The Latin Jazz side of Spanish Harlem Orchestra

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You might think of them as Salsa Dura kings, with a heavy sound, aggressive arrangements, and old-style Salsa songs. Yet the “Spanish Harlem Orchestra“, or SHO, invited Jazz legends Chick Corea and Joe Lovano to record on their new album.

Chick Corea and Joe Lovano in SHO’s “You and the Night and the Music”

The song “You and the Night and the Music” is a classic jazz standard, which debuted in the Broadway show “Revenge with Music” in 1934. Frank Sinatra popularized it in his 1961 album “Ring-a-Ding-Ding”.

Oscar Hernandez decided to include a version of that song in his latest album of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and realized it was a good opportunity to have some guests.

In this audio-clip, Oscar Hernandez tells the story of how he chose this song for the album, how he got Chick Corea and Joe Lovano to participate in the album, and reveals what other Jazz great could not participate in the recording.

The Latin Jazz side of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra is most evident in “You and the Night and the Music”, but is also very evident in “Latinos Unidos” (the SHO’s intro song) and during parts of songs and other repertoire.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s version of “You and the Night and the Music”

Here is the SHO’s version of the jazz standard.

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  1. […] are out to give their neighbors, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, who won a Grammy for 2010 Best Tropical Latin Album, a run for their money in the “salsa dura” […]

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