Salsa back on track with 'Rough Guide'

[salcero2005]

FANFARE
Salsa back on track with 'Rough Guide'
ED MORALES. [email protected].

11 March 2007
Newsday
ALL EDITIONS
C16
English
Copyright 2007, Newsday. All Rights Reserved.

For many years we've been hearing about the decline of salsa, with the chorus often led by some of the great stars of the past. The prepackaged, formulaic salsa that took hold in the mid-'80s was dubbed salsa monga (weak salsa), because it lacked the fire and conviction of the urban-flavored salsa of the '70s. The pretty-boy front men had become the focus, not the musicianship.

The inevitable reaction has been building for years now, on New York City dance floors and around the world, and it's called salsa dura (hard salsa). The music, played by a combination of older veterans and young turks who want to bring back the sound of generations past, is captured on a new CD released by World Music Network, called "The Rough Guide to Salsa Dura NYC." It's put together by Pablo Yglesias, a DJ and author of "Cocinando" (Princeton Architectural Press), a book that compiles classic salsa album covers from the golden era.

The tracks on "Salsa Dura NYC" come from acts ranging from veterans Eddie Palmieri and Joe Quijano to newer performers such as Ricky González and Jimmy Bosch.

"The CD came out of meeting all these great artists during the research on 'Cocinando,'" Yglesias said. "The albums that Jimmy Bosch and others were putting out were so perfect for the modern sound systems that I just had to put it all together under one roof, you might say."

The momentum of the salsa dura idea - that newer, more spontaneous bands with higher degrees of musicianship and a responsive relationship with dancers could slay the salsa monga beast - was greatly enhanced by Jimmy Bosch's 1999 release called "Salsa Dura." Almost single-handedly he gave voice to such acts as Los Soneros del Barrio and Chico Alvarez, which had been toiling away on the New York dance club circuit and virtually ignored by commercial tropical format radio.

The Bosch track that is featured on the Rough Guide CD, "El Embajador" from 2004's "El Avión de la Salsa," pretty much says it all. "I am the ambassador of salsa dura/I travel the world playing this pure music/An aggressive sound/A rhythm so danceable/That my hairs stand up."

The salsa dura crowd, Yglesias says, consists of "the older dancers, the young aficionados of classic salsa and the really good dancers who are open to lesser-known names. ... Some of the salsa dura artists like Ricky González and George Delgado have their ears wide open to modern jazz and pop influences from the rest of the Caribbean, especially reggaetón, and there are some new elements taken from other world music."

As for why salsa dura and classic salsa attracts Yglesias' DJ ear, he explains, "The '70s style had lots of aural dynamics, though a lot of it was poorly mastered and cheaply pressed. Today's romantic salsa, although it sounds better, doesn't have the same spice, dynamic range and soloing. The other thing is today's salsa dura artists are finally writing interesting lyrics, looking back to poets like [the late] Tite Curet Alonso."

 

[salcero2005]

The momentum of the salsa dura idea - that newer, more spontaneous bands with higher degrees of musicianship and a responsive relationship with dancers could slay the salsa monga beast - was greatly enhanced by Jimmy Bosch's 1999 release called "Salsa Dura." Almost single-handedly he gave voice to such acts as Los Soneros del Barrio and Chico Alvarez, which had been toiling away on the New York dance club circuit and virtually ignored by commercial tropical format radio.

Well, everyone has their point of view. For me, Jimmy's SALSA DURA CD was 1/10 "Salsa" and almost everyone I know who has the CD considers his previous work "Soneando Trombon" to be Jimmy's best work and has having made more of an impact. I also disagree with the notion that Jimmy gave voice to Los Soneros Del Barrio. The 'Soneros' have been around for years before Jimmy Bosch emerged as a bandleader. In fact, they (along with Cruz Control, Willie Villegas & Jovenes Del Barrio) were the newer bands who first emerged with the whole return to a more Salsa Dura format on recordings. I also think they should give credit to Wayne Gorbea, who has been playing the same brand of music since the late 1970s and the grandaddy of Salsa Dura, Manny Oquendo & LIBRE. What about Los Hermanos Moreno? Son Boricua? Nelson Gonzalez y Son Mundano? Son Sublime? Conjunto Clasico? Grupo Caribe? Johnny Polanco? Son Mayor? Anthony Blea? Louie Romero? The king of Salsa Dura....Eddie Palmieri? ("El Rumbero Del Piano," "La Perfecta II," & "Ritmo Caliente," all released after 1998.)

The salsa dura crowd, Yglesias says, consists of "the older dancers, the young aficionados of classic salsa and the really good dancers who are open to lesser-known names. ... Some of the salsa dura artists like Ricky González and George Delgado have their ears wide open to modern jazz and pop influences from the rest of the Caribbean, especially reggaetón, and there are some new elements taken from other world music."

I have Ricky Gonzalez OASIS CD and that is not 'Salsa Dura' in the classic sense. What DJ plays that CD at the clubs? George Delgado's CD has those jazz and pop influences, but it's nothing brand spanking new. So did the music of the past. Plus, a majority of the songs are covers.

With the exception of Jovenes Del Barrio and Ricky Gonzalez, no one today has brought anything new to the table. No new innovation or style. The more unknown underground groups like Vaya, Yerbabuena, Ya Esta, San Juan Hill, Antibalas, etc. are creating far more interesting music than these Salsa Dura bands.

The other thing is today's salsa dura artists are finally writing interesting lyrics, looking back to poets like [the late] Tite Curet Alonso."

Oh hell no. I'd like to know who these composers are. I'll give Jimmy Bosch some props, but his lyrics are nowhere near C. Curent Alonso's. Who else is out there of the new crop that is writing meaningful music? That's one of the pet peeves about today's 'Salsa dura'. Great musicians and arrangers. But no great composers.

One of the problems as I see it are the musicians themselves. They have their own vision and musical agenda they'd like to bring to fruition. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you were to do a survey amongst the real aficionados of the music and the dancers at the clubs and the DJ's who spin the music and if they're honest and not trying to placate anyone but their own desires of what they want to hear, they'll totally contradict what Ed Morales and Pablo Ygelsias contend. Most of the indie labels give the musicians total reign and thus far none of these guys have the golden touch or see the value of a really good lyrical song. Let's be honest. Is EL GRAN VARON an international hit on account of the musicianship featured on it? Or more on account of the story it tells? It's those stories like Pedro Navaja, Juanito Alimana, Periodico De Siempre, Cuidate Juan, etc., that make the people living in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, P.R., D.R., Cuba, Mexico, etc., take notice. Nobody gives a hoot about 'Ran Kan Kan' except dancers. There's a lot more music appreciation listeners than there are bailadores. That's something the bands today haven't managed to grasp. They're trying to be like Tipica '73 or Tito Puente and montunear everything to death, instead of modeling themselves after the int'l hit makers like Ruben Blades.

 

[terence]

Both very good posts-- but why references only as far back as the seventies ?--- I was spoon fed on Machito, Tito Rodriguez ( what an impact he made !! ) La Playa and La Plata , to name but a few of the " Forgotten " greats . Some just re mastered and still sounding gooood !