Musical Notation
Musical Notation
May 6, 2001 – Approximately twenty-eight years ago, while performing with the Roy McNeil band at the Tin Palace, a now defunct jazz joint in the Bowery area of NYC, Mauricio Smith, approached the flautist and asked if she was interested in some work with a charanga band. The young flautist, who had no experience in Latin music, answered in the affirmative and upon Mauricio’s recommendation began to work with Mike Perez’s Tipica New York, and so began Andrea Brachfeld’s love affair with Latin music.
Andrea’s
musical journey started in earnest while attending NYC’s prestigious Music
& Arts High School, the institution known worldwide as a result of FAME, the
motion picture and television series. Dave Valentin, Nat Adderley, Jr., Buddy
Williams, and Noel Pointer were just a few of her classmates. It was in this
environment that she began to hone her musical skills. Eventually she would go
out and prove herself on the bandstands around town, until that fateful day at
the Tin Palace.
One would think that the Latin music environment back in the 70’s wouldn’t be too kind to women musicians, after all it was a scene totally dominated by male musicians with some serious chops and serious business at hand. “I felt that I was well respected. I really took my craft seriously. I practiced and listened to the music. My thing was just to play. I think that when someone takes music seriously people are not as concerned about one’s gender,” Andrea stated. She went on to say, “I was warmly accepted into the Latin music scene.”
In 1976 Andrea landed a job with an up-and-coming band that would take the Latin music scene by storm. With the release of their debut album Charanga ’76, led by the vocal duo of Hansel and Raul, shot to the top of the charts wherever Latin music was played. They would become one of the busiest bands on the cuchifrito circuit. “We played so many gigs. We had a great time! It was a great time during that era. There was so much music happening. There were many club owners that liked to hire many bands a night, at least three bands a night. We listened to each other, and we played together. It was a great time,” reminisced the flautist.
Eventually Andrea would disappear from the cuchifrito circuit. She left NYC for what was to be a month-long engagement in Venezuela. That month-long engagement became a two-and-a-half-year-long gig. She would eventually get married and raise a daughter, putting her musical career on the backburner.
Now she’s back with a debut recording, REMEMBERED DREAMS, on Spirit Nectar Records. Twenty years in the making, REMEMBERED DREAMS features eight original compositions by Andrea. “I really didn’t consider myself a composer until a couple of years ago, although I had been writing for many, many years. It’s a whole life process where you come into your own and develop different talents. It’s a maturity process. It feels really good and I’m looking forward to the next production,” Andrea stated.
For now, the lady is back and ready to gig…
Hasta la
proxima, ciao…
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