The duo’s sessions for the Alegre, Tico and Vaya labels are a treasure trove of salsa gems, the albums that they recorded following 1975 showcase Christian swing at its most original, with a more mature Richie Ray fusing Afro-Caribbean rhythms with novel elements of jazz and classical music. Richie and Bobby met as teenagers, growing together in Brooklyn. Their mothers, …
Making the transition from the ghettos of New York Latin barrios to the heights of the music world requires enormous character. Such is the case of Ray Barretto. Never straying from his roots, he was a great admirer of swing, jam, jazz, and the genres’ most noted figures, such as Dizzy Gillespie. He made these genres his own. His career …
A little James Brown mixed-in with Hector Lavoe. Inside, a heart full of Latin soul. The Latin voice of New York City: Ralfi Pagán was the young man behind some of the grooviest Latin fusion albums ever to be put down on vinyl. His early seventies Fania recordings stand out as consummate examples of Latin soul at its very peak. …
In the 1970s, a new generation of young Puerto Ricans born and raised in New York City began looking for a way to connect with their ancestral roots. The boogaloo was just the ticket: a fusion of Latin and soul beats, the genre had an enormous impact on the Latin youth of the time. Pete Rodríguez, a young man of …
No wonder they called him “The Count” – Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez was one of the most gentlemanly singers that Afro-Caribbean music has ever known. True, he could be appropriately rough and gritty in the process of generating some serious salsa combustion, but he never lost his aristocratic demeanor in the process. With a perennial smile of contentment in his …
If the legendary Gran Combo represents the meat-and-potatoes of Puerto Rican salsa, then the equally revered Sonora Ponceña must be some sort of exquisite dish for the discriminating palate– a smooth crème brulée, perhaps, overflowing with jazzy harmonies and sophistication. La Ponceña owes most of its refinement to the piano playing of musical director Papo Lucca– the son of original …
Ernie Agosto y Orquesta La Conspiracion recorded this album, “Ernie’s Conspiracy,” for Fania’s Vaya label back in 1972, and the album still sounds fresh enough to challenge the contemporary Salsa bands of today. It was produced by Willie Colon who certainly demanded a good, tight sound and engineered by multi-Grammy winner, Jon Fausty, who credits this album as being the …
In 1980, despite the “immensity” of artists multiplying on the popular music scene, a group emerged from the din that baptized itself with the same name: Orquesta Inmensidad. The choice of names was very intentional, according to the group’s founder and director, Raúl Gallimore, who had the support of Fidel and Alfonzo Oro. Together, they gave shape to a rhythmic …
One of the most colorful and talented individuals in the music industry was the inimitable Frankie Dante. His bohemian behavior endeared him to the countless fans that followed his Orchestra Flamboyan whenever they performed. Sadly, Frankie, born in Santo Domingo in 1945, succumbed to cancer on March 1 of 1993. He is still appreciated by underground salsa fans everywhere and …
If you happen to be the kind of music fan who enjoys the textured, somewhat rough, smoky flavor of the Afro-Caribbean albums recorded in New York during the late ’60s and early ’70s, you are bound to be moved deeply by Orchestra Harlow Presenta A Ismael Miranda. Released in 1971 when Miranda was 21 years old, this tightly arranged session …
