was scheduled to last about 10 days, but it was prolonged for 10 years.

In those days, it turns out that he met by chance with Alexis Lozano, director of Orquesta Guayacán, who proposed him to stay in Colombia a longer time to produce the orchestra’s second album and he accepted. After this, he continued to receive proposals of this style and, almost without realizing it, he already had 10 years living in Colombia and more than 80 albums produced. In addition to Orquesta Guayacán, he worked with Grupo Niche, Cheo Acosta, Alfredito de La Fé and many more.

”My real professional growth took place in Colombia, but my love for production began in Puerto Rico from the hand of percussionist Roberto Roena, whose orchestra was led by me for about two years. When we were recrding the album ‘El Regreso’, I spent many hours with Roberto in the studio and, seeing how dedicated, detail-oriented and precise he was with every chord and note, I was inspired to do the same at some point. That’s how I accepted all the opportunities to produce that arose in Colombia some time later. I owe all of that to Roberto” Israel said about his time as a producer in the South American country.

In addition to his work side, Israel also says that Colombia means a lot to him on a personal level, since this country makes him feel at home and he has many friends there. Not to mention that his own wife is Colombian and one of his children was born there, so he is more than attached to that land for life.

Israel during an interview — Israel Tanenbaum during an interview on the radio

Life in Puerto Rico and Hawaii

In addition to Colombia, Israel also lived in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He assures that from each of the places he has been, he has extracted something from their folklore and roots to add to his musical work. He says it is the best way to understand that country and the taste of its people.

”If you want to understand the people of a country, you have to go back to their folklore and assimilate it. I lived in Venezuela for about six months and, being there, I became familiar with the quitiplás (a typical percussion instrument of Venezuela), the sangueo, the llanera music and many other elements of the musical culture of that country” Israel said on this issue.

”I lived in Hawaii for almost three years, during which time I founded my first salsa orchestra. I served in the army with Quique Peña, a nephew of maestro Lito Peña, an eminence in Puerto Rico. The young man, whose classical training was extremely intense, taught me to transcribe what each instrument plays in detail. This was an invaluable lesson that served me well for what came later in my career. I also had the opportunity to study with maestro Eddie Palmieri, Papo Luca, José Milé, Jorge Milé, José Febles, among others. I transcribed music for all of them” Israel added on the issue.

Israel Tanenbaum & The Latinbaum Jazz Ensemble

”Impressions”, Latinbaum’s most recent album, was the result of an extensive musical stry that tells a wide experience with genres, styles and musicians of all kinds. Israel started this recording nine years ago, but he was always very busy with the rest of the recordings he was producing, so he always ended up abandoning this project.

Once he had the album ready, but one day Israel had a catastrophic loss of equipment and recordings that led him to practically start the album from scratch, from which he could only save a single song. In the end, he opted to tear up and throw away the arrangements he had in order to start all over again. It took about eight more months to have the album ready again, and today, the musician is grateful that things went down like this, since this material represents the artist he is today for being more current.

It is then when he sought out the artists and musicians who would accompany him in this new production, which would be his first solo album after having produced more than 100 other people’s albums.

From now on, he wants to release a Latin Jazz production with his own orchestra every year and all of them under his new label, Latinbaum Records.