Salsa Con Acid

[No Pride]

Here's one Ernie might get a kick out of.

I liked it, Vic! I used to play that tune a long time ago with a jazz group, but we did it as an afro 6/8.

Did you check out the Ralph Irizarry track I posted? Ralph worked with Ruben Blades (who most "gringos" probably know as an actor and of course they'd be right, but *we know he's a great singer/musician/composer too) for a long time. Timbalaye was a cutting edge latin jazz band in NYC. The percussionists in Chevere, the latin jazz group I play in hold Timbalaye in high esteem. I have two of their albums and I think it's pretty great stuff too!

Speaking of Ruben Blades, did you ever see that movie, "Crossover Dreams?" It's about a singer/musician who's tired of playing the salsa circuit and wants to be a pop star.

* Didn't mean to imply that I'm not a gringo myself; I am!

[Vic2012]

Did you check out the Ralph Irizarry track I posted? Ralph worked with Ruben Blades (who most "gringos" probably know as an actor and of course they'd be right, but *we know he's a great singer/musician/composer too) for a long time. Timbalaye was a cutting edge latin jazz band in NYC. The percussionists in Chevere, the latin jazz group I play in hold Timbalaye in high esteem. I have two of their albums and I think it's pretty great stuff too!

Speaking of Ruben Blades, did you ever see that movie, "Crossover Dreams?" It's about a singer/musician who's tired of playing the salsa circuit and wants to be a pop star.

Haven't checked out Irizarry yet but will when I get a chance. I've never seen "Crossover Dreams" either. When that film came out I was totally out of the latin music scene and it just didn't pique my interest at all. I knew Ruben Blades in the mid 70s when he started with the Ray Barretto Orchestra. Then he became a big star with the Willie Colon band and The Fania All-Stars. Saw him perform a few times with both bands. Met him in a club once in San Francisco. All this was before he went all Hollywood. I know I've seen him in a few films but the only one I remember is "Predator 2." Ruben also makes an appearance on a Derek Trucks album I have.

[Vic2012]

Just played the Irizarry/Timbalaye video. Good, swinging, latin/jazz. Only two percussionists and they make a hell of a noise. I saw some timbal players in the 70s that started adding more drums to their kits and making a hybrid set of timbales with kick drums and snares, hi-hats, etc. and cowbells and blocks up the wazoo. To the untrained ear it sounds like a clusterfuck. To the trained ear, and an understanding of clave it swings like a mofo.

Listening to the Irakere video right now. Yeah, that's what I call progressive/Cuban/fusion (or Cuban Confusion ). It actually sounds kind of Brazillian. It's got that "Carnival" vibe. Not sure if this cat was in that band - Arturo Sandoval. I saw him at a state-fair type show about 10-12 years ago. He was awesome. He transitioned from latin to traditional bebop like nothing. Great stuff.

[No Pride]

I've never seen "Crossover Dreams" either. When that film came out I was totally out of the latin music scene and it just didn't pique my interest at all.

It's not a great movie, but it isn't bad either. It's kind of the latin version of "Rock Star" with Mark Wahlberg. Or the other way around, since "Crossover Dreams" came first. Same basic plot though: boy has girl, boy becomes star, boy becomes full of himself and loses girl, boy becomes disgruntled with the politics of the biz and drops out, boy gets girl back. There's some good music in it though.

Listening to the Irakere video right now. Yeah, that's what I call progressive/Cuban/fusion (or Cuban Confusion ). It actually sounds kind of Brazillian. It's got that "Carnival" vibe. Not sure if this cat was in that band - Arturo Sandoval. I saw him at a state-fair type show about 10-12 years ago. He was awesome. He transitioned from latin to traditional bebop like nothing. Great stuff.

Arturo was actually one of the founding members of Irakere. Both he and fellow bandmate, Paquito D' Rivera defected to the US, partly because they wanted to play jazz with American jazz players, but probably more because of Cuba's government (and it's interesting that after all of these decades, Cuba and the US are now kissing and making up). Both have made straight ahead jazz albums and latin jazz albums.

Mark Walker, the longest standing drummer in my former band, Bad Dog U has toured with Paquito several times and played on some of his albums. You can see him with Paquito in the movie "Calle 54," a great documentary/concert film about latin jazz. (edit) Just looked at Mark's website; he apparently still does some gigs with Paquito and has played on a bunch of his albums. He's also been with Oregon for about a decade and a half. He's the best drummer I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He can play the shit out of virtually any kind of music, but when he moved to NYC, he got pigeon-holed as a latin jazz specialist. He resides in Boston now and teaches at Berkley Music College when he's not on tour.

[Vic2012]

Arturo was actually one of the founding members of Irakere. Both he and fellow bandmate, Paquito D' Rivera defected to the US, partly because they wanted to play jazz with American jazz players, but probably more because of Cuba's government (and it's interesting that after all of these decades, Cuba and the US are now kissing and making up). Both have made straight ahead jazz albums and latin jazz albums.

Amazing how politics changed the musical culture of that island. I wouldn't call myself a "historian" but I've always been fascinated by the history of how this music (or any music) developed. I haven't read any books about it but I've done a lot of internet searches and read lots of articles about how it all started and how it evolved. One pivotal moment was when Dizzy Gillespie brought Chano Pozo to NYC to play in his band in the 1940s. Dizzy isn't a jazz musician that gets name dropped a lot but he's really the only "bebop" jazzer I've ever paid any attention to because of the latin/jazz connection. I don't have a bunch of Dizzy albums but I have a couple (I'm not really a bebop fan to begin with, but I love that old mambo/bebop era of the 1940s and 50s in NYC).

By the way Ernie: What do I have to do to get a copy of the Chevere CD (if you have any left)? Send me a PM when you get a chance. I will pay for it of course.

[Vic2012]

Hey Ernie, thought I'd just resurrect this thread to mention how much I've enjoyed Chevere . Good, quality latin/jazz with a touch of Santana (with the organ and your killer guitar playing). Excuse me for gushing but you're a monster on guitar. The conga drummer is very impressive, as well as the whole percussion section. Usually when I listen to this type of music I tend to pay attention to the percussion more than anything else. The standout track for me is "El Cojo." Don't know if I've heard a mambo in and odd time sig like that. Very impressive.

[Zeuhlmate]

[TheLoony]

So there isn't a whole lot of proggy music on the jukebox at my local watering hole. They do have some Transatlantic, which is, frankly, not the "tired, old" prog like Floyd or Yes so i like to play it.

Thing is, everyone else doesn't. They cry and whine when I get near the box. Not my fault I have better taste in music than they do.

I'm thinking I should really piss them off and play this. Not only that but I need to film the reaction. Classic stuff, I'm telling you. This cannot go wrong.

[Vic2012]

I have this album. It's probably the last Barretto record he did before he went full blown salsa. It's tough, urban, NYC Latin bugaloo.

[Zeuhlmate]

^^^
There is not so much 'con acid' there despite the title, but its from a period of time when Salsa was interesting.

I just listened to a lot of Eddie Palmieri, and some of it is pretty fantastic

[Vic2012]

Yeah, Eddie Palmieri is a God of Latin jazz and mambo. I have a bunch of his albums. His best stuff is quirky, jazzy, experimental, and traditional dance, cha cha, mambo. After Tito Puento Eddie is my favorite Latin jazz artist.

[Vic2012]

I'm taking a break from heavy metal and I'm listening to Mambo Picante......