BREAKING: La Bruja @ Duke TONIGHT (10/24)

BREAKING: Just learned that Nuyorican spoken word artist and rapper La Bruja, aka Caridad de la Luz, performs at a student-sponsored event on the Duke campus tonight. It's FREE and OPEN to the public, and there has been a last minute venue change. The following information was confirmed for me by the artist today at 3 pm:

La Bruja performs tonight, Monday (10/24) from 6-7 pm, followed by discussion until 8 pm, in the McLendon Tower, 5th floor media room. This building is part of the new Keohane Quad on Duke's West Campus (see map here).



Here's a 2009 article about La Bruja in the New York Times. She's performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

La Bruja artist webpage
La Bruja on Facebook

Plenero Soul

On my radio show this week, one of the tunes I played to advertise Los Pleneros de la 21 was "Chiviriquiton," a plena/rap fusion from the 2005 album Para Todos Ustedes. Little did I know, I would be singing coro to that very song at last night's workshop, as Jose Rivera spit rhymes:



I learned a lot of things from the workshop, like that oldtimers used to recycle banjos and drums into panderetas, the hand-held frame-drums of plena. When a drum dies, it goes to plena heaven.

The origin of the term "plena" is undetermined, but various stories circulate; one says it derives from newspaper terminology (plena is known as "the newspaper of the streets"); another that it is related to a woman's name; a third, that it comes from the phrase "plena luna" (full moon).

A lot of the coros are "standards" and the bodies of songs are changed and added on to, depending on the occasion and the performer. This makes it difficult, however, for modern pleneros to establish songwriting credit on their improvisations, a fact Jose mentioned. Jose carries on the plena tradition from his father, Ramon Rivera.





I also learned that bomba, of Kongo origin and found around the coasts of Puerto Rico, has many different styles, some of them regional, and including: bomba yubá, bomba sicá, bomba holandés. Mayagüez has some of the oldest bomba, and is known as a birthplace of sorts, whereas Loíza Aldea is a hotspot for bomba, with some of the fastest varieties.



I was absolutely struck by the confluence of Julia's bomba dancing and Afro-Cuban rumba as it is danced by men. Clearly the importance of Kongo culture and the connections between all these diaspora art forms in the Caribbean has yet to be fully grasped (by me, at least--I'm sure we need more books about it). We were told there is no easy-to-find song book or written resource for plena songs, and none at all for bomba songs.


Julia Gutierrez dances bomba in this video from the workshop.

There seems to be a certain deep, ancestral, spiritual remembrance embedded in these traditions, even if they are not tied to a clear religious practice such as one finds with Santería. Bomba musicians have different schools of thought on the spirituality of bomba, apparently, which was outlawed on parts of the island until very recently (how recently? I have to find out).

There's a lot more in my notes and videos, I will post more when I have time to go over them. In the meantime, Julia Gutierrez gave the dopest dance lessons in plena and bomba! No lectures, no stopping of music, just non-stop action.



On hand for the workshop: LP21 founder and leader Juan Gutierrez, Jose Rivera, Camilo Molina, Alex Lasalle and Julia Gutierrez. A fuller complement arrive for the concert TONIGHT at 7pm in UNC Memorial, slated to include: Nellie Tanco (lead vocals/dance), Sammy Tanco (lead vocals), Desmar Guevara (piano), Pete Nater (trumpet), Waldo Chavez (bass) and Nelson Gonzalez (dance/percussion).

This FREE event remains sold out, but I recommend going early to see if seats are available at the door. There will be SOME seats but how many, is anyone's guess. Also, bear in mind it's football night so parking and traffic may be affected.

Los Pleneros de la 21 ARRIVE THURSDAY (10/15)

Here's a brief update on Los Pleneros de la 21's two-day residency at UNC-Chapel Hill this week. The premier bombiplena group from New York, performing Puerto Rican folkloric music and dance, will be arriving Thursday (10/15).

The free concert in UNC Memorial Hall on Friday (10/16) at 7 pm is already "SOLD OUT." This means all the advance tickets have been distributed. I don't know if any tickets have been held in reserve. In other words, I DON'T have any insider info, but if you feel you need to be there, and you don't mind taking a chance on not getting in, I'd advise going early to see if any more tickets or open seats become available at the door.

TICKET UPDATE: Havana Grill in Cary has been distributing some of the tickets for Friday night's Memorial Hall concert; I just called over there (3 pm Wed) and apparently they still have about 40 tickets left. Another distribution point is Caribbean Cafe in Raleigh; as of 5 pm Wed they have 3 tickets left, call ahead: 919-872-4858.

Non-ticket-holders should also consider attending the free Community Bomba y Plena Workshop which LP 21 will hold Thursday (10/15) at 7 pm in the Sonya Hanes Stone Center for Black Culture on UNC campus.

It will be a smaller group (not all of the musicians will have arrived yet), but the event will be informal and participatory, so you will get to interact with the musicians and dancers up close. It is open to anyone, adults or children, no experience is required. On Wednesday noon I was told there were about 50 spaces left in the workshop. Reservations are recommended; to do so, call or email Ursula Littlejohn, ulittlej@email.unc.edu or 962-9001.

More developing...

She Mambos

It's that Sotomayor mambo, at last. Music courtesy of Bobby Sanabria.



Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dance partner is Esai Morales, who played the motorcycle-riding bad boy half-brother of Richie Valenzuela in La Bamba. Not bad.

The event was the Sept. 15 gala for the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.

one more goodbye

Gotta say farewell and good luck to Alfredo Morua Averhoff, who joined our music scene for a short time this summer. Alfredo, a master pastry chef, moved back to New York suddenly for professional reasons, and his presence is already missed. He was an easygoing, adaptable musician who sang rumba and played percussion with Tambor Vivo among others.

Unforgettably, Alfredo sang me a birthday rumba at their last concert at the Carrboro Century Center, with some very beautiful personalized lyrics. That was the icing on the cake.

We will miss Alfredo's smile, his Cuban style, and his bald profile! (Of which he is proud.) He knows he's got friends in Carolina.

Links:
Search Alfredo Morua on Onda Carolina
Indy Best of the Triangle 2009: Alfredo at work at The Mad Hatter

never enough harp

I just discovered that the musical Castañeda family, masters of the Colombian folk harp, have set down roots right here in the Triangle. Patriarch Pavelid Castañeda Sr. (pictured), the harpist I raved about at La Fiesta this year, makes his home Chapel Hill. (He and his wife moved here from New York in 2006 when one of their sons received a soccer scholarship to Duke.) A full-time musician and music educator, Pavelid wowed Fiesta audiences with his solo take on "Oye Como Va," as well as traditional llanera music of Colombia's eastern plains.

It turns out, I've been listening to the music of Pavelid's children for years, and didn't know it. Johanna Castañeda has sung backup on Jimmy Bosch's great salsa dura albums, and takes center stage on one tune on Jimmy's latest, A Millon!. Johanna, also a folk dancer and a harpist, gigs regularly in the New York area as a cuatro guitarist and vocalist.

Her older sister, Angela Pilar Castañeda, also sings and plays the Venezuelan cuatro professionally. She and her father performed as a duo for over a decade. Now Angela is an active church musician who resides in Florida.

Youngest son Pavelid Jr. played "soccer for Duke and harp for my family," according to his myspace. The Duke '09 grad plays both these days in the New York area, coaching soccer at Nassau Community College and playing harp at a Colombian restaurant.

Meanwhile, eldest son Edmar Castaneda is breaking paradigms with his introduction of the Colombian folk harp to jazz's highest echelons.
Edmar's jaw-dropping live renditions of Latin jazz tunes are the stuff of legend, and Edmar is frequently invited to play with top guns in the Latin and Jazz worlds such as Arturo O'Farrill, Wynton Marsalis, Lila Downs, Candido Camero and Paquito D'Rivera.



Married to Colombian vocalist Andrea Tierra, Edmar will perform with her at 7 pm this Sunday (9/13) in Asheville at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The concert is sponsored by the WNC Jazz Society.

Want to hear the Castañeda magic a little closer to home? Pavelid Sr. plays the Colombian harp weekly for dinner guests at Dos Taquitos Centro in downtown Raleigh, Thursdays from 7-9 pm. He also plays at The Umstead for brunch and afternoon tea several times a month. Catch him while you can; father and son will be travelling to France and Israel together in October and November.

NPR Review: Mazeltov Mis Amigos

A rare delight to hear this story on NPR as I was washing dishes this morning:

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday (8/22): Jewish Classics Live Again, Set to Latin Beats

Jon Kalish interviews Arturo O'Farrill, Mark Weinstein, Irving Fields and Larry Harlow on the Jewish New York Latin scene. Beautiful. When they talked about Barry Rogers, and played a bit of his glorious trombone playing with La Perfecta, my eyes teared up and my cintura moved on its own. What a high.



The facts: Mazeltov Mis Amigos is a recently reissued '60s album which a lot of Latin and jazz greats recorded under the fake name "Juan Calle & His Latin Lantzmen" (but who was the real bandleader??)*. The music will be recreated in a Lincoln Center Concert. (But when?? Sunday, 8/23, 8:00 p.m.) I assume the concert is Arturo O'Farrill's baby. How great that he got Irving Fields, a Jewish Latin pioneer, to play piano! And who knew that Fields still plays 6 nights a week in New York City! (But where?? Nino's Tuscany, 117 W. 58th St, between 6th & 7th Avenues.)

A hair short on information for the actual enthusiast, NPR. But still, kudos on painting a well-rounded picture of the Jewish Latin scene.

*From Riverside Records via Amazon.com: "Neither Juan nor his Latin Lantzmen were actually Lantzmen, and only some were actually Latin. Juan was John Cali, an Italian-American banjo picker and radio veteran best known for his work with the Vincent Lopez Orchestra and a string of solo banjo outings. His Latin Lantzmen included some of the biggest names in 50s and 60s Latin music conguero Ray Barretto, timbales guru Willie Rodriguez, pianist Charlie Palmieri playing alongside African-American jazz greats Clark Terry, Doc Cheatham, Lou Oles, and Wendell Marshall. The sole Lantzmen was Yiddish vocalist Ed Powell."

Also recommended:

Larry Harlow's interview with David Carp on Descarga.com

Service for Peter Heiman SUNDAY (8/2)

At Montas Lounge. Photo courtesy of Pilar Montas.

It's with sadness that I report the passing of Peter Heiman, a friend and local salsa enthusiast who remained an active part of our scene until his death last month at age 79.

I'd heard many exciting tales from Peter's life, about his family's escape from Nazi Germany when he was a young child, and about his trips to Havana in the 1950s where he danced mambo and cha cha cha. Still, I learned a lot I didn't know about Peter's eventful life from this obituary, written by his daughter and son-in-law, Heidi and Robert Venier:

Peter W. Heiman obituary published in the Carrboro Citizen, July 23, 2009

Though visually impaired, Peter creatively beat social isolation. At the old Montas Lounge, I first met Peter on the dancefloor. He would dance with me (and all the other ladies) and at the end, request to be taken to the next dance partner.

Peter was also an avid listener to my radio show, Azucar y Candela, Wednesdays 6-8 pm on WXDU 88.7 FM. Once he won concert tickets I was giving away, and when I personally dropped them off at his home, he wouldn't let me leave without giving me something. That turned out to be a giant chocolate bar. His kindness and joie de vivre always left a smile on one's face.


Peter authored a cookbook in 1993. Photo courtesy of Heidi and Robert Venier.

Peter loved life, and he definitely loved Afro-Cuban rhythm. One of his favorite songs was "Oriente" by Henry Fiol, and whenever I played it, without fail, he would call me up at the station and we'd have a nice chat. He always ended our calls by saying, "thank you for playing such beautiful music." Peter was a special listener; I'll miss him.

If you remember Peter Heiman, or have stories to share at his memorial service, please join us at a celebration his life THIS SUNDAY (8/2), 2-4 pm at the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill.


Postscript, updated 8/2:

I will add some notes soon about the gathering for Peter. In the meantime, here is a nice picture I took tonight of his daughter Heidi and her husband Bobby. She's a jazz singer and has worked A&R in the music business, interestingly enough. We sat around at Peter's place and talked about Celia Cruz, Tito Nieves, stickball and the Borscht Belt.



Peter faced a lot of obstacles due to his health--among them blindness and Parkinson's. I think he threw himself at the barricades and took his disabilities as carte blanche to be as "out there" as possible, even to the point of sitting on the street with a sign around his neck at Weaver Street Market reading: "I like company. How about a 5-minute conversation?"

Peter used a red cane and and had an old man's shuffle, until you led him to a dancefloor. He could tire out most young women, and had a firm lead. A photo of him dipping his partner, while dancing outdoors at Weaver Street, jogged memories. Heidi confirmed for me that her parents were both inveterate dancers and took part in the New York Jewish-Latin scene, including family vacations at the famed Grossingers resort in the Catskills (where all the Latin bandleaders entertained). Peter moved to New York from Germany at age 4, so he grew up as a real New York kid, and was reportedly a good stickball player. When Heidi was a student at NYU, living right around the corner from the Blue Note, she and her dad went to see Tito Puente and Celia Cruz whenever they could. For me, dancing with Peter was like a time machine, he did these slow rotational turns in a circular pattern that no one in "salsa" does nowadays; that HAD to be Cuban in origin, via the Catskills I suppose. That's stuff you can't learn in books.

He had a great talent for making friends, and giving of himself. I had no idea he volunteered for 14 years at Ronald McDonald House. Everybody had stories of his continuous thankfulness, his priceless sense of humor and pretty much shameless enjoyment of everything from music and dance to cuisine.

He made new friends right up until the end of his life, including Gordon Strauss of Chapel Hill. Gordon just met Peter in March 2009. Nonetheless, he summed up a lot of our comments at the service with this thought:

"Peter had something that all of us wish we had. It was intangible. It was mystical."

I think that's true--the power to see no strangers or obstacles, to find and spread joy in everything, and an absolutely audacious approach to life.

"Mystical" is a word often used by musicians and cognoscenti to describe the quality of Afro-Cuban rhythm that makes us all lifelong hostages to it. Similarly, I was reminded of the call and response of Cuban son by the prayer of remembrance used to close the service, from the Reform Judaism Prayer Book:

At the rise of the sun and at its going down
we remember you

At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
we remember you

At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring
we remember you

At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer
we remember you

At the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn
we remember you

At the beginning of the year and when it ends
we remember you

As long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us
we remember you

When we are weary and in need of strength
we remember you

When we are lost and sick at heart
we remember you

When we have decisions that are difficult to make
we remember you

When we have joy we crave to share
we remember you

When we have achievements that are based on theirs
we remember you

For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us
we remember you

This same refrain has long been used by soneros to enshrine their musical ancestors:

"Te recordaremos."

--Ibrahim Ferrer (with Chucho Valdes), "La Musica Cubana," from the album Buenos Hermanos.

Whenever we dance, we embody the memories of the lives of those who danced before us. Peter is part of our steps now. I hope I will dance as long and as joyfully.

Rebirth of the Rumba

The Ark was a patchouli-laced sweatbox Saturday night during a modern dance jam session for American Dance Festival participants. Jungle percussion was engineered by local drummers, including Bradley Simmons, Patrick Loebs, Jason [last name?] and late drop-ins including Beverly Botsford and Aaron [last name?].

Vladimir Espinosa, down here from Roanoke for ADF, blazed a wide forest path on his batá drums and timbales. (Vlad, a welcome presence here for 6 weeks each summer, also sat in with Carnavalito in June at their Brightleaf Square concert.)

Like a rhythm See 'N Say, the group dialed through a catalog of world rhythms to inspire full body movement. Here's a snippet of the rumba guaguancó:



Something tribal happened during the samba jam, as dancers locked in to a nightclub thump:



Newcomer to the Triangle music scene Alfredo Morua shook a shekere and added verses to the rumba. Morua, a pastry chef at Mad Hatter who was born in Cuba, settled in Angier 3 years ago after living in Manhattan and New Orleans.

Sweet update: Alfredo's bandmate from his New Orleans days, Mark Sanders, just sent me this excellent photo link of the two of them in 1977 in the band Conjunto Caché. Dashiki heaven!


Alejandro "El Niño" Jesus (vocal, center), Mark Sanders (batá drum), Alfredo Morua (far right, guiro). Photo © by Mark Sanders, used by permission.

Mark runs the incredible Cuban music and photo blog Fidel's Eyeglasses, definitely worth a visit if you've never been there. (It's listed in the "Blogs We Like" sidebar).

Cuban Night at Mosaic

Meanwhile, Alfredo Morua made his local music debut last Thursday (7/16) with Tambor Vivo at Mosaic. Primal energies ran high in what may have been the most extraordinary night in the monthly Cuban jam series since they started last year.

Mosaic's Moroccan wine cellar ambience took on a kind of beatnik vibe, where novices and nightclub habitues mingled with rumba aficionados and Cuban homeboys. I saw one New Yorker, a former Palladium dancer, summoning rumba steps from the same deep, mysterious roots that fed the original mambo craze.

More, please.

Urban Bachata in NYT

It's an interesting phenomenon how Latino markets often run completely parallel to the mainstream Anglo music industry, united (and divided) by language demographics rather than geography.

Jody Rosen explores it in this recent New York Times profile of Anthony Santos, the Bronx-born urban bachata star of Aventura. I first heard his name about 10 years ago from my friend Milli, who said that all the jukeboxes in her Brooklyn neighborhood were playing Anthony Santos.

"As the hits have piled up, the band’s critics have been replaced by followers — American-based, pop-oriented bachata acts like Xtreme and Toby Love, a former Aventura backup singer."

[Source: "Crossover Dreams of a Bronx Bachatero," New York Times, 6/3/09]

Links:

Click here to see my coverage of Toby Love at the Lincoln Theatre this past February.

The Mystery of the Sotomayor Mambo

Breaking World News on Onda Carolina...

I just spoke by phone with Kaare Kolve [follow this link to read the full interview], saxophonist of the band Mambo Compañeros in Trondheim, Norway and solved The Mystery of the Sotomayor Mambo. (Sonia Sotomayor says she loved Nancy Drew as a girl, and so did I.)

Kaare (pronounced akin to "kawr-uh") was nice as pie, and surprised to get my call, his FIRST interview with the US press about "Sotomayor," a tune he wrote in 1998.

That's right, 1998. When Cuban high-jumper Javier Sotomayor visited Norway. That sure makes sense out of some of the lyrics I didn't understand, and what seemed like a vacuna of information about Judge Sotomayor!

"Bienvenido a Noruega" = Welcome to Norway: Javier was there making an appearance on a Norwegian TV program when the band premiered this song for him on live television.

"El Rey del Salto Alto" = King of the High Jump: Words that end the song, I couldn't make sense of it, thinking maybe that was the nickname of the sonero?

But of course.



Kaare was packing up to go to a Mambo Compañeros rehearsal, and he says that although the band had no knowledge of the use of their song in a viral publicity campaign* stateside, he's delighted that it's being played to celebrate Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Developing...more of my exclusive interview soon!



*The NiLP sent out an Action Alert containing a free download of "The Mambo Companions' new song" [sic], which has been forwardly widely on the Internet, posted on sites soliciting donations as well as video hosts such as Myspace and YouTube without the band's knowledge.

To show your support for musicians AND Judge Sonia Sotomayor, legitimately download the mp3 "Sotomayor," from Mambo Compañeros' 2004 album Viva Salsa, for .99 cents at Amazon.

Message in the Mambo

Sotomayor. There's music in those syllables.

There is already a "Sotomayor Mambo." It's not really a mambo, it's modern Cuban salsa, and it's not from Da Boogie Down, South Bronx, where Judge Sotomayor hails from. It's from...Norway. Trondheim and Oslo to be precise, with a hand from Havana. 6 Norwegians and 2 Cuban expats make up the Mambo Compañeros, now test-marketing the cozy, anglicized name Mambo Companions.



This isn't a video, just an mp3 with still image. What's really interesting is that the National Institute for Latino Policy (that's US policy) has given it their endorsement, as you can see in the end credits. Reportedly, they were tipped to the song by Howard Jordán, host of WBAI's The Jordan Journal.

Now, the chorus is catchy enough, but as a national policy "response" to the right-wing attack media, it's a little thin. There's not much here about Judge Sotomayor's personal story or accomplishments, and I didn't hear one mention of her Nuyorican heritage. Cuba and the band, on the other hand, get numerous shoutouts. The Cubans in Compañeros are Alexander Fernández, who worked on some early albums of Cuban timba star Manolito Simonet, and Luison Medina, both active in various European bands. It's basically a party song, dedicated to the judge [Correction: See Update].

We'll see if the Mambo Compañeros' answer to Obamagirl goes viral. It's great to see musicians anywhere pay tribute to Sonia Sotomayor, who no doubt will continue to inspire her share of plenas, salsas, mambos, merengues and other ecstatic outbursts in song.

You gotta wonder, though, if Latin bands from the Bronx are not just a little bit peeved that NiLP, a think tank whose home address is Avenue of the Americas, New York City, has outsourced their national mambo policy to Norway.

I have a feeling I have entered a "no public comment" zone.


UPDATE 6/3: MYSTERY SOLVED!

I just spoke with Kaare Kolve of the band Mambo Compañeros in Trondheim, Norway and solved "The Mystery of the Sotomayor Mambo"...

[Follow the link to read more]

Diplomatic Algebra

GOOD NEWS: Cuban artists living outside Cuba AND in the U.S. can perform for us.

Ben Ratliff reviews Cuban singer Pepito Gomez in the New York Times from this past Friday's gig at S.O.B.'s.

Pepito lives in New Jersey.

BAD NEWS: Cuban artists living outside Cuba BUT outside the U.S. = still a security threat!

Cuban rap group Orishas had to cancel an April appearance at New Orleans' Jazz Fest because they were denied entry to the U.S.

They live in France.

19 Days

Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, The New York Times finally published an obituary for Manny Oquendo. In English, by A. E. Velez. Nice photo. Recommended.

Here is an older video of Libre with Manny on bongo and bell. Nice crowd shots; Jerry Gonzalez takes a conga solo. The tune, by Cuban conguero Francisco Aguabella, was recorded by Tito Puente in the '50s when Aguabella was in his orchestra. Check out this trombone-dense arrangement, classic of the Libre sound.


Now, check out this TV appearance of Libre screaming their Puerto Rican heritage with the classic plena, "Elena Elena." The fluid, forceful Herman Olivera was never more at ease on lead vocal, and count 'em, FIVE TROMBONES feature a young Jimmy Bosch soloing. Manny follows this with a signature solo on timbales:


I also like this one a lot, it tells you why Libre was, is, a great band: flexibility and an inimitable chemistry of groove. Look at flutist Dave Valentin pumping his cintura as he plays! Que sabor maravilloso, reminds me of old Orquesta Broadway videos. The camera blacks out for a little while during Willie Rodriguez' tremendous piano solo, but hang in there; visuals are back for Manny's extended treatment of the pailas. The tune, "Suavecito," is a traditional Cuban son by Ignacio Piñeiro, refitted with Libre's "free" sensibility. They aren't showing off or inventing some esoteric idiom, they're embedding deeply personal and modern utterances in the historical repertoire. It's music made primarily for musicians (themselves) that remains, first and foremost, music of the people.


For more media links, tributes from fellow musicians, and video footage:
Search Onda Carolina for Manny Oquendo

His Majesty: Oquendo

Update: According to his wishes, there will be no public viewing for Manny Oquendo. A funeral mass will be held at St.Margaret's Roman Catholic Church in Queens, NY on Wednesday, April 1st at 11 am. Interment will be one block away at St.John's Cemetery.

St. Margaret's RC Catholic Church
66-05 79th Place
Flushing, NY 11379

St. John's Cemetery
80-01 Metropolitan Avenue
Middle Village, NY 11379

Here's a musician's appreciation [more of these below, see updated post] of Manny Oquendo's legacy, and a detailed look at his career, from fellow percussionist Bobby Sanabria:

"Manny Oquendo was/is one of the last living ties we have to the past in terms of the majesty of Afro-Cuban-based dance music as it is performed in New York City. Majesty is the word. Manny was a big part of the development of that music.

He first started his early career in the band of violinist Juanito Sanabria (no relation) then, as many of you know, he replaced Francisco "Chino" Pozo on bongó with the early group of Tito Puente, then performing with the Vicentico Valdes, Marcelino Guerra and Pupi Campo Orchestras, just to name a few of the many well known groups he performed and recorded with at this time, the early to mid '50s. His work with Tito Rodriguez's orchestra solidified his position as a premiere bongocero, but he had started to come into prominence as a timbalero on the early recordings of Johnny Pacheco's charanga in the late '50s. His work on the Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta recordings in the early to mid '60s solidified his legendary status amongst the cognoscenti of percussion in New York City and the world through the band's recordings and live performances where Manny was prominently featured as a soloist on timbales. These solos have become textbook examples of speaking in the language of clave as Manny transferred much of the quinto solo vocabulary of rumba to the instrument, making them perfect vehicles for dancers to express themselves. They are in fact compositions unto themselves that have been studied by generations of percussionists. But when asked about his style by poet/activist/radio host/TV reporter Felipe Luciano on his "Latin Roots" radio show on WRVR in New York City in the '70s, Manny wryly replied: 'Heavy-handed, but with finesse.'

Manny's skill as bongocero made him the choice of many bandleaders on recordings and that side of his prowess gets little to no attention. Work on seminal albums like Larry Harlow's Tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez are great documents of this; as Larry states, 'Phil Newsom was in awe of Manny. He shared the bongó duties on that album with him. I can't tell which is which because Phil studied his style so much. It's the ultimate compliment when a player does that.' It's only fitting. The word bongó means in the Efik language of Southern Nigeria, drum. But it is also a synonym for, the truth. Manny spoke 'La Verdad' in volumes on el bongó.

Manny's attention to detail and his extensive knowledge and record collection of Cuban music became a source of knowledge to many in the community, becoming an inspiration to bassist Andy Gonzalez. Manny's eventual forming of his own group Libre, in collaboration with Andy in the '70s, became a laboratory, spawning ground, and vehicle for expression for many talented players like Dave Valentin, Jimmy Bosch, Steve Turre, Willie Rodriguez, Jerry Gonzalez and Jorge Dalto to name just a few.

Manny was not one for giving compliments. Why would he. He was part of a generation of musicians who created this genre establishing extremely high standards of excellence. In terms of the Clave Police, Manny was Inspector Chief. So if you got a compliment from Manny, it was a unique, rare thing. Someone asked me last year the standard question, 'What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment?' I replied, 'Getting a compliment from Manny Oquendo.'

A TRUE master of el tambor, native Nuyorican son of Brooklyn, rest in peace Maestro José Manuel Oquendo.

Ibae y aché,
Bobby Sanabria

--Originally posted on 3/26 in the Latin Jazz Yahoo Group; reprinted here with permission.

R.I.P. Manny Oquendo

January 1, 1931 - March 25, 2009

It hasn't hit the English-language media yet, but the Latin music world is rippling with the sad news of Manny Oquendo's passing.

Photo © by Martin Cohen, used with permission.

The timbalero's legacy is towering, from Eddie Palmieri's first band, La Perfecta, to the groundbreaking Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino, to Oquendo's own Conjunto Libre, which was known as a "university" of salsa for all the musicians who trained up in it, including trombonists Papo Vazquez and Jimmy Bosch, and the classy sonero Herman Olivera.

Much more to follow...this is a big one.

With the scoop: Radio Gladys Palmera, Barcelona (in Spanish - nice recent photo)

Of course, Gladys heard it here, from the mother of all Latin music sources, Herencia Latina (in Spanish). Authoritative. Contains a link to their previous interview with "Manolo" conducted by Eric Gonzalez.

Nice piece of information here at Primera Hora (obit in Spanish): Manny was honored last year, along with Larry Harlow and record store owner Rafael Viera, at Z93 FM's Dia Nacional de la Salsa in Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, while we are waiting for an obituary to appear in English, here is a short musician profile for Manny (in English) at All About Jazz.

Puerto Rico, Spain, now Italy. AP, Reuters, where are you? Posted on Friday (3/27), 10:30 am.

The online record store and music resource Descarga.com has published an acknowledgment of Manny Oquendo's death. As a memorial, they offer Roberta Singer's interview (in English) with one of Oquendo's closest musical collaborators, Andy Gonzalez. My Google news searches still turn up nothing in English. I should be over being surprised that a record store on Flatbush Avenue has scooped the New York Times, NPR, etc. --Link added Friday (3/27), 2:33 pm.


UPDATES on Saturday (3/28):

PRESS WATCH:

Word is Felix Contreras is preparing a radio report for NPR. No doubt it will be another accessible, probing, connecting of the dots like his recent piece inspired by the passing of Joe Cuba.

Aurora Flores has sent out an extensive press release, so expect some more mainstream coverage soon. Her comprehensive obit (in English) has now been posted at Herencia Latina, with a totally smokin' photo of a young Manny Oquendo! MUST SEE

Meanwhile, here are some blurbs from fellow musicians and music aficionados reacting to Oquendo's loss, all quoted here with permission:

"One of my favorite timbaleros of all time! Why? A unique combination of sabor with a minimalist approach, while also taking risks."

--Gregory "Goyo" Pappas, music critic, philosopher, associate professor at Texas A&M University


"Manny was the one who made me a true believer of 'Less is More.' I compared Manny's playing with two people having a conversation, the first person speaking at a normal pace, clear, well-spoken, the other speaking at about 100 miles an hour. Someone may say, 'wow,' that guy sure speaks fast...BUT did you understand him?"

--John "Dandy" Rodriguez, bongocero with Tito Puente, Tipica '73, Latin Giants of Jazz, et al.


"The world is a lot less swingin' today."

--Ramon Banda, timbalero with Poncho Sanchez and Banda Brothers


"Manolo's thundering timbales as heard on the ground-breaking mid-'70s Concepts In Unity left an insistent impression which was definitive and absolutely timeless. His aesthetics of rhythmicity is like a sculptural milestone or like an ancient tale which will always live on in the culture."

--Zeno Okeanos, filmmaker/musician/record collector


"During my teenage years, we never went in a bar or a club unless the jukebox had Eddie Palmieri's 'Oye Lo Que Te Conviene' on it. There was always the excitement of that bongo solo by Manny. Even before we could put a face to the name, we felt like we knew him."

--César Diaz


"My first recollection of noticing how I really loved how Manny Oquendo played timbales was at The Embassy Ballroom in the Bronx. I became a diehard Eddie Palmieri fan. I would go see Eddie, Ismael Quintana, Barry Rogers, Jose Rodrigues, a very young Chucky Lopez whenever they performed at The Hunts Point Palace or the Colgate Gardens. Drinking age back then was 18, and we were able to get into theses gigs since we looked so much older dressing in cashmere coats, Stetson (a beaver hat), tailored sharkskin pants, alpaca knit shirts and wearing a pair of gators, lizards or playboys. Manny always looked serious and quiet offstage but when he was playing, man, oh man. We were all blown away with his solo in 'Mozambique' which was the sound I came to expect whenever I see Eddie."

--Eddie Rodriguez, producer/promoter, president of Latin Works Music. Went on to produce many shows for Conjunto Libre.


"Being able to carry Manny's timbales is and will always be one of the highlights of my career."

--Ralph Irizarry, timbalero with Ray Barretto and Ruben Blades, leader of Timbalaye and SonCafe, talking about one night in 1984 when Libre opened for Blades' band, yet Irizarry carried Oquendo's instruments for him.


"His sound and style on the timbal and handbell will stand forever as the real shizzle that separates him from the pack. He was a fierce defender of the traditions and protected them like a mother grizzly bear in the wild with her cubs. I know I am not alone in saying that we will do all we can to uphold the rhythmic traditions that Manny represented and loved and to which he dedicated his entire life."

--John Santos, percussionist


"I studied Manny's recorded timbal solos and tried to memorize as much as I could. This taught me how melodically and in clave he played."

--Bobby Matos, percussionist


"I have fond memories of Maestro Oquendo from the musican's seminar that was part of the Albert Torres Salsa Congress. Manny Oquendo taught the old school timbal class in 2004 and 2005. What a rush that was. When I joined the seminar in '04, I had only been playing one year. He was an awesome instructor and quite the jam session instigator."

--Shelly Lee, timbalera with Los Puros


"Manny is one of the primary sources of the true language of timbal and bongó. I experienced a very old timbalero at the Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba (on real paila criolla) a long time ago, and having had listened to Manny so many times, I thought: Hey, he plays like Oquendo... That's the way Manny Oquendo played, old school. And so hip at the same time!"

--Nils Fischer, percussionist, leader of Timbazo

UPDATES on Sunday (3/29):

PRESS WATCH:

Well, it's happened. A magazine in Havana has scooped American journalism, including Manny Oquendo's hometown paper of record (New York Times?). This appreciation (in Spanish) appears in La Jiribilla's March 28 - April 3 edition.


UPDATES on Monday (3/30):

PRESS WATCH:

I think newspapers are officially dead. The blogosphere is singlehandedly covering this with a flowering of nice tributes and obituaries. It's a matter of dignity. There are stories that need to be told.

Here's one I missed, posted on Friday--at Latin Jazz Corner. Beautiful photo captures the ineffable moment of communication. That's Frankie Vazquez, vocal/guiro, and Andy Gonzalez, bass, with their eagle eyes on the maestro.

Also capturing the moment is independent radio. Andy Gonzalez went on WBAI 99.5 FM's "Barrio Block" yesterday from 2-4 pm to talk about his partner in Libre. The show is archived for 90 days; you can download it or listen online here (look for time slot "Sunday, March 29, 2 pm"). Hosts Ibrahim Gonzalez and Nando Alvaricci also welcome Machito saxophonist Ray Santos, a childhood friend; musical historian Rene Lopez, Oquendo's bandmate in Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino; trombonist and Libre alum Jimmy Bosch; and Orquesta Broadway timbalero Charlie Santiago among other guests.

A gig that Libre was booked to play on May 30 at the Bronx Museum will go on as planned, as a memorial to Manny.

WHAT: Libre Memorial Concert for Manny Oquendo
WHEN: Saturday, May 30, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Bronx Museum, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street


UPDATE added 4/13/09:

PRESS WATCH: The New York Times finally weighed in yesterday with a Manny Oquendo obituary. Better late than never. It's pretty nice, including this:

"While playing in La Perfecta...Mr. Oquendo picked up and adapted the complex carnival rhythm called Mozambique, made popular in Cuba by Pello El Afrokán, and reworked it for the timbales, introducing a hypnotic African beat to the dance halls of New York.

I think that's right. Manny's sound in La Perfecta is iconic in the ears of salsa fans, whether they are consciously aware of his presence or not. Manny Oquendo is one of those people you need in order to imagine salsa.

Note also: All About Jazz has excerpted the New York Times story on the news page of their website.


UPDATE added 5/8/09:

PRESSWATCH: One of the sweetest for last. Beautifully written piece by Alan Lockwood in the Brooklyn Rail.

Original Gangsta: Get Well Soon

Reports say Willie Colón is in the hospital, awaiting surgery for gallstones today (3/17). Let's hope his doctor doesn't use a trombone.



Colón had to cancel an appearance in Lima, Peru on Thursday, where he was scheduled to appear on a double bill with Marc Anthony. Anthony extended his part of the program to make up for the absence, and brought out members of Colón's band, who were already on a plane by the time Colón fell ill, for "Aguanile" and "Mi Gente." The concert had been billed as a tribute to Hector Lavoe, Colón's former vocalist whom Anthony portrayed in the 2007 film El Cantante.

UPDATE added 3/18:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ernesto Hernandez
Tel (917) 438-7187

WILLIE COLÓN RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL

"On Monday, March 16, 2009, Willie Colon underwent a cholecystectomy procedure at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

He is now resting comfortably at home and thanks everyone for
their thoughts and prayers."


WILLIE COLÓN ES DADO DE ALTA

"El lunes 16 de marzo de 2009 Willie Colón fue sometido a una colecistectomia en el NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

Él esta ahora descansando confortablemente en su casa y desea agradecer a todos por sus buenos deseos y oraciones."

The many moods of Love

At the Toby Love show on Sunday, we saw both his softer and his "crunkier" side. Actually the term "crunkchata" seems a little hyped, as does calling this a "hiphop" blend. I would call it bachata romantica and draw a parallel to the commercialization of salsa romantica in the 90s. While it's true that Love's flygirls and b-boys inject "urban" Bronx-creole style and attitude, his singing comes straight from the annals of romantic R&B. Commercial bachata recordings are so smoothly tweaked nowadays that the live performance is a different experience entirely; the frenetic, in some ways mechanical, stage show devolved focus away from Love as a romantic persona, whose sexual energy onstage is more boy-band, more charming waif, than intensely hypnotic or commanding. By contrast, his rhythm section's mannish energy and muscularity is pure Dominicana, but there's nothing new about that.

This video of a bachata shows Love crafting his softer side. Without his dancers here, you can see how his band is put together and operates.


Softer side of Love from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

Love was at his best when he dropped his romantic alter ego and turned the party crank, with some hyperactive merengue and rapidfire vocals:


Dame Agua from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

The dance showcase that followed brought out another ancient piece of urban folklore: witty sexual hype. Here are three members of Love's crew "getting crazy":


Get Crazy #1 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.


Get Crazy #2 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.


Get Crazy #3 from Santa Salsera on Vimeo.

Links:

Read my concert review on the Indy online music blog SCAN
See photos from the live show posted earlier on Onda Carolina

Nice Story in New York Times...

In Bronx, Little Houses That Evoke Puerto Rico

You may need to register to read the New York Times online, but it is free.

Girlz Talk, Boys Cry

I'm not a big consumer of commercial bachata, but there is something exciting about seeing top Dominican performers and their bands live. They usually import the best guitarists and percussionists from the island. My plan tonight is to DVR the Oscars and see Toby Love at the Lincoln Theatre. There is an afterparty planned for Zydeco's.

Opening: Girlz Talk, with one of the former members of Aventura. They perform a bachata song with Love called "Tu y Yo."

Watch:
Toby Love video single, "Llorar Lloviendo"

Myspace:
Toby Love concert at Lincoln Theatre.




UPDATE: Some show photos





Links:

Read my concert review on the Indy online music blog SCAN
See videos from the show posted here on Onda Carolina