Lozano Means Luxuriant - Entrevista

Latin Beat Magazine, Dec, 2000 by Luis Tamargo

At a time in Antillean music history when the spotlight is focused on the lead singers, flutist Danilo Lozano's Cuba L.A. recordings reflect the hidden musical wealth of the City of Angels, but also serve to remind us that instrumental solos have always been an essential part of the Empire of the Son.

For many years, I tried to figure out how the prodigal son of the Aragonesque flute icon Rolando Lozano has managed to play so many roles in Southern California's cultural life, from Whittier College academician to founding member of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to one of the region's main Cuban music catalysts.

There is a linguistic key available to unlock such an enigma. Lozano means luxuriant. I cannot think of a more appropriate adjective to describe the numerous contributions made by the 43-year old offspring of the missing link between Alberto Socarrás and Hubert Laws.

The following interview was partly conducted in a hotel lounge located a few miles away from the birthplace of the late tenor saxophonist John Haley Sims (better known as Zoot Sims), who was hired by Mario Bauzá to jam with Machito's Afro-Cubans in the early 1950s. But that's another story.

LUIS TAMARGO: Where are you from, geographically speaking?

DANILO LOZANO: I always like to say that I was manufactured in Cuba, born in New York, and raised in Boyle Heights, the oldest district of the lovely east side of Los Angeles.

LT: At your father's insistence, you studied classical music, and received a bachelor's degree from USC and a master's degree from UCLA. Isn't there a traditional form of antagonism between these two Angelino institutions of higher learning? (LAUGHTER)

DL: Let me tell you the story from the beginning. When I was growing up, a large portion of the inhabitants of Boyle Heights were German or Russian Jews, and there were also some Japanese. Therefore, the public schools of that neighborhood emphasized the cultivation of classical music. So I played classical music before I got into the trap drums and started playing rock'n'roll in high school, although I continued to listen to Cuban music at home and classical music at school. Then I was fortunate to get a football scholarship to attend USC, which had (and probably still has) one of the best music schools in the western states of the Union. There was a problem, however, that I encountered at USC. Their music program was focused on European music (which is nice and fabulous), but I questioned how other forms of music were depicted in the scheme of things. UCLA, on the other hand, was the only institution in town that offered an inclusive music program. Therefore, I transferred to UCLA because I wanted to study Cuban music. While I was attending USC, their football team always won whenever it played against UCLA, but the opposite thing began to happen when I left USC (LAUGHTER). Right around that time, I worked for the first time with a group of popular Cuban music, Miguel Cruz & Skins.

LT: Like Típica Antillana, Miguel Cruz's sound was quite different from the prevailing salsa style of that era.

DL: Definitely. A totally different sound was created when Miguel Cruz's rumba ensemble incorporated tres, flute and bass. Working with Skins, I was exposed to many different aspects of my own musical culture. Nevertheless, before Típica Antillana's famous 1974 recording debut, L.A.'s Cuban scene also included the charanga called Típica Tropical, as well as Mazacote's band, although "Maza" developed a more salsa-oriented sound.

LT: Unlike other U.S. charangas, both Tropical and Antillana had deep roots in Cuba.

DL: Yes. Tropical's musical director, violinist Eduardo Aguirre, was the original founder of Original de Manzanillo, prior to Puchi Naranjo's arrival. Típica Tropical, by the way, was quite popular in L.A. in the 1960s, and even scored a gold record with a tune entitled Guatemala (1964). Back then, the main Spanish-language radio stations in town played "tropical music" during the week; they played the music styles of diverse Latin American nations. The format was changed later, of course. Nowadays, it is mostly limited to Latin pop. In 1974, when Aguirre moved to Miami, his timbalero, Armando Díaz, stayed in L.A., and organized --along with other veterans of Típica Tropical-- the charanga known as Típica Antillana.

LT: Antillana's Sonotropic debut (featuring your father on flute, Rudy Calzado on vocals, and Perico Hernández on tumbadoras) has been recently reissued as a compact disc, although the title has been changed to Charanga Antillana.

DL: That was the first recording in which Perico participated in L.A., after he left Cuba. He demonstrated a tremendous musical talent. His playing had the scent of El Malecón (LAUGHTER).

LT: Did you eventually assume the leadership of Antillana?

DL: After I worked with Miguel Cruz, I joined Antillana in 1980 or 1981. At that time, it also included my dad on piano and my brother Roli on bass.

LT: Is your brother still playing bass?

RL: My brother plays when he feels like it. He is now selling fire insurance to homeowners (LAUGHTER).