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November 26, 2007 - 2:48pm
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Conrad Johnson CA200 "Control Amp"
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I love Son. Thanks for the head up Steve. I've ordered your recommendation and "Prefiero el Son", which seems to be a tribute to Chocolate.
I'd love to play second trumpet in a salsa band (I'd only last about 5-minutes on the first part) but there's no such thing as going halfway in those bands. They're real serious and want you to play with them almost every day. Still, it's great stuff.
Have you found any of this stuff on good vinyl? I'm finding CD sources, which is better than a sharp stick in the eye, but I'd like to find some high quality vinyl.
Dave
Awesome. If you love son, I think you'll love Henry Fiol's work. Fe, Esperanza, y Corazon is his first solo album, and it's practically a tribute to son montuno. The song "Oriente" is an updated version of the Cheo Marquetti classic, and its emotion is so penetrating, it almost hurts.
Please let me know what you think once you've had a chance to listen.
I've been dreaming of becoming a tres player, but yeah -- I get the feeling that I'd have to practice for about 70 years before I was good enough to keep up with these guys.
I'm lucky to have some family members who've let me borrow their old vinyl, but the stuff is hard to find elsewhere. I spoke to a shop owner, Vicente of Casa Latina (wonderful place!), up in East Harlem who told me that the vinyl is practically impossible to find. He had none to sell. He said that it's all been gathered up in private collections, and what little you can find is usually outrageously expensive.
I have, however, noticed some on ebay.
Thanks again. I hope you like the Fiol and Chocolate stuff.
I can't thank you enough Stephen. You put me onto treasure trove of trumpeting. I've now got in hand Fiol's "fe,esperanza y caridad" and "Le Lay de La Jungla" and "Lo Mejor de Chocolate" Volumes 1 and 2, all on SAR Productions CDs. The sonics are all top drawer and the musicianship of all involved is stellar. Chocolate amazes, with incredibly vibrant tone and eligantly structured solos.
One oddity I found while searching for "Chocolate" was a sealed vinyl record by Antonio (Chocolate') Diaz Mena, called "Eso Es Latin Jazz...Man!" It's not exactly son, for sure, but the percussion is increbibly recorded. Mena met Dizzy in the late 1940s and played percussion with Kenton and others. This album takes jazz tunes, "Caravan", "Green Dolphin Street", "Tin Tin Deo", etc. and adds a percussion intro and a latin tinge to the arrangement. Cats like Clark Terry, Joe Henderson and John Cales blow solos but the sections include Armenteros, Fernandez and Vivar. The recordings show their 1963 vintage with the percussion recorded well from a close perspective, the solos are clear and relatively forward, but the horn sections are kind of muddled. I give it a B- or C+ sonically overall. It's unique musically, not exactly latin and not your usual "jazz", but well worth the 10-bucks I spent, including shipping. Oh, surfaces are excellent.
Generally I paid $5 to $7 each, plus shipping.
Thanks again for the lead,
Dave
Buy ANYTHING by 'Ike Quebec'. Now that's a horn. Right up there with King Curtis.
Hey Dave.
I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the music. That's all the thanks I need!
SAR put out a ton of great work. I'm still discovering lots. Fiol's El Secreto is another beautiful album. And you might try anything by Roberto Torres -- he's got a great voice and delivery (similar in some ways to Fiol's, but also very different) and he was all about keeping traditional Cuban music, in all its many forms, alive.
The Salsoul label is another place where you'll find some work by Chocolate.
Wow, this sounds awesome. I will have to check this out. Thanks!