Musical Notation
by George Rivera
October 29, 2000 – Back on October 24, 1973 a group of "Salsa" renegades, led by master percussionist Manny Oquendo, decided to break away from the main stream musical environment, which at the time was totally controlled by Fania Records. At the core of this musical revolt were musicians such as brothers Jerry and Andy Gonzalez, Oscar Hernandez, Barry Rogers, Jose Rodriguez, and Papo Vazquez. It was on that day that Conjunto Libre came into existence. Twenty-seven years later they are still standing strong, and once again fighting against the tide of mediocrity. The band was celebrating their 27th Anniversary this past Monday at SOB's, and as if that was not enough David Calzado and Charanga Habanera were in the house as well.
While I'm not a "timba-niac" I do enjoy it in moderation. I have to admit that Charanga Habanera performed one hell of a tight set that lasted well over an hour. And you know what, they had my undivided attention the whole way through. This is one of the tightest, well rehearsed band in Cuba today. The level of musicianship in the band is outstanding. What amazes me is that these guys are playing a mixture of Afro-Cuban, Pop, Rock, Jazz, and HipHop, which is something that was taboo back in the days when Irakere was starting out. From the look of things the Cuban government must really be loosening up. If David and company should happen to be making a stop in a venue near you do go check them out. This is one you really do not want to miss.
I happened to make yet another stop at El Taller LatinoAmericano this past Friday to catch AfroMantra. The band, a quintet which includes Pablo Gil (soprano and tenor sax), Pablo Vergara (keyboard), Toshi Someya (bass), Aryam Vazquez (percussion), and Alex Garcia (drums), is headed in the right direction. It's a shame that there aren't enough spots here in NYC where one can just go chill and listen to good Latin Jazz. We definitely have more than enough bands and musicians willing to take on the challenge. I don't understand why some of the Jazz joints in, and around town, don't feature Latin Jazz at least one night a week. Maybe these clubs need a wake-up call. Anyway, in the meantime we should support those venues that do feature the genre like El Taller, and the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, where Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS band hold court on Thursday nights.
Finally, this past weekend RMM presented the SALSA FROM THE 80'S concert at Madison Square Garden. From all accounts the concert proved to be a success. The Garden was sold out weeks in advance which led to the sale of tickets for the seats behind the stage, something that is rarely done. I hope that the success of the concert, which featured guys like Andy Montañez, Rafael de Jesus, Lalo Rodriguez, Cano Estremera, and many more of the singers of the 80's, signals a return to that swing element that is still missing to some extent in today's music. If the powers-that-be read the signals from the crowd that was present at the Garden correctly they'll know what it is they want. At the least some of those artists present deserve another shot. Hopefully the success of the show doesn't fall on deaf ears.
Hasta la proxima, ciao…
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