“Ray Barretto once said to me when I had him on my radio show,” recounts bandleader Chico Mendoza when asked about his short-lived band, Ocho. “He said, ‘Chico, I loved your band, man. Let me tell ya, Ocho was ahead of its time!’ And that basically encapsulates Ocho to this day. What we were doing was anachronistic. It wasn’t in the right place and the right time....MORE >
< NEW RELEASES
1
Like most of the collaborations between trombonist, composer and musical director Willie Colón and mercurial Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoé, the album that you hold in your hands transcends the boundaries of salsa....MORE >
2
“Ray Barretto once said to me when I had him on my radio show,” recounts bandleader Chico Mendoza when asked about his short-lived band, Ocho. “He said, ‘Chico, I loved your band, man....MORE >
3
The hegemony of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe in the circuit of rising youth bands in New York around the middle of the 1960s was consolidated at the end of 1969 with the launch of the LP “Cosa Nuestra”.
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4
Known sarcastically as “the King of Punctuality,” for his innate inability to arrive to his shows on time, the Puerto Rican’s affable nature earned him the adoration of music lovers, who crammed into performance halls throughout the Spanish-speaking ...MORE >
5
To enjoy an artist's music recorded in a studio is one thing, but to hear (or actually see) a singer's live performance on stage is another thing altogether. Especially when that artist is Héctor Lavoé.
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6
Anybody who is at least marginally familiar with the breathtaking catalogue of Puerto Rico's La Sonora Ponceña will tell you that one disc is simply not enough to include all of the orchestra's greatest hits....MORE >
7
Hector Lavoe was the most mercurial vocalist that Afro-Caribbean music has ever known. The salsa equivalent of a tragic rock’n’roll star, a heroin addict who died in 1993 at the young age of 46....MORE >
8
The year was 1972 and the Vietnam War was the top story on the news. President Richard Nixon had just been re-elected while reports of “Watergate” began to unfold....MORE >
9
Recognized as one of the rarest treasures in the history of Latin jazz, El Sonido Moderno rightfully takes its place among the most elusive, sought-after gems ever pressed to vinyl....MORE >
10
Eight years after its creation, Fania Records had accumulated such a sizable catalog of artists that it began to issue compilations from its roster of hit-making stars such as Willie Colón, Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco, and Ray Barretto....MORE >
July 21 2010
Our free download this month is a real gem, a pristine slice of Latin funk anchored on the sound of vibes and the retro mood of 1969.
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Hector Lavoe, El cantante de los cantantes, The King Of Improvisation, Lavoe was the greatest salsa singer of all time. He was the best sonero (freestyling verses the way rappers do nowadays) that there ever was. He was a true artist o the people and an icon to us all.
from Cosa NuestraCosa Nuestra
from Greatest Hits
from A Lady And Her Music
July 14 2010
The tenth album recorded by Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound represented the coming of age and the high point in the career of this brilliant Puerto Rican musician with his orchestra.
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