Mitch Frohman: Bronx ambassador to Latin Jazz

Latin Beat Magazine, August, 1998 by Max Salazar

Frohman graduated in 1975, returned to New York City and landed a job at Zukor's Lodge, a Catskill New York State mountain resort.

"Most of the dancers were elderly people," said Frohman, "so the dance ended at midnight...one night I drove to the Pines Hotel where the Joe Cuba Sextet was appearing...I introduced myself and Cuba let me sit in...this was the first time I ever played with an authentic Latin rhythm section...I remember blowing to Oye Como Va, El Pito and To Be With You. Cuba let me sit in twice a week until the gig ended on Labor Day...back in the city I came across Roger Rosenberg at the musicians union who mentioned he had been playing with Tito Puente and that Tito had a preference for jazz-oriented horn players...he suggested I speak to Jimmy Frisaura, (Puente's trumpeter and business manager)...one evening while the Puente orchestra was at the Happy Hills Casino at 157th St. and Broadway, I introduced my self to Jimmy and he approved of my sitting in with the band...the following week the band appeared at the Pan American Motor Inn on Queens Blvd. I sat in on two numbers...after awhile I was sitting in on a regular basis...I learned all the routines...in order to get a steady gig, I had to get on the sub (substitute) list which would one day result in a permanent job...the sax section had 20 subs...one night I got a sub's job...then Pd sit in every couple of months, then more frequently until I was a regular sub."

On October 3, 1977, after a year of subbing steadily, Frohman became a regular when he replaced tenor saxist Al Shikaly. His first recording as a Puente regular was the 1978 Tico LP Tribute To Benny Moré Vol. I, which won a Grammy for the Best Tropical Music recording of the year. During this same time period, Puente was working more with his Latin Jazz Ensemble than the big band. Frohman and pianist Joe Manozzi (Tipica 73) organized the New York Salsa All Stars. Frohman was never without work. In 198 8 he began gigging with Mongo Santamaría's Orchestra. He befriended trumpeter Ray Vega and alto saxist Bobby Porcelli with whom in 1992 he formed The Bronx Horns, a Latin Jazz aggregation.

"In 1992," said Frohman, "Mongo decided to change his sound and recruited new sidemen...Bobby, Ray and I had charts (music) we had composed...we created a great rhythm section...shortly thereafter I ran across an old friend, Horotio Malvicino, who suggested we record an album at his studio 440..."

This session produced outstanding tracks: Mambo Melani, Mitch's Mambo, Catch The Feeling, Teriaki, Second Wind and You're All I Have, which qualify this CD as one of the Best of the Year. To complete the album, The Horns created a feeling of nostalgia, a vicarious feeling of the early '50s when DJ Symphony Sid used to air Moody's Mood For Love. Top Hits released The Bronx Horns during the fall of 1995 with a liner note blessing by Tito Puente.

"It gives me great pleasure to give my full support and endorsement to my boys in the Bronx Horns." Months later, Puente recorded Frohman's breathtaking Point East Memories for the 1996 Concord Jazz CD Special Delivery.