Latin music
Related: South America - salsa - world music - Brazilian music - Salsoul
Definition
Latin American music, is sometimes called Latin music. It includes the music of many countries and comes in many varieties, from the down-home conjunto music of northern Mexico to the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, from the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving Andean flute.
Music has played an important part in Latin America's turbulent recent history, for example the nueva cancion movement.
Although Spain isn't a part of Latin America, Spanish music (and Portuguese music) and Latin American music strongly cross-fertilized each other, but Latin music also absorbed influences from English and American music, and particularly, African music.
Latin American can be divided into several musical areas. Andean music, for example, includes the countries of western south America, typically Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile; Central American music includes Belize, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Caribbean music includes many Spanish and French-speaking islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Martinique and Guadeloupe. Brazil perhaps constitutes its own musical area, both because of its large size and incredible diversity as well as its unique history as a Portuguese colony. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_music [Jun 2005]
Boogaloo
Though boogaloo did not become mainstream nationwide until later in the decade, two early Top 20 hits came in 1963: Mongo Santamaria's "Watermelon Man" and Ray Barretto's "El Watusi".
Inspired by these two successes, a number of bands began imitating their infectious rhythms (which were Latinized R&B), intense conga rhythms and clever novelty lyrics. Some long-time veteran Latin musicians played an occasional boogaloo number, including Perez Prado and Tito Puente, but most of the performers were teenagers like The Latin Souls, The Lat-Teens, Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, Joe Bataan and The Latinaires.
The term boogaloo was probably coined in about 1966 by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The biggest boogaloo hit of the 60s was "Bang Bang" by the Joe Cuba Sextet, which achieved unprecedented success for Latin music in the United States in 1966 when it sold over one million copies. Other hits included Johnny Colón’s "Boogaloo Blues," Pete Rodríguez’s "I Like It Like That," and Hector Rivera’s "At the Party".
Boogaloo also spread to Puerto Rico, where top band El Gran Combo released some material. Though the dance craze was over by the turn of the decade, boogaloo was popular enough that almost every major and minor Latin dance artist of the time recorded at least a few boogaloos on their albums. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo#History [Mar 2005]
see also: Joe Bataan - Latin music
Latin Language [...]
Salsa
Both Vega and Gonzalez were born to parents living in New York (the Bronx and Brooklyn, respectively), though of Puerto Rican heritage. Consequently, both were early influenced by the Big Apple's fertile salsa scene during the '70s.
Brasil
Brazilian music is typified by its intense and exuberant mixing of styles, from the European/African/Native American blends that brought about the original sambas of the early Twentieth Century, to the electronica and hip-hop records of today. --[...]Joe Bataan
In 1974 Joe Bataan recorded an album titled 'Salsoul' on the Mericana label, XMS124. It appears that this record gave the Salsoul label its name. Joe Bataan was last reported performing in New York in 1998 (to me, anyway :))Afro-Caribbean Rhythms
Born in the port section of Brooklyn, New York, Manny Oquendo would eventually develop into a master percussionist of Afro-Caribbean rhythms. He especially holds interest as the percussionist with Conjunto Libre and Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquino.
Candido shall forever be remembered for club classics as "Jingo", "Thousand Finger Man" and "Dancin' and Prancin'"
Hot to Trot
Alfredo De La Fe, mainly known for his underground classic 'Hot To Trot'Mericana Records
Mericana rds Founded by The Cayre Brothers. First Release was Tempo 70 in 1972, with material written by Bebu Silvetti -remember Spring Rain? Later, the Cayre brother started the Salsoul record labelCada Vez que te Veo
Links
http://52ndstreet.com/reviews/latin/ This index lists our Latin jazz reviews, which includes music from Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Spain, and anything else with an Afro-Cuban influence
CDs
- Latin Spectrum 2 (2000) - Various Artists [CD, Amazon US]
[FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Corta el Bonche - Tito Puente 2. Ella Esta en Otre Rumba - Justo Betancourt 3. Que Se Vaya - Bobby Cruz 4. Retorno del Mambo - Johnny Colon 5. Guarare - Ray Barretto 6. Hay Que Saber Comenzar - Roberto Roena 7. Canuto - Sonny Bravo 8. Tierra Colora - Nestor Torres 9. Arinara - Willie Garcia 10. Bomba Camara - Bobby Cruz 11. Algo Facil 12. Sabor los Rumberos Nuevos - Angel Canales 13. Periquitto Pin Pin 14. Celito Lindo
The Latin phenomenon continues apace with another quality compilation of salsa, mambo and Latin jazz. Tracks include Tito Puente-'Corta El Bonche', Justo Betancourt-'Ella Este En Otre', Bomba Camara-'Que Se Vaya', Johnny Colon-'Retorno Del Mambo' and 10 more from such artists as Ray Barretto, Roberto Roena, Gil Lopez & Sonny Bravo and Nestor Torres. Compiled by Hector Torres. Standard jewel case. Compiled by Hector Torres, a relative of Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez of Nuyorican Soul. - Nu Yorica Roots (2000) - Various Artists [CD, Amazon US]
[FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Together - Baretto, Ray 2. Oye como va - Puente, Tito 3. My spititual indian - Palmieri, Eddie 4. Mama guela - Rodriguez, Tito 5. Drum kaya - Cuba, Joe 6. Word - Averne, Harvey 7. Acid - Barretto, Ray 8. Que suena la orquesta - Palmieri, Eddie 9. Tito on timbales - Puente, Tito 10. Descarga cubana - Puente, Tito 11. Riot - Bataan, Joe 12. Tanga - Machito 13. Oracle - Martinez, Sabu 14. Oracion Lucumi - Rodriguez, Arsenio 15. Horsin' up - Orchestra Harlow
Soul Jazz are among the finest compilers of detailed and authentic re-issue compilations in the world and the third Nu Yorica Roots is no exception to their house rule of quality roots music. It focuses yet again on the development of Latin fusion within New York in the 1960s and is a fairly comprehensive spectrum of the sound, from Mambo and Latin-Jazz to Boogaloo and Descarga. To pick out certain tracks from this fantastic selection is nigh-on impossible, as every tune stands out in it's own right. Suffice to say that with dance-floor gems from the likes Ray Barretto ("Together"/"Acid") Eddie Palmieri ("Que Suena La Orquestra") Tito Puente ("Oye Como Va") and a number of equally excellent less well-known Nu Yorican dance movers, this is yet another wonderful Soul Jazz moment. --Found Sounds, Amazon.co.uk Review [...] - Nu Yorica [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
This is one of the few compilations to have attained classic status. SoulJazz followed a clear concept: the impact of environment and identity in the creation of a community of musicians, specifically those musicians living in East Harlem who were of Cuban and/or Puerto Rican heritage OR African-American but enamoured of Latin music during the 1970s. Ocho is an example of the latter: an all-black group from "across the river" which combined the expected soul and funk influences with hard Latin genres. Bobby Vince Paunetto, a vibist of Italian/Spanish heritage, fused Cal Tjader with breakbeats and an operaticexploitation sensibility on "Little Rico's Theme". The Puerto Riqueno Ricardo Marrero's "Babalonia" is not only a prime breakbeat cut, it's also a masterpiece of tension and release set up by the keyboard and horn arrangements.
The NuYorican sound had been developing since at least Machito's heyday in the late 1940s and 50s, but the utopian communalism and fearless artistic leaps of the era (plus the expanded tone colors brought by electrification and radical engineering) catapulted the aesthetic into something new and startling, but the window for this music was narrow, and by the early 1980s such bold blendings of different genres would have much less commercial viability. Derrick A. Smith for amazon.com [...] - Latin Disco(2003) - Various Artists [CD, Amazon US]
[FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Corazon - LTG Exchange 2. Latin disco - Counts (1) 3. Do it anyway you wanna - Ramirez, Louie 4. Afro hustle - Perez, Luis 5. Inner city jam (mambomonique) - Inner City Jam Band 6. Watu wasuri - Puente, Tito 7. Untitled - Delgado, Kaime Aparicio & Su Orchestra Contemporanea 8. Sunny - Yambu 9. Spirit of love - Palmieri, Eddie 10. To be in love - Puente, Tito & India 11. Hot to trot - De La Fe, Alfredo 12. Lady Marmalade - Santamaria, Mongo (1) [...] - Concepts in Unity - Grupo Folklorico Y Experimento Nuevayorquino [Amazon US] [FR] [DE] [UK]
1. Cuba Linda 2. Choco's Guajira 3. Anabacoa 4. Adelaida 5. Luz Delia 6. Carmen La Ronca 7. Canto Asoyin 8. Canto Ebioso 9. A Papa Y Mama 10. Iya Modupue
This CD is just as good as its great 1975 vynil 2-Lps set predecessor. I'm sure fans were glad to see this re-issue. The best latin american musicians in the 1970's NYC scene gathered for this historical recording. Seasoned veterans like Manny Oquendo, Alfredo "Chocolate"Armenteros, Virgilio Marti, Gonzalo Fernandez, etc. along with a cast of then rookie latin musicians made this one of the best selling albums of the 70's. A must have for all afro-cuban and latin music fans! -luis de quesada for amazon.com
Revancha del Tango (2001) - Gotan Project
Revancha del Tango (2001) - Gotan Project [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Gotan Project is a group based in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff and Christoph H. Müller (a former member of Touch El Arab). They formed in 1999. Their first release was "Vuelvo al sur/El capitalismo foraneo" in 2000, followed by the album "La Revancha del Tango". Their music is clearly tango, but also uses electronic elements like samples, beats and sounds to it. Out-takes were aired on Gilles Peterson's show "Worldwide" aired on BBC one in May 2004. Philippe Cohen Solal recently released a DJ set: "Inspiración Espiración - A Gotan Project DJ Set Selected & Mixed by Philippe Cohen Solal" (2004). This album also includes a second CD with the track "La Cruz del Sur" that was meant for "La Revancha del Tango", but didn't make it in 2001.
Before Gotan Project, Müller and Cohen Solal formed a duo called Boyz from Brazil.
Gotan Project is currently (June 2004) back in the studio creating a new album, scheduled to be released in September 2005. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotan_Project [Mar 2005]