Latin beat music update

Latin Beat Magazine, Nov, 2004 by Nelson Rodríguez

Let us begin this month with the question of why do we have a Latin Grammy Awards ceremony if the talent pool that performs on the telecast continues to be, in part, poor choices and the people picked to host and present these awards can't even pronounce names and song titles? How does a Celia Cruz recording with very little salsa win the salsa category? It gives the category a bad name and leads fans to believe that this is the best we have to offer. The tribute to Celia Cruz was only a way to present Roselyn Sánchez, who has not earned the right to perform in such a tribute. Once again, the winners in many categories were predictable and no different from the regular Grammys held in February, leaving us with the question of why we need a Latin Grammys ceremony at all.

As the end of the year nears, we see many artists and labels releasing last-minute products. Most of these releases belong to recognized names such as Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz's alleged 100th album (even though they told LATIN BEAT a while back that they had over 100 recordings). It is titled 40 Aniversario and was recorded live at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Puerto Rico, on a 3-CD set, with guests Johnny Pacheco, Papo Lucca, Alex D'Castro, Luis Marín and Bobby Valentín. This CD includes five new tracks for Richie Ray collectors.

Jan Hartong & Nueva Manteca have a new CD, Tribute to West Side Story with a unique flavor that should quickly become popular. Merengueros Juan Luis Guerra (with his hit Las Avispas), La Nueva Patrulla 15 (with the hit Que Se Vaya Pa'l ...) and Rubby Pérez (with his hit Tonto Corazón) are all back from the sidelines with new labels and releases.

Los Van Van have a DVD available that was originally recorded in Puerto Rico in 1994 and includes their best three vocalists--Pedro Calvo, Mayito Rivera and Roberto Hernández. You can also look for a Manny Oquendo & Libre DVD, also recorded in Puerto Rico.

Some of the new names in merengue include Krisspy, Stars, F.B.I., Alberto Flash, Amarfis and Tulile.

Two of Colombia's finest are back, just in time for the holidays, with the following CDs: Fruko y sus Tesos with La Maquina Del Sabor and Sonora Carruseles (minus Diego Gale) with Que No Pare La Rumba. As for Diego Galé, he's enjoying the release of his latest CD, Esencia Latina, with a new production soon to follow.

One of the year's better timba recordings comes from Tiempo Libre, a Miami-based band, and its debut, Timbiando. The band, led by vocalist Joaquín "El Kid" Díaz (ex-NG La Banda, Paulito & Manolín) and producer/arranger/keyboardist Jorge Gómez, features an English-language salsa version of the Beatles classic, Hey Jude.

Alex Acuña has a long history and a who's who list of artists that he has played with, but is truly at his best when he spearheads his own projects. His new release, No Accents, with his band The Unknowns, is a blend of Latin jazz with electronica.

Pianist/producer Lucho Cueto's group, Black Sugar, currently features Tito Allen on vocals.

What I like best about Oasis, the debut by pianist/producer Ricky González, is his lineup of guests: José Alberto "El Canario" and Johnny Pacheco on the track Quisqueya Tiene Salsa; Ray Barretto on Mi Rumba Es Candela; Orestes Vilató on Timbalero; Jimmy Sabater on La Puerta/To Be With You; Dave Valentín on Pair of Aces, and the talents of vocalists Ray Viera, Hermán Olivera and Frankie Vázquez.

Salsa is a new CD by Bad Boys, the group led by popular pianist/producer Jesús "Chucho" Ramírez, with arrangements by Ramón Sánchez, Andrés Viafara (Grupo Niche, Suprema Corte's musical director), José Aguirre (Niche, Yuri Buenaventura and Son De Cali's recent producer) and Andrés Gómez (musical director for Yuri Buenaventura).

Produced by three of Vission Latina's co-founders--Cuban percussionist Carlos Caro, Guatemalan keyboardist Marco A. Diaz-Obregón and Mexican bassist Saul Sierra--the CD Kitikimba Pa' Ti adds a special chemistry to the sounds of salsa, rumba abierta, timba, chachachá, rock and Latin pop.

While Gilberto Santa Rosa has released his share of good albums in the past, his latest CD, Auténtico, is worthy of a Grammy nomination in 2005. He combines great contemporary radio hits and a few old-school tracks with the musical talents of Jesús Caunedo, Andy González, Manny Oquendo, Bomberito Zarzuela, Chocolate Armenteros, Sonny Bravo, Johnny Rodriguez, Mario Rivera, Pablito Rosario, Mike Collazo, Adalberto Santiago, Willie Torres, Paquito Guzmán and special vocal guest José Alberto (El Canario).

Jimmy Bosch's super hot new CD features guests Andy González, Yomo Toro, Alfredo de la Fé, Dave Valentin, Oscar Hernández, Ray De La Paz, Mitch Frohman, Bobby Allende, George Delgado and Hermán Olivera, with lead vocals by the young singer Rey Bayona.

Tierrazo Jazz is a new 2-DVD set recorded live in Puerto Rico in 1982 by Irakere, Tito Puente, Dave Valentin, Batacumbele and Tania Maria. That was a great year for all those acts and well worth the historical value of the performances.