bailar y tocar
Son Montuno
This thread has turned into a bolero thread so I'll take it back to the Conjunto Oye FB OP.
I bolded the sentences that I think the OP was really trying to convey. The idea that playing older rhythms like bolero and danzon and cha-cha and (not specifically mentioned) son is what they used to be able to do and the dancers would be able to adapt. According to the OP, today that doesn't happen anymore.
Also it appears that the OP has a problem with "pop music with tropical window dressing".
I am interpreting the OP's complaint as 2 different things.
1. Dance Instructors, DJs (and Bands) are not adding anything beyond the very basics. The basic salsa, the basic bachata, the standard rhythm arrangement, the whatever it takes to get people on the dance floor and no more than that, is all they want to offer and is all their customers ask for.
2. The decline in musical quality, i.e. pop music with tropical dressing, seems like a complaint towards composers and arrangers who don't use acoustic instruments anymore due to the high cost of hiring an actual musician to play them at a recording quality level. A synth player can pull it off as long as they know how to program a keyboard.
I would generally agree with both complaints but the 2nd one does not have to be. DJs can choose whatever track or covered song they want and if they pick a live cut with all its weird breaks, they can change the flow of a song and what dancers might do (if they are listening).
*************************************************************************
This is an open letter to all Los Angeles dance instructors and DJ's.
The world is ever evolving. Trends come and go. Some things stay and others go quickly. Salsa (tropical dance music) has never left us. Though It changes, though it goes through various levels of popularity, it has survived.
It has not died (or at least completely died) because it is a musical art form that deserves to live. It is something that indeed makes life worth living. It is a recharge for your soul. It is important. More than that, it is vital.
As such, it is important to remember that we (as part of the community) have a certain responsibility to make sure that the traditions are passed down correctly to the succeeding generations. As time marches on, most of the masters that created this art form have passed on. We must make sure that what they created doesn't also pass, into oblivion.
This does not mean that you need to be a revivalist. Music is supposed to change. But just because music changes, that does not mean that we can afford to forget rhythms and other key elements that made the music what it is.
Historically the musicians (and authors of this music) have had a symbiotic relationship with dancers. They created the music and the dancers individually found it within themselves to create dance.
Every time a new rhythm was created, the dancers followed. Mambo came from an older rhythm (the guaguanco). The Cha Cha came from the older Danzon. Rhythms of more African origin were refined into modern incarnations (Mozambique, Bomba, Plena, Jala Jala, Comparsa). Every time one of these rhythms came onto the scene, the dancers were able to adapt. The further away from these rhythms (and Africa for that matter) that you get, the further away you get from what Salsa is. Salsa is not supposed to be pop music with tropical window dressing.
It seems that dancers are less and less equipped these days to deal with these rhythms (all of which fall under the umbrella term of "salsa"). There was a time when a band couldn't get away with not playing a Bolero. When a band played a bolero, It was the time of the night when dancers were really able to get close to one another.
Bachata seems to be what dancers use to do this these days, when they want to dance close. That's all well and good. But it is a mistake to let Bachata entirely take the place of these other dances that are part of the salsa tradition. Bachata has very little to do with salsa. It is not salsa. This is not to say that there is no place for Bachata. Dancers want what they want. But give them options. Don't forget to teach dancers how to handle a Cha Cha Cha. Equip them to handle a Bolero. It would be a shame to let these traditions die on our watch.
This is of course just a reminder. We musicians would have nothing without the continued support of promoters, dancers, DJ's, music lovers, and everybody else in the salsa community.
I bolded the sentences that I think the OP was really trying to convey. The idea that playing older rhythms like bolero and danzon and cha-cha and (not specifically mentioned) son is what they used to be able to do and the dancers would be able to adapt. According to the OP, today that doesn't happen anymore.
Also it appears that the OP has a problem with "pop music with tropical window dressing".
I am interpreting the OP's complaint as 2 different things.
1. Dance Instructors, DJs (and Bands) are not adding anything beyond the very basics. The basic salsa, the basic bachata, the standard rhythm arrangement, the whatever it takes to get people on the dance floor and no more than that, is all they want to offer and is all their customers ask for.
2. The decline in musical quality, i.e. pop music with tropical dressing, seems like a complaint towards composers and arrangers who don't use acoustic instruments anymore due to the high cost of hiring an actual musician to play them at a recording quality level. A synth player can pull it off as long as they know how to program a keyboard.
I would generally agree with both complaints but the 2nd one does not have to be. DJs can choose whatever track or covered song they want and if they pick a live cut with all its weird breaks, they can change the flow of a song and what dancers might do (if they are listening).
*************************************************************************
This is an open letter to all Los Angeles dance instructors and DJ's.
The world is ever evolving. Trends come and go. Some things stay and others go quickly. Salsa (tropical dance music) has never left us. Though It changes, though it goes through various levels of popularity, it has survived.
It has not died (or at least completely died) because it is a musical art form that deserves to live. It is something that indeed makes life worth living. It is a recharge for your soul. It is important. More than that, it is vital.
As such, it is important to remember that we (as part of the community) have a certain responsibility to make sure that the traditions are passed down correctly to the succeeding generations. As time marches on, most of the masters that created this art form have passed on. We must make sure that what they created doesn't also pass, into oblivion.
This does not mean that you need to be a revivalist. Music is supposed to change. But just because music changes, that does not mean that we can afford to forget rhythms and other key elements that made the music what it is.
Historically the musicians (and authors of this music) have had a symbiotic relationship with dancers. They created the music and the dancers individually found it within themselves to create dance.
Every time a new rhythm was created, the dancers followed. Mambo came from an older rhythm (the guaguanco). The Cha Cha came from the older Danzon. Rhythms of more African origin were refined into modern incarnations (Mozambique, Bomba, Plena, Jala Jala, Comparsa). Every time one of these rhythms came onto the scene, the dancers were able to adapt. The further away from these rhythms (and Africa for that matter) that you get, the further away you get from what Salsa is. Salsa is not supposed to be pop music with tropical window dressing.
It seems that dancers are less and less equipped these days to deal with these rhythms (all of which fall under the umbrella term of "salsa"). There was a time when a band couldn't get away with not playing a Bolero. When a band played a bolero, It was the time of the night when dancers were really able to get close to one another.
Bachata seems to be what dancers use to do this these days, when they want to dance close. That's all well and good. But it is a mistake to let Bachata entirely take the place of these other dances that are part of the salsa tradition. Bachata has very little to do with salsa. It is not salsa. This is not to say that there is no place for Bachata. Dancers want what they want. But give them options. Don't forget to teach dancers how to handle a Cha Cha Cha. Equip them to handle a Bolero. It would be a shame to let these traditions die on our watch.
This is of course just a reminder. We musicians would have nothing without the continued support of promoters, dancers, DJ's, music lovers, and everybody else in the salsa community.
....
..
,earlier (like you said) most def does.