What A Feeling! (¡Que Sentimiento!) Héctor Lavoe “Willie Colón/Héctor Lavoe Split-Up” declared the headline in Latin NY magazine. To the amazement of the Latin music industry, Colón had turned back at the airport just minutes before he was due to fly out to Africa with the Fania All Stars to perform before the 1974 Mohammed Ali/George Foreman heavyweight title fight, …
Seeped in heartbreak and regret, this rare recording of Héctor Lavoe in concert during the last chapter of his career is meant to be studied and enjoyed by serious salsa aficionados. If you are not yet familiar with the magic of El Cantante de los Cantantes (the singer of all singers), listening to such classic studio albums as La Voz …
LATIN CONNECTION FANIA ALL STARS The sound of strings and symphonic orchestrations got hold of the New York salsa scene, following the experiments that Willie Colón had pioneered in the albums Solo and Maestra Vida. Justo Betancourt, Sonora Ponceña, Ismael Quintana, Roberto Roena and a number of other artists incorporated violins to their productions, partly as a response to the …
The 1989 album “Guasasa” is the last studio album for the Fania Six, the Fania All Stars offshoot created in 1976 by Columbia Records for marketing purposes. It features their rhythm section comprised of: Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Bobby Valentín, Roberto Roena, Nicky Marrero and virtuoso pianist Papo Lucca. Clearly intended as a Latin jazz set, this album actually bears …
Condensed together in one single disc, the greatest hits by the legendary orchestra known as the Fania All Stars paint a vivid picture – in bold, stark colors – of the salsa explosion that shook Latin music during the ’70s and ’80s. The concept itself sounds hopelessly naive: expecting the greatest singers, instrumentalists and bandleaders of an entire genre to …
The Fania All Stars, the house band of Fania Records, comprised of the label’s bandleaders, top sidemen and vocalists, and whose history represented the rise and promulgation of salsa as a marketing tag for Latin music, had their relatively humble beginnings at the Red Garter club in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1968. The band’s Monday night performance with invited …
Released in 1980, “Commitment” marks Fania All Stars’ formal return to full-time salsa swinging after a bittersweet end to their crossover period under Columbia Records. By this time, a lot had changed for the All Stars. Longtime band-leading stalwarts like Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Larry Harlow and Bobby Valentín were now gone–the latter no longer a Fania Records act. Others, …
In 1988, the year in which Héctor Lavoe tried to kill himself by jumping from the nineth floor of the Hotel Regency in Condado, Puerto Rico, the Fania All Stars faced a wave of sensual and cosmetic salsa with the production “Bamboleo”. In plain ‘boom’ of erotic salsa, representatives of the ‘old school’ like Héctor Lavoe, Cheo Feliciano and Ismael …
Vamonos Pa’l Monte is one of the most important recordings of Eddie Palmieri, who arguably was one of the foremost Latin pianists of the second half of the 20th century. He also was a widely acclaimed composer, arranger, producer and band leader. In 1969, after several highly influential albums with his own legendary band, La Perfecta, Palmieri embarked on a …
Just look at the cover art of “Superimposition” and you’re reminded of the psychedelic paintings of Peter Maxx, an artist who changed the landscape of visual arts in America during the 1970s. On this album, Eddie Palmieri was changing the landscape of Latin dance music. First, he extended the dance numbers that had–-pre E.P.—been relegated to no more than four …
A transitional period for both “El Rumbero Del Teclado” Eddie Palmieri and the society that was changing, 1969 marked historical timelines that transformed nations. Hundreds of thousands were already taking to the streets in protest of a controversial war. Woodstock became the counter culture concert with half a million hippies and flower children taking center stage on the news. Richard …
The White Album was recorded in early 1981. Originally titled “Eddie Palmieri”, it became known as The White Album, which referred to the LP’s white cover. In fact, this record was as significant for Palmieri as the same-nicknamed album was for The Beatles. Here is what some Latin and jazz musicians have to say about The White Album: A classic …
A transitional recording during a time of rapid societal change, “Champagne” marks the morphing of mambo to salsa in New York City with boogaloo as its bridge. Although mortally criticized by established bandleaders, the industry, and musicians alike, these groups could not afford to ignore this fusion of Latin rhythms with R & B back beats driven by English/Spanglish lyrics …
One of the brightest jewels in the opulent crown of the Tico record label, “Bamboléate” was the second and last collaboration between Latin jazz giant Cal Tjader and salsa pioneer Eddie Palmieri. A unique session, it evokes a feeling of utter restraint and supreme elegance that is just what the doctor ordered in this day and age. “Bamboléate” is a …
“Azucar Pa’ Ti (Sugar For You)” has got to be the definitive Eddie Palmieri recording during his early days with La Perfecta . An established band by 1965, La Perfecta made some big noise on the dance floor playing at all the hot venues, including the legendary Palladium. The group rode the pop crest of the charanga craze, helping to …
Because of his eccentric vision, jarring aesthetic choices and a weakness for overwhelming sonic excess, Eddie Palmieri fits the definition of idiosyncratic genius better than any other artist in the landscape of Afro-Caribbean music. Palmieri is a salsa magician, the man who broke all the rules and lived to tell about it. A destroyer of conventions and conjurer of a …
