2011 Latin Music Highs and Lows: Salsa (Part 1)
Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Hector Aviles in Blog
I’ll share my viewpoint on which were the highs and lows in Salsa music during 2011. The lists below are in no particular order of importance. I’ll keep it short, so let’s get right to it…
Salsa Music 2011Highs:
Salsa Dura is Alive and Well: 2011continued to see great releases of Salsa Dura, a clear indication that boomers are still thirsty for more “masacote gordo”.
- Guasabara’s “Poetic Justice” – this CD came at the end of 2011 but is very note-worthy. Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Downgrading from big band to orchestra, Jose Lugo hits a home run with bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. If you like salsa, you’ll like this album. ‘Nough said.
- Mambo Legends Orchestra’s “Ten Cuidao/Watchout” – another Salsa dura masterpiece, this time in the 1st release by the seniors jubilees of Tito Puente’s orchestra. With great young soneros Frankie Vazquez, Cita Rodriguez, etc., and lead by Jose Madera, Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez, and Mitch Frohman, they preserve the Tito Puente big band sound, with totally new songs, and plenty of them in a double CD.
- Choco Orta’s “Choco Swing” – following up her previous fantastic release “Ahora Mismo” which was produced by Gilberto Santa Rosa, Choco this time produced her own material by delivering “Choco Swing”. Que si hay swing? Jaaaa…hay swing, y de sobra. Choco delivers an album good from A to Z, demonstrating she has talent, heart, and the intelligence to put it all together herself.
- Banco Popular’s “Sono, Sono…Tite Curet” – this year’s Christmas special honored one of the best songwriters of all time, who specialized, but was not limited, to the Salsa music genre. This DVD is a jewel to see and listen.
Salsa Music 2011Lows:
When artists try to break the mold and try a different mix or different style, there’s always a risk. I admire those that venture to try new things. To me that’s a sign of an artist. Always doing the same thing makes you a COG. A had a friend that used to say “nada se ha escrito de los cobardes”. True. The below had the courage to mix it up a bit differently than in the past, but this ones didn’t work out from my viewpoint.
- Olga Tanon’s “Ni Una Lagrima Mas” – looks like the Puerto Rican diva had a tough 2011. Newspapers reported she’s having financial issues, and although I don’t know how the album sold (what I remember reading wasn’t bad), I did not like it. Not that the music is bad, but it tries to be too much for too many. She’s mixex merengue, baladas, and whatelse in this album, and by trying to please all, I think it pleases no one. Certainly not me. Maybe its just me, expecting a merengue album from Olga, but for whatever reason, this CD didn’t do it for me.
- Jerry Rivera’s “El Amor Existe” – huge disappointment on this cuasi-comeback album. The music quite never delivered. A Salsa Romantica album as the title implies, it should have been a hit for Jerry, a past master of the genre. But the arrangements fail to establish a good swing and never get to engage the listener. Jerry’s “Caribe Gardel” was a musical experiment that went very well; “El Amor Existe” was not.
There were other good and bad albums, but these, for me, where the highs and lows of 2011. This 2012 should bring interesting releases. Will the Salsa Dura trend continue to gain strength in 2012?
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