LATIN MUSIC YOU'D SHARE

[Soandso]

Trombone was the first instrument I learned to play and the following assemblage of trombonists' recording titled NANÃ impresses me.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[dualazmak]

The microphone setting for vocal is also interesting and of reference...

 

[Soandso]

Alfredo Valdés (1908-1988; pictured above) was a pioneer of singing Cuban "Son" music (described previously). At age 18 he sang in the band Sexteto Boloña and by 1930 joined the Septeto Nacional band of Ignacio Piñeiro (profiled up-thread) at the Seville International Exposition. He stayed with Piñeiro's group for a number of years making the early "Son" records. Brought to the USA in 1937 by Xavier Cugat to sing with Cougat's Waldorf Astoria Orchestra their recordings significantly popularized Latin music for a wide U.S.A. audience. After going back to Cuba he appeared in films and eventually moving to the U.S.A. had a career including records made with Tito Puente.

Here's an Alfredo Valdés rendition of the song BUSCA EL ALFILER written by Ignacio Piñeiro with trumpet being played by Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros.

 

[shuppatsu]

I discovered this using Shazam on my phone waiting at a corner while a pickup truck with mag wheels rolled to a stop by the traffic signal, blasting the song at an ungodly volume. I don’t know what the lyrics mean, though I can certainly guess from the content of the video, which is so not my thing. But what can I say? I love the music.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Soandso]

… what the lyrics mean …

This is contemporary Mexican "corrido" music meaning it tells a story. This band is generationally very popular having arose is Southern California blending in hip-hop, slang and rap for a style called by many "corrido tumbados" ("tilted" toward hip-hop and rap) and sometimes "corrido bélicos" ("tough" guy talk).

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Soandso]

George Duke (1946-2013) wrote and recorded (2000) the easy going song IF YOU WILL with Flora Purim.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Soandso]

Alberto Socarrás Estacio (1908-1987) moved from Cuba to the USA in 1927 and as a session sideman recorded "Shootin' The Pistol" which is considered the 1st flute recording. He played flute, clarinet, saxophone and led bands like his 1934 internationally touring Alberto Socorrás And His Magic Flute Orchestra. It's worth hearing his suave 1957 rendition of THE HONEYDRIPPER.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Soandso]

Robetro Roena Vázquez (1940-2021) pictured above before age 10 began his performance career and in 1966 formed the band "Los Megatones" which recorded this delightful Latin version of the famous jazz song TAKE FIVE on their record album "Se Pone Bueno". [Roena would become most famous for his long running next (1969) band the "Apollo Sound".] The musicians on this instrumental "Take Five" recording include Roena on congas, trombonist José "Pito" Sepúlveda, trumpeter Elías Lópes García, saxophonist Rafael "Tata" Palau, on timbales Francisco "Golé" Fernández and playing bongos Daniel Vázquez Verdejo.

 

[Soandso]

Above picture is the Venezuelan "kumaco" version of a "tambor" drum. The following song is from 2019 and is unusually compelling.

[Here below are the lyrics, although assembled from screen shots with some overlapped refrains that I am not editing out.]

Comment (note: edited from the day before) =

Bomba in Spanish song does not mean an English translation of "bomb" nor originally it's contemporary slang usage. Regarding song it seems to be another word derived from western African slaves' home languages referring to a type of celebratory dance - traditionally being an individual's expression of gratitude for fortune bestowed upon them to come through some serious personal adversity like sickness or hunger.

It is a unique dance since instead of the dancers steps responding to the musicians' playing it is the dancers in effect challenging the musicians to reply. Each dancers' moves are their personalized form of homage to a debt felt to some aspect beyond humankind, such as a god or totem ancestors. The musicians form a circle which dancers enter individually whereupon a woman will advance toward some musicians and flounce their skirts at them and/or a man will mock charge the musicians rhythmically moving his limbs and extremities.

When African slaves were sold and moved around the New World this led to people of different African regions becoming mixed together who lost ancestral socio-lingual uniformity. In time that led to such wide familiarity with the names of Christian Church saints that their descendants would use certain holidays of the colonists' to publicly assemble among themselves and in some instances dance the Bomba fostering it's wider cross-cultural adaptation(s).

 

[CtheArgie]

She sings Piazolla better than anyone else.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Soandso]

Grammy nominated band 3D Rhythm Of Life (formed in 1999) recorded their Latin version of this hit song FANTASY that was originally made famous by Earth, Wind & Fire in 1977 some will recall from the opening lyrics shown below.