He was one of the most soulful and criminally underrated singers in the landscape of Afro-Caribbean music. Venerated by salsa aficionados to this day, Ismael Rivera shone both as the lead sonero with the pioneering combo of bandleader Rafael Cortijo and also as a prolific solo artist. Now, Fania pays tribute to Rivera with the latest installment in the prestigious …

Ismael Rivera MAELO Ismael Rivera is probably my favorite of all the magnificent Afro-Caribbean artists of the last 40 years. Known to all as “The Great Sonero”, this spoiled child from Calma Street –which now bears his name– was the most gifted sonero of his generation. His dexterity with rhythmic phrasing earned him fans throughout the Spanish-speaking world, which idolizes …

Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor, a Puerto Rican salsa pioneer, vocal innovator and master of poly-rhythm, beloved by fans and admired by peers. In Panama, there’s a virtual cult surrounding Rivera, a devotee of that country’s Cristo Negro de Portobelo. “Maelo is the first who decides to ‘break clave,’ ” says Rubén Blades, Panama’s premiere salsero. “He invaded the spaces …

¡Puro sabor! A Christmas recording from the fertile black earth of Puerto Rico, “Feliz Navidad” is dressed in urban New York chic; sporting a funky backbeat to the abundance of bombas expressed here by none other than El Sonero Mayor (the master singer), Ismael Rivera (also known as Maelo). Aside from the guaracha, son montuno and boleros, “Feliz Navidad” swings …

When Ismael Rivera (also known as Maelo) first got the guide tracks from Fania, he immediately put them into his portable recorder and began listening intently, nodding his head and then softly mouthing the lyrics he had already mastered for this recording. For the next few weeks, he was completely concentrated, captivated and in the zone. His compañera, Gladiola, would …

Revered, even deified, Ismael Rivera occupies the berth in the Latin music pantheon by being designated “El Sonero Mayor” (the foremost improvising Latin singer), though there has been recent controversy about when and from whom he acquired this epithet. Needless to say, Rivera, also affectionately known as Maelo, has been showered with superlatives and been the subject of numerous tribute …

The moment you get on this ride you will feel, smell, and taste the sabor of Puerto Rico. A lover of life, women, and song, master singer Ismael Maelo Rivera, along with his compadre Rafael Cortijo, changed the sound of popular Afro-Caribbean music. Mario Hernández’s use of the tres on the opening number recalls a country/bluesy feeling of strolling through …

In order to fully succeed as performers, the singers who blossomed during the heyday of salsa needed to be extremely versatile– able to master the entire spectrum of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and genres. Before he was recruited by Orchestra Harlow and launched his solo career with Fania Records, Ismael Miranda had to demonstrate in New York’s highly competitive music circuit that …

No Voy Al Festival Ismael Miranda The big apple was on fire with salsa music back in 1977. Fania Records had produced two films on the genre, Our Latin Thing and Salsa. The Fania All Stars (FAS) were breaking through global barriers performing in countries around the world from Africa to Scandinavia. Spanish-language commercial radio stations were starting to play …

Ismael Miranda is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the salsa idiom. Considered a hero in his hometown of Aguada, Puerto Rico, Ismael has – in less than four decades – solidified his position as one of the best composers, soneros and singers of Afro-Antillean music. He first recorded with timbalero Joey Pastrana’s orchestra and that year (1967) …

La Clave del Sabor Ismael Miranda Salsa gorda’s pretty boy, Ismael Miranda stands out on his own on this solo recording where he brings us the best of New York and Puerto Rico. He had already made a name for himself fronting Larry Harlow’s early band, collaborating with the Fania All-Stars and then striking out with his own band, La …

The 70s salsa explosion is filled with so many larger-than-life characters – Héctor Lavoe, La Lupe, ‘Maelo’ Rivera – that there is a tendency to forget those superlative singers who stayed away from excess and focused instead on creating a consistent body of work. El niño bonito de la salsa, Ismael Miranda is one such singer. Miranda is arguably the …

By the time that he recorded Este Es Ismael Miranda in 1975, the Puerto Rican singer known affectionately as el niño bonito de la salsa (salsa’s pretty boy) had become one of the genre’s most popular and charismatic artists. Miranda was only 25 years old then, but he had already amassed plenty of experience. First, he had conquered New York …

Ismael Miranda started singing when he was barely an adolescent. It was for that reason that the young singer with the resounding and melodious voice came to be known as the “Pretty Boy.” Gaining popularity as the front man for the Larry Harlow Orchestra and receiving recognition as one of the members of the Fania All Stars, Ismael arrived on …

Here, singer Ismael Miranda takes a front and center stand as composer and lead singer before recording one more final album with Larry Harlow in 1971 and going solo. The statement here was “make way”—and the reason for photographing Miranda separating the fringes of Harlow’s jacket while making his way up from under the Harlow Orchestra. A host of the …

This album, originally released in 1973, the premier recording by “Impacto Crea”, a band which emerged from a drug addiction re-education project, features the voices of Frankie Hernandez, former singer for the Bobby Valentin Orchestra (whose handiwork as recording director played a vital part to the success of this album) and Fania All Star Cheo Feliciano on “Que Es Lo …

To enjoy an artist’s music recorded in a studio is one thing, but to hear (or actually see) a singer’s live performance on stage is another thing altogether. Especially when that artist is Héctor Lavoé. As so many of Lavoé’s fans continually remind me, I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with Héctor on stage and sharing a personal friendship …

Nineteen eighty was a high-intensity news year. In December, John Lennon was shot. The month before, President Jimmy Carter, who had announced the United States’ boycott of the Olympics in Moscow and who was struggling with the Iranian hostage situation, lost the election to former actor Ronald Reagan. Earlier in the year, Mayor Edward I. Koch crossed the Brooklyn Bridge …

Known sarcastically as “the King of Punctuality,” for his innate inability to arrive to his shows on time, the Puerto Rican’s affable nature earned him the adoration of music lovers, who crammed into performance halls throughout the Spanish-speaking world. I heard LaVoe tell his public many times, after arriving late to one of his own shows, “I’m not late – …