A panel discussion on the ongoing Billboard Latin Music Conference in Miami highlighted how we are still behind in how we approach the music business today.

The panel suggested that the Latin music industry needs more artist collaboration and new ways to promote artists by their music labels. And I say…..DAHHHHHH!!!!!!! Look who’s catching up!

In the area of collaboration I believe that Latin artist have caught up with that concept a while ago. There have been numerous collaborations of Latin artist across musical genres. The finest and most successful example has been Cuban rapper Pitbull who has recorded with….well, everybody and their mother.

In the field of promotion even indie labels are still trying to play by the old rules. I wasn’t at the panel, but the Fox News Latino article made no mention of the record label representative at the panel using social media as the centerpiece of their marketing strategy. Instead they are still trying to convince radio stations to play new artists.

Radio is a business not a non profit. Social media is where the focus needs to be because that is where the Latin audience is these days. The radio business representative at the panel pretty much said that. They can’t afford to loose audience by playing new artists!

What is taking us so long to catch up???

I recently had the opportunity to attend a concert by Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Band. More than Wynton’s musical prowess as a trumpet player, the one thing that stood out of the concert for me was how Wynton makes music fun and entertaining.

Wynton’s Skill to Entertain and Educate

Marsalis began the concert by addressing the audience and immediately setting the tone for fun and relaxing evening. Wynton mentioned how Atlanta seemed home for him, and a few band members had roots there. Because these musicians had relatives in the audience, Wynton mentioned they wanted to perform well because “no one wants to suck in front of relatives and friends”.

The explanation of the first couple of songs the band was about to play showcased Wynton Marsalis skill as an educator. Marsalis set the stage providing a brief musical background of the pieces, which as I have argued in many previous occasions, helps the audience enjoy more the music. This is an important part of what makes going to a live concert worth it, instead of staying home listening to the CD, which would be much cheaper. In this case, Wynton explained the songs were inspired in Spain.

After playing the songs Wynton Marsalis always acknowledge the soloist for the crowd, recapped the music played, and proceeded to provide a brief explanation of the next songs the band was about to play. These next songs were written by Marsalis for the Baptist Church of Harlem. Had he not provided the background to these songs, I would have missed that element during the performance. The 2nd piece, “Watching the Holy Ghost” was an amazing piece of music featuring the whole wind section of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Making Music Fun and Loving

Sax player and his Mom at Wyntom Marsalis concert.

During the concert, the band would at times clap or stomp their feet in unison, in a way that reflected that they don’t loose sight that music is fun!

Perhaps the best part of the Wynton Marsalis concert was when he brought to stage the mother of one of the young saxophone players. She happened to be a jazz singer who helped inspire her son to play jazz. Both mother and song engaged in a sing and sax play duo, that gained the only standing ovation of the evening.

A Lesson to Be Learned

Wynton Marsalis wants to keep his beloved New Orleans jazz music alive by educating people on it and making sure its fun and touching for the audience. Everyone coming out of that Atlanta theatre became an ambassador for jazz that evening. Musicians please take note, as perhaps there is a lesson to be learned.

Christian Latin music (I guess what is considered gospel music in English) seems to be on the rise, although I don’t have data to back it up.

Recently new Christian music artists seem to be gaining popularity. Luis Quintero and Tercer Cielo are Latin acts gaining lots of views in YouTube.

Ismael Miranda's Christian Latin music CD "Aferrado a Ti"

Veteran artists are also into it, with recent releases by Salsa veteran Ismael Miranda (“Aferrado a Ti”) and Dominican icon Juan Luis Guerra (“Coleccion Cristiana”) releasing new Christian Latin music CDs.

I believe the apparent surge is due to more focus on love and positive social messages than to praising the lord. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with praising the Lord through songs, but these praise songs seem more “alleluia” songs which have a narrower fan base.

Love and positive messages seem to be a welcome relief to the harsh rap and regeaton lyrics that sometimes poison the airwaves, to the point of needing sensorship.

Certainly the Christian Latin music of Luis Quintero and of Tercer Cielo is beautiful to listen. Juan Luis Guerra is moving up in the charts with his new Christian single “En el Cielo No Hay Hospital”, and although I haven’t listened to Ismael Miranda’s latest album “Aferrado a Ti”, I’ve read good reviews about it.

This is a good week to take a chance with Christian Latin music, and you can even sample it by doing some searches in YouTube.

Peace!

Hector

Cover photo = Tercer Cielo

One of the best and most prolific “coristas” of all-time is Adalberto Santiago. And in today’s blog, it would be sin not to mention two less worked but yet excellent “coristas”; Tito Allen and Nestor Sanchez. I’ll also mention the role of female vocals like Miki Vimari.

Adalberto Santiago as Fania’s Premier “Corista”

Adalberto Santiago was the lead singer for Ray Barretto’s band for many years, and then moved on to co-found the Tipica 73, and Los Kimbos. The Puerto Rican singer was probably one of the best “coristas” around, as he could blend his powerful voice in tones necessary to make a “coro” sound harmonious and “full”. Adalberto understood how harmony and contrast are used in “coros” to make them more effective. Perhaps because of this skill and his voice, he was one of the most worked “coristas” during the golden years of Salsa music in the 70’s, 80’s, and even into the 90’s.

Tito Allen and Nestor Sanchez

Besides Adalberto Santiago, other two singers that worked the New York scene as “coristas” later in the 80’s where Tito Allen and Nestor Sanchez. In my opinion, Tito Allen had one of the most beautiful voices in Salsa music. Tito also had good technique and used his voice in very creative ways. When Ruben Blades was coming up in the Fania Records label, he was used frequently as a “corista”, and because Ruben used his voice at that stage of his career with a lower tone (trying to emulate his idol Cheo Feliciano, as he has confessed in various interviews) he was frequently paired with Tito Allen. I found that their voices mixed well and created a very nice “coro” in many of Fania recordings, among them, some for the late “Sonero Mayor” Ismael Rivera.

As Nestor Sanchez gained prominense as lead singer of Orchestra Harlow, he started to participate in “coros”. His melodic voice and singing tone also made for a good “coro”. When Ruben Blades decided to go solo, and evolved his Seis del Solar into the trombone-backed and more Salsa sounding Son del Solar, he frequently recruited both, Tito Allen and Nestor Sanchez to help with the “coros”. The three of them could do some good things behind the microphone.

Female “Coristas” in Salsa Music

Miki Vimari with Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz in "Jammin Live"

And then there is the role of females in Salsa music “coros”. Although today there is a plethora of female Salsa music singers, back in the Salsa golden years, two of the most prominent where Miki Vimari, who sang with Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, and later Yolanda Rivera with La Sonora Ponceña. Miki participation with Richie Ray’s band was pretty remarkable. She only worked with Richie in the Salsa music scene, but left a big print on some of Richie Ray’s most famous albums, like “Jammin Live”. Her powerful voice, along with Bobby Cruz tenor-like voice, created a very unique “coro” for a band that already had a very unique sound.

Yolanda Rivera gave the Sonora Ponceña a 3rd singer and a powerful “coro”. Perhaps too powerful. Her falsetto voice would resonate almost like Johnny Pacheco did in his band, providing La Ponceña with a fresh variant to the band’s trademark “sonora” trumpet sound.

Who Did I Miss? What’s Coming in Part 3?

In all, “coristas” are an important element of recordings and the above mentioned were the ones that left lasting impressions in me. Since there are hundereds of “coristas” that participate in recordings, I’m sure that a review of my old LP’s backcovers and some CD backliners will reveal that I have omitted many other notable “coristas” from the golden years of Salsa music. From Part 1, I was reminded by one of Latino Music Café readers of Elliot Romero, who perhaps fits more with this era of “coristas”. If you can think of others I’m missing, please add a comment on the “Comments” box below this blog.

In Part 3, I’ll focus on just one singer and “corista” that had dominated the 90s and 2000’s with his “coros”, particularly in Puerto Rico.

Word is out that NARAS will restore the Latin jazz category for the 2013 Grammy Awards. The rumor around this is that the controversy caused by the removal of the 31 categories has fragmented the music community in a time when unity among its members is needed more than ever.

There is no word of what will happen with the rest of the 31 categories eliminated last year, but rumor has it that some, but not all of them, will be restored as well. No word as to which ones will be restored at this time.

Along with the rumors of the restoration of the Latin Jazz category, there are also rumors that NARAS President, Neil Paltrow, is on the hot seat. Mr. Paltrow orchestrated the removal of the categories in a secretive way that did not go well with its membership. There seems to be an internal movement to replace Mr. Paltrow as president of the music organization.

How Did Latino Music Café learn of this?

Latino Music Café learned about the Latin Jazz restoration rumors purely through the use of my imagination…………..because it’s April Fool’s Day!!!!!!!!!!! (yes, sorry…I just made this up) 

As today is April 1st, and I have not blogged for about 2 months, I figured I use some wishful thinking in April Fool’s day to mark my return to a “new season” (as they say on TV) of music content for YOU, the lovers of Latin music. I’ve had very important changes in my life that have required my full attention since the start of 2012. A job change, relocation, and other family issues have required my full attention to deal with those life situations in the best way possible. But Latin music is my passion and I’m firm in my commitment to spread the word of Latin music and help be part of the solution to make Latin music a strong genre that carries our tradition and culture for our enjoyment and that of the younger generations.

Thank you for continue reading Latino Music Café!

Salsa music is as much based on percusion, rhythm, winds, as it is on the singer and the chorus. And as there were specialist for every instrument, there were those who had a special gift to do “coro”. Some “coristas” happened to be good singers; others were not even singers. Here are some of the best “coristas” I remember from the early days of Salsa music.

Johnny Pacheco with Justo Betancourt:

Pacheco had a falsetto voice for “coros” which seem to strike a good cord with Salsa fans. He paired well with almost anyone, but his most memorable partners were Chivirico, Justo Betancourt, and later Ramon Rodriguez. Pacheco and Justo not only did “coros” for Pacheco y su Tumbao, but also for Willie Colon with Hector Lavoe in albums like “Asalto Navideño”, “El Juicio”, and “Lo Mato”, among others.

A good “coro” needs voices from different spectrums of the vocal scale that can also sing in harmony. Chivirico, Justo, and Ramon could all provide nice low tones to contrast Pacheco’s falsetto. Of these three, Ramon Rodriguez was the only who was not a singer, and with the also non-singer Pacheco, could make an excellent “coro”, as they recorded “El Maestro”, “The Artist”, and “Los Amigos” among others.

Paquito Guzman:

Paquito Guzman seemed to be able to add pizzaz to any Salsa music recording in which he participated in “coros”. He gain prominence as a “corista” when El Gran Combo switch from having Eddie Perez do his “falsetto” chorus, to inviting Paquito to do the high tones of the recording’s “coro”. His voice blended so well with those of Andy Montañez and Pellin Rodriguez, that other bandleaders took note. Bobby Valentin soon followed El Gran Combo in adding Paquito Guzman to his Salsa album coros, and later Paquito appeared in many other recordings, becoming Puerto Rico’s premier “corista”.

Going back to Eddie Perez from El Gran Combo, when I was a kid I used to believe that Cortijo and El Gran Combo hired the same “kid” to do “coros”. I used to ask myself, “what is a kid doing in a band of adults?”. It wasn’t until I saw El Gran Combo on TV that I realized there was no kid. It was Eddie.

Marcelino Guerra and Yayo El Indio:

Yayo El Indio circa 1985

A discussion of the early days of popular “coristas” in salsa couldn’t be complete without mentioning Marcelino Guerra and Yayo El Indio. Marcelino participated in many recording in New York, particularly with the Fania label. Yayo would participate in recording both in New York and Puerto Rico, and with different labels. Both had strong voices, but Yayo El Indio had a particular strong alto voice. El Gran Combo used Yayo El Indio in their Salsa albums “En Las Vegas” and “Aqui No Se Sienta Nadie”. In the songs “Aquí No Ha Pasado Nada” and “No Hay Yaya” in those albums respectively, Yayo’s voice can be heard clearly.

In the next Part of this topic, I’ll touch on more contemporay “coristas” in Salsa music.

With Tim Tebow’s football season now over, perhaps we can persuade him to switch his attention to Latin Music. Perhaps Latin music doesn’t need to be “saved”, but I can think of 2 ways in which Tim Tebow could spray his Mile-High magic dust to give us a hand in Latin music, and perhaps we can learn something in the way:

1. Reinstate the Latin Jazz category in the Grammy Awards: Tim Tebow replaced the original quarterback starter in Denver after the team had a horrible start in its 1st four games, and he ended riding the Broncos to the playoffs. Perhaps Tebow can replace Neil Paltrow as NARAS Chairman, reinstate the 31 music categories eliminated, including Latin Jazz, do a 2 minute drill for nominations, and get our Latin Jazz into the playoffs…err…Grammys. With the Grammy ceremony scheduled for February, this would be like his overtime touchdown pass to win his 1st playoff game!!!

2. Increase sales of Salsa Cristiana: Salsa Cristiana (Christian Salsa) has had its ups and downs, just like every other music genre. Salsa artists like Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz, Tony Vega, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex D’ Castro, and others have recorded it with less than stellar results. Tim Tebow has made “one-knee praying” a fad, and perhaps he can revive Salsa Cristiana to be the new fad in discos and clubs all over San Juan, New York, Miami, and Latin America. We can have new Merengue Cristiano from Juan Luis Guerra and Milly Quezada. We might see the return of Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz (for the 3rd time) and with Tim Tebow’s help, Ismael Miranda’s planned 2 Salsa Cristiana albums this year will become mega-hits!

Like Reaguetton and its explicit lyrics a few year ago, which coincided with a decline in our social living standards (oops, did I just say that? – well, I just said “coincided” not “caused”), perhaps a resurgence of Salsa Cristiana will “coincide” with a social re-adoption of some of our good social values that seem to have been lost in the past few years.

Can Tim Tebow do all that? With all the media publicity Tim Tebow has gotten, and the super powers attributed to him, the above seems very realistic. But perhaps we don’t need Tim Tebow. Perhaps all we need is to believe that good things can and will happen if we keep our faith (whatever that is) and act. And “act” we must.

If you recall, when Tim Tebow took over the quarterback position and started winning, some doubters didn’t believe in him, even his own team’s front office, saying his game fundamentals weren’t solid, his passing rate was the lowest in the league, etc., etc.. Yet, Tim Tebow kept his focus in doing the best he could to win, even when he played bad for 3 quarters of the game and in the last quarter performed miraculous comebacks.

Perhaps buried in the whole Tim Tebow-mania thingy, there is a lesson to be learned.

Latin Jazz had a fabulous 2011! There were so many good releases that I may need more than one blog to talk about all of them. Once again, I list them in no particular order, so let’s get right to it.

Latin Jazz 2011 Highlights:

Bobby Sanabria & The Manhattan School of Music: “Tito Puente Masterworks Live”. This is another great production by Puerto Rican percussionist Bobby Sanabria. This is a Live recording with the quality of a studio album, with a great selection of Tito Puente’s classics performed masterfully by the students of the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

Miguel Zenon ‘s “Alma Adentro; The Puerto Rican Songbook”. Perhaps one of my personal favorites of 2011, this excellent album grabs timeless beautiful songs from 5 Puerto Rican songwriters and delivers them in masterful jazz arrangements. I also went to his show at Seattle’s Jazz Alley, which was excellent.

Poncho Sanchez’ “Chano y Dizzy” with Terrance Blanchard: I really enjoyed this album as the selections from Dizzy’s repertoire are always great to listen, especially with Terrance adding pizzaz to Poncho’s band.

Jose Rizo’s “Mongorama”: another well deserve homage to a great musician, this time to Mongo Santamaria, this album has a stellar line-up with includes Poncho Sanchez, Justo Almario, Oscar Hernandez, and Adonis Puentes among many others. I would think this is more a tropical album than a Latin Jazz album with lots of Cuban music, but regardless is another fun album to listen.

Orlando “Maraca” Valle’s “Reencuentros”; Cuban flautist and former Irakere member “Maraca” delivers a masterpiece in this CD/DVD Latin Jazz homerun. If this album doesn’t win a Grammy, I don’t know what does. It has received very little marketing and publicity, but “Reencuntros” reunites an amazing line-up, headlined by the return to Cuba of master drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, and Puerto Ricans David Sanchez in sax, and Giovanni Hidalgo in the congas. I just don’t get tired of listening to this album time and again!

Michel Camilo’s “Mano a Mano”; another great album by the Dominican pianist, who teams up with master Puerto Rican conguero Giovanni Hidalgo delivering very creative music.

Dave Valentin’s “Pure Imagination”; the master flautist makes a great comeback with this album.

I left a lot out, but had to draw the line at some point. The point is there was a lot of great Latin Jazz and Jazz delivered this past year, and you can’t go wrong with any of the above.

Latin Jazz 2011 Lowlights:

Music wise, none, but NARAS elimination of 31 categories from the Grammy, including the Latin Jazz category marked a big low in 2011, which will go into effect in the 2012 Grammys to be announce next month. Great disappointment and sad not more Latin artists joined and voiced their disapproval of this misguided decision that not only will hurt Latin artists, but also (without they wanting to) record labels and the music business in general, in a time when the business is not good.

As Keith Olbermann would say in his “Countdown” TV show, Neil Paltrow (NARAS Chairman) is the “Worst Person in the World”. I’ll use this one again!

Legendary Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval begins 2012 as busy as he was in 2011, taking his Los Angeles based band to Seattle next week for 4 nights at the Jazz Alley. The multi-award winner of several Grammys, Latin Grammys, Billboard Awards, and even an Emmy, returns to Seattle to perform some new material as well as different twists of some of his favorite classics.

In an exclusive interview with Latino Music Café, the maestro Sandoval revealed he just completed 3 new albums, one of them a tribute to his idol and mentor Dizzy Gillespie, which has been recorded with a big band lineup and is in post-production. It’s worth mentioning that Mr. Sandoval owns a trumpet that belonged to Dizzy Gillespie, and he used it in his CD “Trumpet Evolution” to perform a Dizzy Gillespie tune that Dizzy originally recorded with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo entitled “Manteca”. The other two albums Arturo Sandoval is working on are an album of Tangos which he recorded with various renowned Argentinean Tango singers, and an album he produced for the Gypsy Kings.

Arturo Sandoval is one of the best-rounded musicians in the music world, as he is fluent in the afro-Cuban, bebop, classical, and ballads music languages. Although maestro Sandoval is perhaps best known for his work with his band performing jazz, and previously in Cuba as founding-member of the Afro-Cuban-Jazz fusion band Irakere, Sandoval has also been performing classical music around the world for many years as guest of philharmonics and symphonies in London, Russia, United States, and other countries.

Besides teaching at USC and doing private lessons, the maestro Arturo Sandoval is also scoring the music of two movies. This is not new to him, as he did the score for “The Mambo Kings” in 1990, which was the year he arrived to the United States. He also did the score for the movie based on his life, “For Love or Country”, which starred Cuban actor and music enthusiast/producer Andy Garcia. As if this wasn’t enough to keep him busy in early 2012, Arturo Sandoval is also starting production of a ballads album in homage to the great Mexican crooner Armando Manzanero, in which he will not only play (I’m assuming for this one he will sit at the piano) but also sing (a facet of Mr. Sandoval I wasn’t aware of).

Jazz and music enthusiast s will rarely have the opportunity to see a more accomplished musician than Arturo Sandoval. Those of you in the Greater Seattle area will have this opportunity January 12th to 15th in Seattle’s Jazz Alley. For reservations and showtimes visit the Dimitrious’ Jazz Alley web site HERE. Arturo Sandoval will also visit Virginia and Ontario. For dates and venues visit Arturo Sandoval’s web site HERE.

This week marked the 89^th birthday of Puerto Rican Latin music legend Tito Rodriguez. When I remember the Salsa and Bolero master, I think as much of his silky voice as of his ability as an entertainer.

Salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa regards Tito Rodriguez as one of his Latin music models, and I assume it is because of the elegance and entertainment ability Tito Rodriguez displayed during this career. A product of the Machito’s band, along with legendary timbalero Tito Puente, Rodriguez developed an amazing on-stage presence, along with assembling one of the best quality orchestra’s of the era. Rodriguez’s band was one of the best dressed bands, and Tito (as many of his ex-musicians have asserted) was very finicky about everyone looking squeaky clean.

With his good looks and sharp attire, Tito Rodriguez attracted a big female following. He used his charm and showmanship to entertain the crowd by talking and engaging the audience. Tito would crack jokes, dance, play the timbales, or come up with anything to keep the audience engaged. This crack for showmanship earned him a TV show in Puerto Rico.

Tito’s versatility extended to his music. He could sing just about anything, and was one of the few singers that could sing Salsa and Boleros especially well. Gilberto Santa Rosa emulates Tito Rodriguez in almost every aspect, except that he can’t sing boleros that well. Gilberto does have the elegance, charm, and singing ability of his idol, and has developed as a great entertainer as well.

On his birthday week, I want to remember one of the Big 3 of Latin music because Tito Rodriguez was our premier entertainer. Check out the below video clip of his TV show, where he acts, sings, and plays the timables.