Timba at Saxapahaw!

Orquesta GarDel is getting ready to unveil more original tunes this Saturday (5/30) from 6-8 pm at the free Rivermill Outdoor Music Series in Saxapahaw.

This timba tune by trombone leader Andy Kleindienst debuted in April:



Now, keyboardist Eric Hirsh is about to bring his own baby on board. He says he was inspired to write complex, yet catchy horn lines last year after listening to a lot of Bamboleo and Charanga Habanera.

"I wanted to make sure that the rhythm feels distinctly Cuban. It's gotta have that aggressive FUNK," writes Eric.

This spring, GarDel's members collaborated during songwriting rehearsals to tie up loose ends.

"Nelson [Delgado] is really coming into his own as a lyricist," adds Eric. "His thematic concept for the song is very spiritual and philosophical, but in a way that still exhorts everyone to dance and have a good time."

I think we can oblige.

UPDATE 5/31:

I made it in time for the debut, but my camera battery gave out. So, no video! Coincidentally, Eric said one of his keyboards was not performing properly, so he was forced to turn it off. (Love the multiple keyboard effects he uses for GarDel and The Beast; that's timbalicious right there.) We agreed that we would re-premiere this work (does it have a title, E?) and publicly document it in the nearest possible future.

That said, my impressions: The Cuban funk is definitely there (hallelujah), and the texture is dark and complicated (what Eric called "a harmonic palette somewhere between an R&B song and modal jazz"). I was dancing during this song but I could feel most people stopping to listen and assess. This was quite different from GarDel's usual Puerto Rican weather, i.e. sun-drenched with occasional thunderstorms. This was a rumbling deep underground.

P.S. Almost forgot: there's been a personnel change. Saxophonist Bluford Thompson, a degree candidate in jazz performance and composition at North Carolina Central, is taking over the chair of Wayne Leechford, who has left GarDel to pursue other opportunities. Wayne is a music veteran in the Triangle who has given lots of love to Latin music fans over the years. We wish him well, and issue a warm welcome to Blu; it should be an interesting bench this year as he joins reedsman Tim Smith.

"como toca...ese muchacho, como toca..."

Addition/Correction: This is the Ray Barretto band (Jimmy Bosch, Jimmy Delgado, Ricky Gonzalez, etc.) with guests including many Fania All Stars, et al. performing at the L.A. Palladium for an ABC television taping. The show aired in the '80s on "Bravisimo," a 13-episode series of bi-lingual variety shows. Thanks to musician Ricky Gonzalez and Eddie Rodriguez, former executive with ORO, the show's producers, for that additional information!

Fania All Stars and assorted guests including the late Jorge Dalto, whose fusion style of Latin piano soloing I find atypical yet seductive. The Argentine pianist played with Gato Barbieri and George Benson before he passed away in 1987, a mere 39 years old. Musicians and aficionados still discuss his loss as if it happened yesterday; from this video I understand why.

In (1980s?) Los Angeles, the jam standard "Quitate Tu" with a shot of "Bacalao Con Pan":


This is a glorious slice of Fania stars in their prime: Adalberto Santiago, Ismael Miranda, Ray Barretto, Orestes Vilato, Bobby Valentin, Sal Cuevas, Yomo Toro gettin' crazy on the floor, even Jimmy Delgado and Jimmy Bosch with a short afro. Guest Junno Farias finds a way to play two saxophones at once; is it any wonder he twitters?

Video tipster: Mike Reyes.

RADIO ALERT: Harry Viggiano Interview TONIGHT on WXDU

***UPDATE: Interview with Harry Viggiano is postponed until this Wednesday (5/27), 6-8 pm ET during my regular program, Azucar y Candela.***


I will be hosting WXDU's Mystery Show tonight, Sunday (5/24), 10 pm - midnight exploring the theme "Electric Guitar Solos in Salsa."

In the '70s, rock session guitarists such as Elliott Randall (Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years") and Jorge Santana were frequently called in to play with the Fania All Stars, Orchestra Harlow and other bands.

However, the use of guitar in Latin music goes back at least as far as La Playa Sextet and Los Zafiros (Manuel Galban) in the '50s and '60s. African salsa has traditionally used electric guitar, from Orchestra Baobab to Ricardo Lemvo, and in Cuba the history reaches from Irakere to Los Van Van's newest album.

The first show (in a series I hope to repeat) will feature a 20-minute interview with elusive legend of electric guitar and tres Harry Viggiano!

Harry contributed essential flavor to some of the classic albums of Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Roberto Roena and Joe Cuba among others. I learned early on as a fan of typical and experimental salsa that his name on the credits of an album is always a quality brand.

Tune in and catch this WXDU exclusive!

WHAT: Salsa Guitar Solos (Vol. 1)
WHEN: Sunday, 5/24, 10:00 pm - 12 midnight
WHERE: The Mystery Show, WXDU 88.7 FM or www.wxdu.org


Links:

See the playlist from Sunday's "Salsa Guitar Solos" Mystery Show here

Hear a sample of Senen Suarez, an early guitarist to integrate it into Cuban music, here.

BREAKING: Colombian Karma

I just found out LATIN BROTHERS from Cali, Colombia are playing at DISCO RODEO TONIGHT!!! This is not a rumor; I spoke to vocalist/percussionist Jorge Tello on the phone. [Jorge says he is the son of former Latin Brothers singer Joseito Martinez.]

Tonight, in Raleigh, Grupo Niche is also playing (at Ambis on Atlantic Ave). What the...? I have no idea what the Goddess Karma is up to, but it is Colombian night tonight.

To sweeten the pot, some locals (Andy Kleindienst, Mitch Butler, Alberto Carrasquillo) are filling in some spots with the Colombian bands at Disco Rodeo . Cumbia band Sonora Dinamita opens for Latin Brothers.

UPDATE 5/23:

Here's Alberto Carrasquillo and James Armstrong (of Winston-Salem) blowing their horns with La Sonora Dinamita:


West End Mambo's Cesar Oviedo played bass and arranged the NC musicians for this show.


FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW...

Lovely, long-legged Tatiana Giraldo, one of the singers in La Sonora Dinamita's next generation:


She was joined by vocalists Any Velez (in blue) and Luis Milanes, whose brother Nestor Milanes handled keyboards for both bands.


Both bands have older roots, but are franchises currently owned and managed by Jessie Lozano, age 28. The young promoter played timbales in both sets.

"It's a good combination, people like to hear these two bands together," says Any (pronounced "Anni").

I agree, although the sound system at Disco Rodeo was sonidero-style, heavy on the bass. Setting one's phone on vibrate was a redundant proposition. I didn't think this made for the best live music setting, but I did like the crowd. Laid-back, young, unagressive, a cool cumbia scene, really dance-oriented. A lot of gum chewing dancers, and people politely stepping back to make room for other dancers, even in front of the stage.

You can see some cool dancing in this clip, as Jorge Tello sings "Dime Que Paso":



Sonero Charlie Cajares (below, left), billed as "El Abogado de la Salsa," sounded fantastic as he led the Latin Brothers into their set. I would love to hear this guy sing again, in any weather, especially with a more finely balanced sound system.



Here's a sample of "Buscandote" with Charlie ripping his soneos from the headlines. Piano solo by Nestor at 3:00, then our own Andy Kleindienst plays a monster trombone solo at 5:30!



With a jerryrigged band, the two vocalists gave these standards a strong pulse. The final tune, one of my favorites, "Las Caleñas son (como las flores)" really had the funky swing of Colombia. I didn't want to go home, but the show seemed to run up against Disco Rodeo closing time; management turned the lights on 20 minutes before they wrapped up their set.



One should say that this cumbia scene deserves a cleaner club than Disco Rodeo. A steam cleaner could lose his mind trying to remove the patina from the carpet in there (not that there's any risk of that happening). There is not a surface in the room that does not feel sticky, and the bathrooms are always a disgrace by the end of the night. Considering the price of admission ($25-60 not uncommon) and beer ($5 for a can of Budweiser), something doesn't smell right. I didn't see any inappropriate behavior whatsoever, no fights, no d&d, so you can't "blame" the fans for management neglect.

To the frustrations one can add that Disco Rodeo does nothing to publicize their Latin events to non-Spanish-speaking audiences or media, and they don't even have a website. They know on which side their bread is buttered. People come out anyway and pay their hard-earned money to hear their music and to dance with their friends. I can totally understand that. Venue demerits aside, this is a dance scene I'd like to go to again.

All videos posted with the band's permission.



Click on any photo to see more from the show at my flickr page.

Corrections: Jorge Tello is the son of Joseito Martinez. I incorrectly stated both of their names earlier; the post has been updated to reflect these corrections.

street signs: what's happening in mex regional

Still trying to confirm who's playing tonight at Disco Rodeo in Raleigh; Los Sementales de Nuevo Leon? I think that's what I heard on La Ley 96.9 FM. Two local horn players have been contracted to play that gig.

Meanwhile, in Durham, found these posters on a phone booth along Roxboro Road:


Note: Ladies free all night at Salamandra. This place is the old "Big Pig," before that a Chinese restaurant (in the long long ago), on Hillsboro Rd.

Click on below photo to see larger. La Luna is in the middle of a cumbia sonidera dance contest. Could be interesting? I've often admired the DF street style of the teenage coup de baile.

Grupo Niche passing through Carolina this Weekend

[Deleted: video ad for Grupo Niche at Ambis 1 Nightclub in Raleigh, 5/22/09]

Rumba Caraqueña

Cool oranges: In my inbox this morning, an email from Venezuelan vibraphonist Alfredo Naranjo with this link to two free song downloads on his ReverbNation player.

Really hip. One of the most exciting artists on the Caracas-based Cacao label (which includes Cuban artists such as Changuito and Horacio "El Negro Hernandez). In 2007 they released Alfredo Naranjo y su Guajeo, featuring trombonist Jimmy Bosch in a guest spot.

In Venezuela, they seem to know how to make modern, intelligent Latin jazz that also swings for the dancer. One way they do it: don't stint on a vocalist. Naranjo's new tracks feature bold choices from the popular music fields of Venezuelan parranda and ska: Francisco Pacheco (of the venerable Un Solo Pueblo) lends his natural baritone to "El Cumaco de San Juan," while rocker Horacio Blanco from Desorden Publico sings "Un Lote de Amor."

I recently came across another excellent, timba-jazz-flavored dance band from Caracas: Cabijazz led by guitarist Alvaro Paiva Bimbo.

Caracas tiene su swing!