Latin Beat Music Update - Columna

Latin Beat Magazine, April, 1999 by Nelson Rodriguez

February was a busy month, particularly in Los Angeles, with the 41st Annual Grammy Awards and all the hoopla that accompanied it. Congratulations to Marc Anthony and Arturo Sandoval for their Grammy wins, a first for both artists. Sandoval won for his CD Hot House and Anthony for Contra La Corriente.

Jerry Rivera enjoyed a successful February on the BDS charts with his song Ese, on the tropical charts as a salsa tune and with a ballad version on the pop charts. This combination gave him over 600 plays in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with over 16 million listeners per week.

Those of you who remember Pete "Conde" Rodriguez who sang many years with Johnny Pacheco and the Fania All Stars should look into a new CD release from 1965 when he sang with Conjunto Sensación. This first time CD is titled Swing (Seeco) and gives you a good look at what was to come from the great vocal style Pete had for three decades.

One of my favorites of all time is Arsenio Rodriguez, the creator of el guaguancó, who was also known as el "Cieguito Maravilloso." I learned quite a bit about Arsenio through Larry Harlow's music and then Arsenio's early LPs. Tico has released Arsenio Dice from 1968 that includes eight of Arsenio's own compositions. Larry Harlow took the name of "El Judio Maravilloso" and went on to fame recording many of Arsenio's hits during the '70s. His 1975 album, El Judio Maravilloso, features vocalist Junior González and legendary musicians Lewis Kahn, Papo Vásquez, Eddie "Gua Gua" Rivera, Gonzalo Fernández, Pupi Legarreta, and Steve Berrios.

In the late '60s, vibist George Rodriguez led the New Swing Sextet and released the albums The Explosive New Swing Sextet and Revolucionando.

The most recent lineup of Orquesta Aragón has established itself as the charanga it was for many decades with its CD Quien Sabe Sabe. The CD features some good tracks in El Charlatán, Yaye Boy (originally done by Africando), and Sin Clave y Bongo No Hay Son.

The Sir George Collection includes some good duos including Una Aventura performed by Charlie Cardona and Charlie Cruz and He Tratado with Victor Manuelle and Gilberto Santa Rosa. This live studio concept is very similar to another live recording Sergio did for RMM and Oscar D'Leon, when D'Leon first joined the label. That recording, which hasn't been released yet, highlights D'Leon's career leading up to his RMM debut. By the way, D'Leon is working on a new project tentatively titled La Formula Original. He may also be included in a project by Eddie Palmieri and Tito Puente that will be produced by Palmieri later this year.

Ravel's CD, La Mujer De Mi Vida is his best production yet, with the radio hit that is also the merengue version of the soap opera La Mujer De Mi Vida and the scorching club hit, Pepino. His version of José José's is going to be a classic.

Henry Rosario has made a huge name for himself as one of the hottest new bachateros and his second CD includes a bachata version of So Pra Contrariar's hit song Cuando El Amor Se Va, Vicente Fernández's hit Me Voy A Quitar Del Medio and the soap opera theme song La Mentira.

I've told you about Joe Quijano's Cesta series that he's been releasing and this month I want to mention Volume 7 titled Mambo Jazz, consisting mostly of instrumentals.

Hector Tricoche has been silent for some time now and his new CD Salsa Por Todas Partes continues his flair for "salsa sensual," which also includes a duet with Lourdes Robles. My favorite cut is Mas Que Una Intención.

Available only as an import is the Tropical Jazz Big II CD, September, made in Japan. This rare recording includes Earth, Wind & Fire's September and Getaway, the theme to Mission Impossible and Duke Ellington's Caravan.

Caiman Records has released Jimmy El León Y Su Orquesta, a tribute from beginning to end to Jimmy's father Oscar D'Leon. This son sings exactly like his father and performs all of his hits. The Sady Ramírez (Grupo Clase) composition De Hijo A Padre is the only new track not previously performed by Oscar. Jimmy El León is very talented and has a bright future ahead of him.

One of Latin music's unheralded giants is the late Louie Ramírez, who during the '80s enjoyed a successful run with vocalist Ray De La Paz. Mi Fruto (Caiman-N.Y.) was one of the least remembered releases that included some great musicians in Isidro Infante, Tony Barrero, José Madera, José Mangual Jr., Mitch Frohman and Bobby Nelson. Ray De La Paz has always been one of salsa's finest underrated vocalists. I've always loved his vocal style. Rafael De Jesús, Cane Estremera, Alex D'Castro and Nestor Sánchez are in that same underrated category that De La Paz is in.

Servando y Florentine are back with their sophomore release, Muchacho Solitario. The first single, the title track, quickly went to No. 1 in Chicago at WLXX (La X Tropical). Unlike their first CD, this one has many more ballads.

A similar group to Servando y Florentine is Aleo, from New York, produced by Isidro Infante. The duo is composed of Allen Ariza and Leo Guerrero (José Leonardo Guerrero) who have covers as well as originals on their upcoming debut.