Interview conducted by journalist and music researcher Robert Téllez M., on February 4, 2017 and originally published later on the SONFONÍA portal. Interview provided by the author for International Salsa Magazine (ISM).
Robert: His name is: Elio Osácar Douguet, and artistically we know him as: Sonny Bravo When and where were you born?
Sonny: I was born on October 7, 1936 in West Harlem, New York City.
Robert: Are you of Cuban descent?
Sonny: Yes, my grandparents were born in Havana, three in Santiago de las Vegas and one (maternal grandfather) in Bejucal. My parents were born in Key West, FL, and raised in Tampa, FL.
Robert: Tell me about your father Santiago “Elio” Osacar.
Sonny: Obviously, my first mentor! Santiago Osácar Colomá, born October 12, 1911 in Key West, FL, raised in Tampa, FL. He and his two older brothers, Juan and Tomás, founded the Sexteto Tampeño in 1928. He married my mother, Elisa Douguet Bravo in February 1932 and they settled in New York around 1933. Shortly thereafter he joined the Caney Quartet as bassist and second voice. At that time he also formed and recorded with his own group, the Conjunto Moderno. Later he was also a member of Monchito y su Orquesta. But he always returned to Caney! Until his death in the summer of 1957, from a pancreatitis attack he suffered on the stage of the Chateau Madrid in NY.
Robert: Maestro Sonny, is it true that you played baseball, but due to an injury you turned to music?
Sonny: Yes, it was in an amateur league in Miami where I was raised, my father was the manager! I was a pitcher and after pitching a complete game, while it was drizzling; the shoulder pains started the next day and that’s as far as my brief career went.
Robert: Did you write arrangements for Conjunto Caney?
Sonny: I only wrote one, “Añorado Encuentro” (Piloto y Vera), but it was never recorded.
Robert: What groups did you work with in Miami?
Sonny: My first job was with the Conjunto Casino de Miami. I also worked with several orchestras (Juanito Sanabria) and several combos (Cheo Venero, Gonzalo Barr). From 1959 to 1961 I was with Conjunto Caney. Then (1961-1963) with Mandy Campo, with whom I made my first tour outside the U.S., it was to Aruba and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Between 1963 and 1964 I worked with José Fajardo. He played dances in Miami on Saturdays and in New York clubs the rest of the week. When he decided to stay in New York, he convinced me to return with him.
Robert: Is the Típico Charanga format your favorite?
Sonny: Yes! I would like to have the same format we used on Alfredo de la Fé’s LP (Toca, Alfredo Toca) with the modern harmonies that can be heard in my arrangement of “El casabe,” my adaptation of Humberto Perera’s arrangement of “Que rico bailo yo,” and my arrangement of my own song, “Toca, Alfredo toca.”
Robert: What pianists influenced your playing?
Sonny: Charanga genre: Jesús López. Ensemble genre: Lilí Martínez. Big band and combo genre: Pedro “Peruchín” Jústiz. Variety of genres: Rubén González.
Robert: How did you become involved with the José Fajardo Orchestra?
Sonny: In 1963, bassist Nilo Sierra took me to the Palladium to meet Fajardo. After I married my first wife, I returned to Miami, and was able to contact him. During 1963 I played with him the dances I mentioned above and also toured with him to Venezuela, Mexico, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico. Fajardo stayed to fulfill his contract at the San Juan Hotel, but Orestes Vilató and I returned to New York. Orestes because of melancholy, and I, because I found out that my wife was going to give birth in January 1965.
Robert: As I understand it, when you settle in New York, you start playing with: Willie Bobo, Bobby Valentin and Ray Barretto What would you highlight about your work with Barretto?
Sonny: Between 1965 and 1966 I was Raul Marrero’s musical director. Besides what you mentioned, I also played with Vicentico Valdés, Mauricio Smith, Cortijo, Maelo and La orquesta Broadway, at that time. With Ray Barretto (and his charanga format) I only worked for two weeks, that was in October 1966, until the return of his pianist, Edy Martínez, who had stayed in Colombia after a tour. I felt very comfortable with Barretto’s group and I would have liked to continue playing with him.
Robert: How did your integration with La Tipica 73 come about?
Sonny: I was there from the beginning. The group (unnamed) started in the summer of 1972 with musicians from various orchestras in a “jam session” (descarga) format, with the purpose of filling out the week with stews on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, that is, the laziest days in clubs and dance halls. Alfredo de la Fe was one of the original musicians. He and I played with Fajardo at that time.
There was also Bobby Nelson (flute) from Charlie Palmieri’s orchestra. Instigated by Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez and with the support of several promoters and club managers, we decided to strengthen the group, create an ensemble and take the risk of competing with the already established groups.
Robert: Where did the idea of making the record production “Intercambio Cultural” come from?
Sonny: Johnny Rodriguez made the connection when he went to Havana on vacation. When he returned, he convinced Jerry Masucci to initiate the arrangements so that he could record at EGREM’s studios.
Robert: Was Típica 73 blocked because they had performed and recorded in Cuba and that’s why the group disbanded? Or were there other reasons…
Sonny: That’s the only reason!
Robert: What do you remember about your experience with Conjunto Clasico?
Sonny:
Side A: A lot of work, good music, good musicians.
Side B: Out of 20 songs, there were 19 solos of three and only one piano solo!
Robert: Maestro Sonny, you were present in several stages of Tito Puente’s orchestra, did you replace Jorge Dalto?
Sonny: Yes, in the Latin Jazz Ensemble. Jorge had his own group called “InterAmerican Band”. In the salsa band, I replaced Ruben Rivera. Eventually, the two formats came together to form a super-combo.
Robert: Of all the arrangements you have done in your career, which is your favorite?
Sonny: I have several, by format.
COMBO:
Typical ’73:
- Chachagüere
- Tula
- Rumba caliente
BIG BAND:
Latin Giants of Jazz:
- Gua Cha Rumba
- I have to conform
- I don’t bother
Mambo Legends Orchestra:
- Conmigo, candela brava 2.
CHARANGA:
Alfredo de la Fé:
- Toca, Alfredo Toca
- El Casabe
Robert: And your favorite piano solo?
Sonny: I have two. El casabe (Alfredo de la Fe LP), because of the relaxed son montuno tempo and because of my favorite format: ¡Charanga moderna! And ¿Adónde vas? (Tito Puente’s LP) because it was recorded live and I could extend the solo, and because it’s the King’s orchestra!
Robert: On January 28, 2003 there was a historic reunion in Puerto Rico, which culminated with the release of the album TIPICA 73 LIVE. How did you live that experience?
Sonny: The audience enjoyed it, but not me. There was flavor and swing, but the piano had a damaged key and I was almost completely out of tune and the choruses were pretty weak. The record was bootlegged before it was released.
Robert: Of today’s pianists, who would you single out?
Sonny: In the Afro-Caribbean Jazz genre (Latin Jazz) there are a ton of Cubans like Chucho Valdés, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Hilario Durán, Ernán López-Nussa, Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán, Iván “Melón” Lewis, Alexis Bosch, Yan Carlos Artime, Rolando Luna, Ramón Valle, Manuel Valera, Daniel Amat, the Venezuelan Luis Perdomo, the Colombian Edy Martínez, etc. In the genre they call salsa, my favorite: Papo Lucca, the poet of the piano, impeccable flavor and swing. Eddie Palmieri is Eddie Palmieri! Oscar Hernandez, Ricky Gonzalez, Edwin Sanchez and Yeissonn Villamar.
Robert: What future do you see for salsa?
Sonny: Unfortunately, I think it is diminishing with the disappearance of the old guard. We need to remember and respect tradition, but we also need to move forward, developing genres and sub-genres. For example, in Cuba, dance is developed and danzonete and danzón emerge. They develop the son and the son montuno, the guaracha, the mozambique, the mambo, the ritmo pilón, the ritmo pa’ cá, etc., emerge. Then came the songo and the timba, all based on the son. Where is the development of the New York, Puerto Rican, Caribbean or South American “salsa”? It is still more or less the same since the day it was discovered. If it were not for the innovations in Cuba, there would be no groups such as: Los Van Van, NG La Banda, La Ritmo Oriental, Klimax, etc. And please don’t talk to me about “salsa monga” or “bachata” or “reggaeton”, which, in my humble opinion, are not innovations, but aberrations!
Exclusive interview with Sonny Bravo
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