Descarga.com Classics Revisited, Issue #21 (Pete "El Conde", Sabu Martinez, Fania All Stars)
Bruce Polin
bruce at descarga.com
Thu Nov 8 12:38:51 EST 2007
The Descarga Review • November 08, 2007
Brought to you by Descarga.com
Classics Revisited, Issue #21:
- Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez Este Negro Si Es Sabroso
- Sabú Martinez Jazz Espagnole
- Lebron Brothers Criollo
- Fania All Stars Latin-Soul-Rock
- Fania All Stars Live In Japan 1976
by John Child
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Classics Revisited, Issue #21
PETE "EL CONDE" RODRIGUEZ
Este Negro Si Es Sabroso
Fania / Emusica - Remastered Edition
Originally released: 1976
Reissued: 2006
Category: SALSA/SON; SALSA: CLASSIC 1960s or 1970s NEW YORK
**Classic Revisited**
After spending the best part of a decade singing with the bands of
Fania Records co-founder Johnny Pacheco, Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez
(1933-2000) - like so many salsa band lead singers at the height of
the 1970s New York salsa boom - decided to cash in on his well-
deserved fame and go solo. He recorded a handful of solo albums on
Fania between 1974 and 1982 retaining the typical Cuban two-trumpet
conjunto format used by Pacheco, who directed his bestselling and
award-winning debut El Conde (1974). Louie Ramírez produced his 1976
bestselling follow-up Este Negro Si Es Sabroso, which spawned his
trademark hits "Catalina La O" (composed by Johnny Ortiz and arranged
by José Febles) and "Pueblo Latino" (written by "Tite" Curet Alonso
and arranged by Louie Cruz). The personnel are not listed on the
record, however in a 2005 interview with Oscar Hernández, the leader
of the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra revealed to me that he
and conga player Julio Castro (later a bandleader in his own right)
were on the session. Oscar played piano with Pete for about two or
three years, describing his group as "one of the best conjuntos for
sure in New York at that time, and Pete was one of the best singers
ever to this day. What a talent." He admitted that it pissed him off
that he did not receive a credit on Este Negro Si Es Sabroso.
Oscar could not recall who else was involved in the session, but
remembered that in addition to Castro, El Conde's rhythm section at
the time included bongosero Victor Cruz and bassist Benji ("I don't
remember his last name"). "The trumpet section was always José Febles
and the other trumpet player varied, such as Tony Cofresi and Luis
Doñé." He regards the late Febles as "one of the most talented
musicians I've ever met. It's like God said to him: 'You're going to
be a musician,' because he had perfect pitch and was an amazing
talent. He was one of the best arrangers. He could literally arrange
a song in an hour for a whole band. So listening to his stuff had a
big influence on me." In addition to "Catalina La O", Febles arranged
"Amor Perdido" by Pedro Flores and the Alonso compositions "La
Abolición" and "Sentimiento", on which Oscar takes a solo; Papo Lucca
wrote the charts for "Cuando Estoy Contigo", "Se Vende Un Corazón"
and the Alonso penned "Tumbakutun" and Louie Cruz wrote the
arrangement for Alonso's "Guaguancó De Amor". "I bought the CD of
Este Negro Si Es Sabroso," Oscar added, "and I sat in my car and I
went like: "Wow!" That's an incredible CD. It smokes from beginning
to end."
Very Highly Recommended. (John Child)
SONG TITLES:
1. Catalina La O (5:11) 2. La Abolicion (5:24) 3. Cuando Estoy
Contigo (5:25) 4. Se Vende Un Corozon (5:42) 5. Sentimiento (4:45) 6.
Tumbakutun (4:48) 7. Amor Perdido (4:55) 8. Pueblo Latino (4:26) 9.
Guaguanco De Amor (4:31)
MUSICIANS:
• Oscar Hernández: Piano
• Julio Castro: Conga
• José Febles: Trumpet
• Victor "Vitín" Paz: Trumpet
• Adalberto Santiago: Coro
• Others...
$13.98
• Buy_Now
SABU MARTINEZ
Jazz Espagnole
Fania / Emusica - Remastered Edition
Originally released: 1961
Reissued: 2007
Category: LATIN JAZZ; LATIN JAZZ
**Classic Revisited**
Exclusive to Descarga.com, here is a commentary about this classic
recording from the album's producer Al Santiago (1932-1996)
transcribed from a 1993 audio letter to John Child:
The album Alegre 802 is titled Sabú Martínez and his Jazz-Espagnole
(1960). I don't know if I regret using that phrase instead of calling
it "Latin jazz", but there it is.
Those percussion things we have at the beginning and end of the A
side we called gems. At the beginning of side A we have "Intro" gem,
then we have "The Oracle" written by Louie Ramírez, "I Remember
Carmen", also by Louie, "Delilah" by Livingstone and Evans and
"Breakin' It In" written by Marty Sheller, who plays trumpet here and
who went on to become one of the best arrangers in New York City and
always held the musical director chair with the Mongo Santamaría
band. At the end of the A side we have the "Flipping" gem. At the
beginning of the B side we have "Otra Vez" gem, then "Flamenco Ain't
Bad" written by Louie Ramírez, "Woody'n You" by Dizzy Gillespie,
"Enchantment" by Horace Silver and "Nica's Dream" also by Silver, and
the "Coda" gem.
Sabú's cry of "Ubas" at the end of the "Coda" gem is Sabú backwards
because that is the tail end of the record. This album gave birth to
the studio chatter because this is where Sabú got up at the end of
one cut and said, "Hold it, I've got to go to the bathroom." We
caught it on tape and heard it later. Roy Ramírez, the engineer, and
myself looked at each other and our eyes sparkled as we told each
other without talking: "We're gonna keep this in the tape just for
laughs." And later this grew into studio chatter (notably featured on
the Alegre All Stars albums).
The personnel: leader and conga, Sabú Martínez; percussion: Louie
Ramírez on timbales, and Ernie Newsum on bongos. Ernie later played
with Eddie Palmieri for a while. Trumpet, Marty Sheller; alto sax by
Bobby Porcelli who played with Machito, Tito Rodríguez, Tito Puente
and Mongo and is considered one of the best alto men in the city. On
piano we had Arty Jenkins, who just before the session was going to
be drafted into the army. It just so happened that my compadre, Tom
Rosado, a graduate engineer who was working for me as a national
sales manager and wrote the liner notes, had a girlfriend in the
draft board and was able to keep Arty out of the draft for a week or
two. Word got out that we had got clout! On bass was Bill Salter.
Tommy's liner notes read: "Quite apart from the fact that it is
difficult, if not impossible to please everyone, the music contained
in this LP will not be appreciated by some. This, due to the mild
controversy existing over the adaptation of Latin rhythms to jazz. Up
to now, we have seen many attempts in this direction with some
good ...and many unfortunate results. To this controversy Sabú
Martínez brings his own solution, i.e. not adapting Latin rhythms to
jazz or vice versa, but allowing each to retain its individual form.
The result, as this LP illustrates, is a parallel flow of musical
ideas, at times fusing and at others providing exciting divergent
patterns." Very nice Tommy (Rest In Peace). Tommy died at the age of
59 and it was a real hurt because he was a guy who took care of
himself. He played handball and worked out and had just remarried for
about the third or fourth time and had just had a child.
Tommy's notes continue: "Sabú is well schooled to accomplish his
goal, having an extensive background in both the Latin and jazz
idioms. He has contributed his talents to such big Latin bands as
Noro Morales, Miguelito Valdés and the Lecuona Cuban Boys. His deep
comprehension of jazz was gained through his association with Art
Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie and the late Charlie Parker. Sabú's reply,
when questioned about his objective in presenting JAZZ-ESPAGNOLE to
the public was, '...to play the music that I like and know best; with
the hope it will also be enjoyed by the public.' We trust that you
feel, as we do, that this goal he has definitely achieved."
Very Highly Recommended. (John Child)
SONG TITLES:
1. Intro (:26) 2. The Oracle (4:52) 3. I Remember Carmen (3:58) 4.
Delilah (4:19) 5. Breakin' It In (4:12) 6. Flipping (:22) 7. Otra Vez
(:19) 8. Flamenco Ain't Bad (4:21) 9. Woody'n You (5:03) 10.
Enchantment (4:30) 11. Nica's Dream (6:37) 12. Coda (:16)
MUSICIANS:
• Sabu Martinez: Leader and conga
• Louie Ramirez: Percussion
• Marty Sheller: Trumpet
• Bobby Porcelli: Alto sax
• Ernie Newsum: Percussion
• Arty Jenkins: Piano
• Bill Salter: Bass
$13.98
• Buy_Now
LEBRON BROTHERS
Criollo
Fania / Emusica - Remastered Edition
Originally released: 1982
Reissued: 2007
Category: SALSA/SON; SALSA
**Classic Revisited**
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn, the Lebrón Brothers
celebrated their 40th anniversary in the business in 2006, a career
spanning five decades doing it uniquely and uncompromisingly their
way: funky, gritty, streetwise and relentlessly swinging, always
mixing Spanish lyrics, Latin tunes and English language R&B/soul-
oriented numbers. Between 1967 and 1982 they knocked-out 16 albums on
the Cotique Records label founded in late 1965 by George Goldner
(1918-1970). They first visited Colombia in 1979, where they
continued to grow in status and recorded three albums there,
including their live 35th anniversary album in 2002.
Criollo was the Lebrón Brothers last outing for Cotique and spawned
the immortal "Sin Negro No Hay Guaguancó" (Without The Black Man,
There Would Be No Guaguancó), co-penned by Angel Lebrón and Aura M.
de Velázquez, which has virtually become an anthem in Cali, Colombia,
and "Diez Lágrimas", another Angel Lebrón gem with a subtle string
orchestration, which also acquired "super hit" status in Colombia.
The liner notes quote John Walsh, trumpeter with the Grammy Award
winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, who began playing with the Lebrón's
in the mid-'80s. "Criollo, that's a classic," he says. "The
importance of "Diez Lágrimas" and "Sin Negro No Hay Guaguancó" in
particular will survive the vinyl into which they were pressed. It's
amazing to me when we do gigs anywhere in the world where one might
find Colombians, that everybody know the words to every song. Kids
that were yet to be born when this album was recorded, easily sing
along with their grandparents."
Very Highly Recommended. (John Child)
SONG TITLES:
1. Yo Te Cante (4:07) 2. Siempre Sera (5:07) 3. Voy A Caminar (4:05)
4. Esposa Y Querida (5:07) 5. Madre (3:34) 6. Diez Lagrimas (5:09) 7.
Sabor A Mi (3:14) 8. Sin Negro No Hay Guaguanco (3:33) 9. Abran
Camino (4:18)
MUSICIANS:
• Angel Lebron: Bass, coro
• José Lebron: Piano, coro
• Carlos Lebron: Bongo, coro
• Frankie Lebron: Trombone
• Ruben Lebron: Trombone
• Joseph Trapaneses: Trumpet
• Charlie Hernandez: Trumpet
• Willie Rodriguez: Trumpet
• Edwin Acevedo: Timbales
• Osvaldo Acevedo: Percussion
• Louie Cruz: Percussion
• Pablo Lebron: Lead singer
$13.98
• Buy_Now
FANIA ALL STARS
Latin-Soul-Rock
Fania / Emusica - Remastered Edition
Originally released: 1974
Reissued: 2007
Category: SALSA/SON; SALSA: CLASSIC 1960s or 1970s NEW YORK
**Classic Revisited**
It wasn't 1975's two-volume Live At Yankee Stadium - ironically
recorded mainly in Puerto Rico - on which material from the Fania All
Stars historic Yankee Stadium concert first appeared, but Latin-Soul-
Rock released the previous year. The August 24, 1973 event was
intended to demonstrate the All Stars' fusion chops and crossover
potential, hence the invited guests Manu Dibango, Jorge "Malo"
Santana, Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer and the album's title. However
the concert had to abandoned before the fusion material could be
performed live because an overexcited audience stormed the stage.
"The crowds started to jump from the lodge seats to the field seats,
it looked like a waterfall of people," commented one of the
organisers. "The security guy picked up Jerry Masucci and carried him
into the dugout." It was Masucci (1934-1997), Fania's co-founder,
who, against advice, had taken the bold decision to stage New York
salsa's first stadium event.
Latin-Soul-Rock salvages two numbers from the All Stars' Yankee
Stadium performance, the Ray Barretto / Mongo Santamaría conga duel
"Congo Bongo" and Cheo Feliciano's scintillating reinterpretation of
his Joe Cuba Sextet hit "El Ratón", featuring a soaring electric
guitar solo from Santana. The third live cut, "Soul Makossa", was
recorded at the super-group's debut in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opening
the new Roberto Clemente Coliseum. Fania All Stars live are what they
indisputably do best. After the aborted Yankee Stadium gig, the band
and its invited guests retreated to the Good Vibration Sound Studios
to record "Viva Tirado", "Chanchullo", "Smoke", "There You Go" and
"Mama Guela", the five fusion numbers they were prevented from
performing live.
Highly Recommended. (John Child)
SONG TITLES:
1. Viva Tirado (5:23) 2. Chanchullo (5:36) 3. Smoke (4:04) 4. There
You Go (3:09) 5. Mama Guela (2:54) 6. El Raton (7:54) 7. Soul Makossa
(5:45) 8. Congo Bongo (10:19)
MUSICIANS:
• Bobby Cruz: Vocals
• Cheo Feliciano: Vocals
• Héctor Lavoe: Vocals
• Ismael Miranda: Vocals
• Ray Barretto: Conga
• Willie Colón, Lewis Kahn, Barry Rogers: Trombone
• Larry Harlow, Ricardo Ray: Piano
• Johnny Pacheco: Musical director, güiro, chimes, percussion
• Roberto Roena: Bongo
• Bobby Valentin: Bass
• Justo Betancourt: Singer
• Santos Colón: Singer
• Ismael Miranda: Singer
• Pete El Conde Rodriguez: Singer
• Ray Maldonado, Lou Solof, Luis Perico Ortiz: Trumpet
• Yomo Toro: Tres
• Nicky Marrero: Timbales
• Guests: Manu Dibango: Sax
• Jorge Santana: Electric guitar
• Billy Cobham: Drums / Jan Hammer - Hammond organ
$13.98
• Buy_Now
FANIA ALL STARS
Fania All Stars Live In Japan 1976
Fania / Emusica - Remastered Edition
Originally released: 1976
Reissued: 2007
Category: SALSA/SON; SALSA: CLASSIC 1960s or 1970s NEW YORK
**Classic Revisited**
1975-6 was a pivotal period of expansion in the history of the Fania
Records label co-founded in 1964 by Jerry Masucci (1934-1997). For
instance, he struck deals with Columbia in the USA (for a series of
crossover-oriented albums by the Fania All Stars, the company's
flagship supergroup) and Island Records in the UK (resulting in the
release of a compilation and two Fania All Stars' albums). 1976 was
also the year the All Stars first performed in Europe, notably at the
MIDEM festival in Cannes, France, and London's Lyceum Ballroom, and
in Japan, where the material contained in this album was recorded.
While Live In Japan 1976 reprises numbers from the band's earlier
live albums, namely, "Descarga Fania" and "Quítate Tú" (both from
Live At The Cheetah Vol. 1; the latter was also one of the hits
spawned by the movie Our Latin Thing), "Ponte Duro" (from Live At The
Cheetah Vol. 2; later recorded by Roberto Roena for his 1973 Apollo
Sound 5 album on International Records), "El Ratón" (from Latin-Soul-
Rock) and "Mi Debilidad" (from Live At Yankee Stadium Vol. 2;
subsequently a solo hit for Ismael Quintana from his 1974 debut album
on Vaya Records), it includes three songs not previously issued in a
live form by the All Stars. These are "Lamento De Un Guajiro",
originally sung by its composer Ismael Miranda with Orchestra Harlow
in a block party scene in Our Latin Thing, "Mambo Mongo", a hit from
Mongo Santamaría's Grammy-nominated album Afro-Indio (Vaya, 1975),
and the Tito Puente classic "Picadillo". The All Stars' studio
version of the latter was included in Delicate & Jumpy (Columbia /
Island, 1976), a collaboration with British rock star Steve Winwood.
Live In Japan has been criticised for its audio quality and editing,
nevertheless it documents an important landmark in the history of
salsa's most famous supergroup. A must for collectors.
Recommended. (John Child)
SONG TITLES:
1. Descarga Fania (4:36) 2. Lamento Guajiro (8:30) 3. Mambo Mongo
(3:38) 4. Picadillo (4:55) 5. Ei Raton (7:37) 6. Mi Debilidad (5:37)
7. Quitate Tu (7:14) 8. Ponte Duro (2:33)
MUSICIANS:
• Bobby Valentin: Bass
• Johnny Pacheco: Flute
• Pupi Legaretta: Violin
• Mongo Santamaria: Conga
• Larry Harlow: Electric piano, piano
• Yomo Toro: Cuatro
• Luis Perico Ortiz: Trumpet
• Reinaldo Jorge: Trombone
• Hector "Bomberito" Zarzuela: Trumpet
• Roberto Roena: Bongo
• Lewis Kahn: Trombone, violin
• Ismael Miranda: Vocals, Coro
• Ismael Quintana: Vocals, Coro
• Cheo Feliciano: Vocals, Coro
• Santos Colon: Vocals, Coro
$13.98
• Buy_Now
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