Ernesto Chico Alvarez Peraza: a latino con jazz for a new world

Latin Beat Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Nelson Rodriguez

A native New Yorker who grew up in Cuba and returned to the Big Apple in time to "witness the cross-fertilization of black American music with the popular Cuban rhythms and the subsequent rise of the musical hybrids such as the boogaloo, Latin soul and Latin rock," Ernesto "Chico" Álvarez Peraza has become a pioneer that keeps our roots alive today.

This multi-faceted musician, vocalist, bandleader and graphic artist is also the producer, host and moderator of his own weekly music radio program, "The New World Gallery," that celebrates fifteen years on Pacifica's WBAI, in New York.

Back in the early '90s, I met Álvarez at WBAI, when his program aired during the weekdays, and soon noticed that his show had a more cosmopolitan approach to the music he was playing. His moderating also reflected a knowledgeable point of view that brought me to the realization that his style came with the experience of being a musician.

Three of my favorite Álvarez recordings--Montuneando (Guajiro), The Contemporary Charanga Sounds of Riverside (Sonido Latino), and most recently, Soneros De Cuba y New York (with Angelo Vaillant)--are must-haves, and he currently leads the collective known as The Afro-Caribe Band. This tight ensemble was formed in 1995 by Álvarez (on lead vocals), and former members of the group "Nosotros."

Chico Álvarez has always been an outspoken voice on radio, and his interviews delve heavily into the artists' musical knowledge, as well as their lives. Historic interviews with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Bebo Valdés, Justi Barreto, Tito Puente, Tata Güines, Chico O'Farrill, Graciela, Yomo Toro, Changuito, Ray Barretto, "Pucho" Brown, Johnny Colón, Al Santiago, Cheo Feliciano, Victor Paz, José Fajardo, Héctor Rivera, Roberto Roena, Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Vitín Avilés, Mario Bauzá, Paquito D'Rivera, Yayo "El Indio," Eddie Palmieri, Bobby Sanabria, Dave Valentln, Lou Pérez, Roberto Torres, René Touzet, Vicentico Valdés, Leo Fleming, Olga Guillot, "Papaito" Muñoz, Orlando Marin, Sonny Bravo, Maraca, Chucho Valdés, Papo Pepín, Victor Venegas, Ralph Irizarry, Oscar D'León, Rudy Calzado, Andy González, Mitch Frohman, Marco Rizo, Wayne Gorbea, George Maysonet, Felo Barrios, Mauricio Smith, Susie Hansen, Papo Vázquez, Hermán Olivera, Roberto Carcasses Jimmy Bosch, Papo Lucca, Puntilla Rios, José Luis Cortes, Eddy Zervigón, Yosvanny Terry, Vocal Sampling, Javier Vázquez, Paquito Hechavarria, Gene Golden, Lázaro Ros, Jesds Alemañy, Henry Fiol, César "Pupi" Pedroso, Brett Golin, Son Reinas, Martin Arroyo, among many others, have helped make The New World Gallery the innovative and exciting show that it has become in the past fifteen years.

This past October, for his 15th Anniversary celebration, Álvarez invited musicians to come into the WBAI studios and jam in what has become a historic and memorable event for the award winning radio personality. He has received the Chico O'Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Jazz USA Awards Committee, for his outstanding contribution to the art form of Latin jazz, and has been a recipient of the Silver Reel Local Entertainment Award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), in 1998; and in 1999, for his special "Jazz Meets Latin/Dizzy Gillespie & Chano Pozo" he won the First Place Award For Excellence in Radio Arts and Entertainment, from the New York Association of Black Journalists.

Álvarez is currently providing vocal talent for Andrea Brachfeld's upcoming release and can also be seen with the rumba group Quinto Mayor, led by his conga drummer Gene Golden.

The New World Gallery airs on WBAI every Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. and continues to cater to an ethnically diverse audience in a bilingual format as only this 35-year veteran of the music can do.