Musical Notation
by George Rivera
October 8, 2000 – The latest Celia Cruz release, which is on Sony, has finally hit the record stores. Those of you that have picked it up know now the real reason why "Oye Como Va" was the opening number at the first Latin Grammy. No, it was not a tribute to the late "King of Latin Music", Tito Puente, but an advance promo for Celia's latest release, which coincidently was produced in part by LARAS Producer of the Year, Emilio Estefan. I guess if it was alright for Christina Aguilera and 'NSync to promote new music, it's alright for Celia. Gee, I wonder if this will be a new trend for the regular Grammy?
Well for those of you that are not aware October happens to be Hispanic Heritage month. Now I really don't watch much television. I usually will watch the tube late at night before going to bed, or early in the morning before getting out of bed. Well, just this morning I happen to put the tube on and began my channel surfing. I came across a program about Hispanics in the USA. There was a segment about Latino, excuse me, Hispanics in Hollywood and Television. The main slant of the piece was how Hispanics have not been given ample opportunities in either Hollywood or Television. After that piece was over I continued surfing and came across another program where the complete opposite was being reported. This piece made the claim that Hispanics were successful in Hollywood and Television. Two different networks, two different points of view. In both cases the "talking heads" were Latinas, go figure. My advice to you would be don't buy into everything you'll see or hear throughout the month of October. While we're at it, do tune into WNBC next Sunday (10/15/00) at 4pm for a documentary on Tito Puente. This one promises to be a good one so get your video machines ready.
Since it is Hispanic Heritage month, and this site is dedicated to Latin music, I figured it would be appropriate to salute those musicians that have been instrumental in keeping our culture alive. This week I'd like to start things off with one of the very first, if not the first, musician to begin the musical exploration that would eventually lead to what we today call "Salsa". Augusto Coen (1895-1970) of Ponce, Puerto Rico began his musical training playing the trumpet under the tutelage of Domingo "Cocolia" Cruz, the legendary leader of Ponce's Municipal Band. Coen would go on to serve in the United States Armed Forces, where he would achieve the rank of Lieutenant. It is not clear if that was where he began his affiliation with James Reese Europe and Noble Sissle, two of Jazz's forefathers. After World War I Coen moved to New York City where he worked with orchestra leaders such as Duke Ellington, Noble Sissle and Fletcher Henderson. Eventually he would form his own Latin American big band. The band's repertoire was mostly Latin American tunes done in the big band setting of the era. The only thing lacking was the Latin percussion. Nevertheless, Coen's band was a springboard for musician's like "Pin" Madera, Moncho Usera, and Noro Morales, who would go on to form his own band which eventually would feature Francisco Raul Grillo, aka "Machito", before the formation of the Afro-Cubans.
Hasta la proxima, ciao…
Previous Column