Re: Salsa Piano Origins

Date: 24 Jul 2003 07:15:28 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.music.afro-latin
Size: 3,297 bytes

email-address-deleted (DeRayMi) wrote:
<snipped>
> Anyway, in that narrow sense, I wouldn't consider a lot of what is on
> that album to even be salsa. One nice thing is that he discusses at
> least some of the tracks in the liner notes and mentions the
> sub-genres.
Yeah, I glanced at them. Eventually, I'll listen with liner notes in
hand to get a better sense of the subgenres. Right now, I'm at the stage
of listening uncritically, where I just enjoy the album. And I like
every track. The only obvious difference (to me) is the last track, which
is jazz. And it didn't strike me as being a particularly Latin form of
jazz - in fact it seemed a lot like "swing" - but I really liked it. I
wouldn't mind another album entirely of that style.
I was interested in your remark that much of El Rumbero may not be salsa
(in the strictest sense). Is it because the instruments are played a
little differently? One thing I noticed was that on the first track,
Sube, the trumpets sound a bit jazzier than I've heard before in Latin
music - maybe even a little dissonant. That could be just a subjective
impression, but it strikes me every time I hear it. I found myself
liking the horn section more than I normally do in Latin music.
> You have probably seen reference
> to "salsa romantica," which a lot of people, Palmieri included,
> criticize as lacking in the hard edges and fire of more traditional
> sorts of salsa.
Kind of remind me of the debates between real jazz and smooth jazz. ;-)
>You might want to
> look into bandleader Willie Rosario for an example of another salsa
> veteran who is still pursuing his own approach to this music.
> Although I haven't heard the whole thing, I would recommend his "Back
> to the Future" album on the basis of what I have heard from it and
> heard about it. I could name lots of other names of artists you
> *might* like if you like El Rumbero, as I'm sure everyone else here
> could, but that's not exactly what you asked for. I will say that
> Palmieri's latest album, Ritmo Caliente, is pretty good. I especially
> like the first track and the last one (which is a remake of something
> from an album he releasde in the 60's). Some of the jazzier things
> don't do as much for me but I'm not much of a jazz fan really, and
> Latin jazz is no exception.
I'll try out both Willie Rosario and Ritmo Caliente, thanks.
As for Latin jazz, I'm still trying to figure out what it is. Most of
the Latin jazz I've heard doesn't have enough percussive Latin piano in
it. (Jack Costanzo's "Latin Fever" CD is an exception.) That's what led
me to try the salsa route. The rhythmic, slightly dissonant piano on El
Rumbero is exactly what I've been looking for, but now I'm unsure whether
to call it salsa or jazz, or a combination.
> I feel slightly shy discussing any of this, as there are people who
> post (regularly or irregularly) to this newsgroup who have a much more
> detailed understanding of all of this than I do, sometimes as
> musicians.
Like Nina says, a lack of detailed knowledge "never stops me". :-)
Heck, I just want a few labels I can slap on the kinds of music I like.
Not that I want to pigeonhole the music or anything, but it helps in
winnowing down the search for things I like.