Pacheco, Johnny

Subterms

    Latest story

    150 Shares199 Views

    15 Essentials From Johnny Pacheco and Fania Records, the ‘Motown of Salsa’

    by

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyPlaylist15 Essentials From Johnny Pacheco and Fania Records, the ‘Motown of Salsa’He packaged New York attitude and a new spin on Afro-Cuban beats, and changed Latin music forever. The flutist, composer, arranger and bandleader died this week at 85.Johnny Pecheco co-founded Fania Records, which became home to salsa’s greatest talents.Credit…Chad Batka for The New York TimesFeb. 17, 2021In many crucial ways, Johnny Pacheco’s life told a typical New York Latino story: He was a Dominican immigrant playing Cuban music for a mostly Puerto Rican audience. Like many self-styled New York entrepreneurs, he knew he had to hit the pavement with his product and get to know his customers face-to-face, driving around Harlem and the Bronx selling records out of the trunk of an old Mercedes-Benz.Pacheco had been working several variations of the son genre at the Bronx nightclub Triton’s, making a name for himself, according to the scholar Juan Flores’s book “Salsa Rising,” by adding a hop and flashing a hankie while dancing onstage to a hot new style called pachanga. Dreaming of starting his own record company (and in the midst of ending a marriage), he met Jerry Masucci, an Italian-American divorce attorney with a love for the Cuban sound. The two hit it off so well they started a new record label they called Fania, which became home to salsa’s greatest talents.Pacheco and Masucci’s experiment blew up beyond their wildest dreams. By capitalizing on the streamlining term “salsa,” which had appeared years before in Cuba and Venezuela, Fania Records conflated the Afro-Latin fad bugalú (think: “I Like It Like That”) with the remnants of Cuban sounds blunted by the radio silence of the post-Revolution embargo to create an international dance mania. Making stars out of Puerto Ricans like Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, the Cuban diva Celia Cruz, a Brooklyn Jew named Larry Harlow, and a Panamanian troubadour named Rubén Blades, Fania Records spread the new Latin groove from Yankee Stadium to Kinshasa, Zaire.Here are 15 examples of how Pacheco, who died this week at 85, and his Fania cohort made music history.Johnny Pacheco, ‘El Güiro de Macorina’ (1961)From his second album, “Johnny Pacheco y su Charanga,” this is a riveting distillation of Pacheco’s early pachanga sound, featuring the full effect of a Cuban charanga-style orchestra, heavy on the flutes and violins. The relentless percussion embellishes lyrics that tell the story of a woman who scrapes the percussive güiro instrument to the narrator’s satisfaction. If you can picture Pacheco quick stepping on the downbeat, you’re witnessing the creation of New York-style salsa dancing.Johnny Pacheco featuring Pete ‘El Conde’ Rodríguez, ‘La Esencia del Guaguancó’ (1970)Pacheco’s collaboration with the underrecognized vocalist Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez (not to be mistaken for bugalú’s Pete Rodríguez) captures a more polished stage of his career. Propelled by the guaguancó rhythm that would become salsa’s go-to template, Rodríguez’s edgy, velvety rasp recalls Afro-Puerto Rican peers like Ismael Rivera and Cheo Feliciano. Pacheco’s arrangements, creating an easy flow between piano and horns, were rapidly becoming the salsa sound.Fania All-Stars, ‘Live at the Cheetah’ (1971)Pacheco and Masucci’s coordination of the Fania All-Stars, an unimaginably potent group of the emerging stars of the genre, was perhaps the most single-handedly important factor in salsa’s rise. This recording, made at the Cheetah Club, which once hosted bugalú as well as the first production of “Hair” before its Broadway run, features lengthy jams like “Anacaona,” a tribute to a rebellious female Taíno leader, with powerful vocals by Cheo Feliciano, backed by Willie Colón, Larry Harlow and Ray Barretto, among many others.Johnny Pacheco with Celia Cruz, ‘Químbara’ (1974)Celia Cruz was already a star with Sonora Matancera when she left Cuba in 1960, replacing the legendary La Lupe as Tito Puente’s lead singer in 1966. Her collaboration with Pacheco on “Celia and Johnny” was key to propelling her to recognition as the Queen of Salsa. Pacheco’s precision pacing and evolving wall of sound made this guaguancó a dizzying, onomatopoetic utterance of percussive instruments.Héctor Lavoe, ‘Mi Gente’ (1975)Probably salsa’s most beloved and talented vocalist, Héctor Lavoe was in many ways emblematic of the New York Puerto Rican experience. His wistful, nasal vocal style evoked that of a country boy simultaneously losing himself in and partying the hell out of the big city. Written by Pacheco, the emotional power of “Mi Gente” derived from its ability to bring New York’s diverse Latino community together to celebrate a dynamic self-awareness in the middle of a grinding fiscal crisis. The studio version is great, but the “Live at Yankee Stadium” version is the classic.Willie Colón, ‘El Malo’ (1967)Born and raised in Mott Haven’s gritty tenements in the Bronx, Willie Colón recorded his first album at age 17, inspired by a sour, mocking tone that Barry Rogers gave his trombone in his collaborations with Mon Rivera and Eddie Palmieri. Although there’s lots of bugalú here, this is stripped-down proto-salsa. Colón’s role in inventing salsa’s attitude through the “Malo” persona is evident here, the songs insisting on Spanish-speaking, Latin-dancing authenticity filtered through a gangster-style, street-fighting sense of heart.‘Our Latin Thing/Nuestra Cosa Latina’ (1972)This low-budget ’70s film directed by Leon Gast has the grainy subterranean feel that permeated later movies like Charlie Ahearn’s hip-hop origin story “Wild Style” and Glenn O’Brien’s reconstructed post-punk fever dream “Downtown 81.” The best visual record of Fania All-Stars rehearsals, club gigs, impromptu bembés and street festival performances, it also stars the Africanist-hippie-fusion wardrobe of salsa dancers of the time. Just a few minutes in, on “Quítate Tu,” you can see how Pacheco effortlessly commands the multitudinous chorus of star singers while directing horns and percussion.Ismael Rivera, ‘Las Caras Lindas’ (1979)Known as “El Sonero Mayor” (The Greatest Singer) in Puerto Rico, Ismael “Maelo” Rivera’s sound was formed through his collaborations with his childhood friend, the percussionist Rafael Cortijo. Recontextualizing the rustic bomba and plena genres by adding more instruments, the Rivera-Cortijo sound flowed easily into New York-style salsa. “Las Caras Lindas” comes from Rivera’s solo period with Fania — it’s written by the renowned songwriter Tite Curet Alonso and celebrates the beauty of Afro-Puerto Ricans.Ismael Miranda con Orchestra Harlow, ‘Abran Paso’ (1971)Harlow was a singular figure in the salsa scene — he was born and raised in Brooklyn, the son of a mambo musician who couldn’t get the Cuban sound out of his head. A whiplash pianist, Harlow named himself “El Judío Maravilloso” (The Marvelous Jew) after his hero Arsenio Rodríguez, known as “El Ciego Maravilloso.” “Abran Paso,” sung by his favorite vocalist, Ismael Miranda, is at once an invocation of Santería mysticism and a metaphor for an emerging Latino community.Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón and Yomo Toro, ‘Asalto Navideño’ (1970)This was a Christmas album with a twist — rather than trot out the Fania All-Stars to do salsa versions of “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells,” Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe decided to record classic Puerto Rican aguinaldos with a kind of Bad Santa New York feel. This album is inescapable around the holidays if you have extended Puerto Rican family, balancing reverence for tradition with an incredible sense of swing. A highlight is the first appearance of Yomo Toro, sometimes known as the Jimi Hendrix of cuatro, a rustic 10-string lute that explodes from the vinyl.Ray Barretto, ‘Indestructible’ (1973)The emotional percussive core of the Fania All-Stars, Ray Barretto was a remarkably versatile conga player whose career ran the gamut from bugalú to salsa, Latin jazz, and even session work for the Rolling Stones. His mid-period excellence is crystallized in “Indestructible,” which rode unparalleled waves of frenetic dance energy. The title track describes a promise salseros make to themselves to keep getting up no matter how many times they get knocked down.Rubén Blades and Willie Colón, ‘Siembra’ (1978)For many years the best-selling salsa album of all time, “Siembra” was the culmination of the Blades-Colón partnership. The album is an attempt to fuse a cinematic concept of New York Latino life with the idea of a classic rock concept album, and the performances are singular and immortal. As a songwriting team, the two had no competition; Blades was at the top of his vocal game, and Colón’s arrangements were never more brilliant.Tommy Olivencia and Chamaco Ramírez, ‘Planté Bandera’ (1975)Another anthemic crowd pleaser, “Plante Bandera” alludes to the growing sense of nationalism and pride that tied together salsa fans, as well as a growing awareness of Latino presence in the United States and the projection of the salsa genre itself. Chamaco Ramírez’s sometimes-overlooked plaintive style hits all the right notes, and the band’s percussive momentum, punctuated by a tenacious horn section, pushes the lyrics to their maximum effect.Rubén Blades, ‘Bohemio y Poeta’ (1979)The multitalented poet/troubadour/Hollywood actor shines here on his groundbreaking solo album, combining lyrical elements of Cuban nueva trova with lush Colón orchestral salsa arrangements. With songs like “Pablo Pueblo,” he defined the working-class Latino subject, disillusioned with urban misery after being promised the American dream. On “Paula C” he remembers a lost love with the skill of a Magic Realism boom novelist.Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz, ‘Sonido Bestial’ (1971)Ray and Cruz were one of salsa’s most successful internationalizing forces, spreading the promise of its sound to countries like Colombia, in particular. Evolving from their bugalú roots into a mainstream salsa machine, Ray and Cruz have a following of rabid devotees. This particular track features a break based on a Chopin étude, which is always a live crowd-pleaser.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Music

      Johnny Pacheco, Who Helped Bring Salsa to the World, Dies at 85

      by

      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyJohnny Pacheco, Who Helped Bring Salsa to the World, Dies at 85A Dominican-born bandleader and songwriter, he co-founded Fania Records, known as the Motown of Salsa.Johnny Pacheco performing in Manhattan in 2009. His company, Fania Records, was a powerhouse in Latin music. Credit…Chad Batka for The New York TimesFeb. 15, 2021, 6:51 p.m. ETJohnny Pacheco, the Dominican-born bandleader who co-founded the record label that turned salsa music into a worldwide sensation, died on Monday in Teaneck, N.J. He was 85. His wife, Maria Elena Pacheco, who is known as Cuqui, confirmed the death, at Holy Name Medical Center. Mr. Pacheco lived in Fort Lee, N.J.Fania Records, which he founded with Jerry Masucci in 1964, signed Latin music’s hottest talents of the 1960s and ’70s, including Celia Cruz, Willie Colón, Hector Lavoe and Rubén Blades. Mr. Pacheco, a gifted flutist, led the way on and off the stage, working as a songwriter, arranger and leader of the Fania All Stars, salsa’s first supergroup.From the beginning, he partnered with young musicians who were stirring jazz, rhythm and blues, funk and other styles into traditional Afro-Cuban music.By the 1970s, Fania, sometimes called the Motown of salsa, was a powerhouse in Latin music, and the Fania All Stars were touring the world. The label gave birth to combustive creative collaborations, like that between Mr. Colón, a trombonist and composer, and Mr. Blades, a socially conscious lyricist and singer; and to cult heroes like Mr. Lavoe, the Puerto Rican singer who battled drug addiction and died of AIDS-related complications at 46.Fania dissolved in the mid-1980s amid lawsuits involving royalties, and in 2005, Emusica, a Miami company, purchased the Fania catalog and began releasing remastered versions of its classic recordings.Mr. Pacheco performed in 2006 at Madison Square Garden in a concert marking his 50th anniversary in the music business, Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesJuan Azarías Pacheco Knipping was born on March 25, 1935, in Santiago de los Caballeros, in the Dominican Republic. His father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco, was a renowned bandleader and clarinetist. His mother, Octavia Knipping Rochet, was the granddaughter of a French colonist and the great-granddaughter of a German merchant who had married a Dominican woman born to Spanish colonists.The family moved to New York when Johnny was 11, and he studied percussion at the Juilliard School and worked in Latin bands before starting his own, Pacheco y Su Charanga, in 1960.The band signed with Alegre Records, and its first album sold more than 100,000 copies in the first year, becoming one the best-selling Latin albums of its time, according to his official website. It jump-started Mr. Pacheco’s career with the introduction of a new dance craze called the pachanga. He became an international star, touring the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.Fania Records was born out of an unlikely partnership between Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Masucci, a former police officer turned lawyer who fell in love with Latin music during a visit to Cuba.From its humble beginnings in Harlem and the Bronx — where releases were sold from the trunks of cars — Fania brought an urbane sensibility to Latin music. In New York, the music had taken on the name “salsa” (Spanish for sauce, as in hot sauce), and the Fania label began using it as part of its marketing.Guided by Mr. Pacheco, artists built a new sound based on traditional clave rhythms and the genre Cuban son (or son Cubano), but faster and more aggressive. Many of the lyrics — about racism, cultural pride and the tumultuous politics of the era — were far removed from the pastoral and romantic scenes in traditional Cuban songs.In that sense, salsa was “homegrown American music, as much a part of the indigenous musical landscape as jazz or rock or hip-hop,” Jody Rosen wrote in The New York Times in 2006 on the occasion of the reissue of the Fania master tapes — after they had spent years gathering mold in a warehouse in Hudson, N.Y.Mr. Pacheco’s first album with Celia Cruz went gold. It mixed hard-driving salsa with infectious choruses. The duo released more than 10 albums together.Credit…FaniaMr. Pacheco teamed up with Ms. Cruz in the early 1970s. Their first album, “Celia & Johnny,” was a potent mix of hard-driving salsa with infectious choruses and virtuosic performances. It soon went gold, thanks to Ms. Cruz’s vocal prowess and Mr. Pacheco’s big-band direction, and its first track, the up-tempo “Quimbara,” helped propel Ms. Cruz’s career to Queen of Salsa status.The two released more than 10 albums together; Mr. Pacheco was a producer on her last solo recording, “La Negra Tiene Tumbao,” which won the Grammy for best salsa album in 2002.Over the years, Mr. Pacheco produced for several artists and performed all over the world, and he contributed to movie soundtracks, including one for “The Mambo Kings,” a 1992 film based on based on Oscar Hijuelos’s novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.” For the Jonathan Demme movie “Something Wild,” he teamed up with David Byrne, leader of the Talking Heads, one of his many eclectic partnerships.Mr. Pacheco, the recipient of numerous awards and honors both in the Dominican Republican and the United States, was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1998. He wrote more than 150 songs, many of them now classics.For many years he spearheaded the Johnny Pacheco Latin Music and Jazz Festival at Lehman College in the Bronx, an annual event in collaboration with the college (streamed live in recent years) that provides a stage for hundreds of talented young musicians studying music in New York City schools. In addition to this wife, Mr. Pacheco’s survivors include two daughters, Norma and Joanne; and two sons, Elis and Phillip.The salsa phenomenon that Mr. Pacheco created hit a new high on Aug. 23, 1973, with a volcanic sold-out show at Yankee Stadium, where the Fania All Stars brought 40,000 fans to a musical frenzy, led by Mr. Pacheco, his rhinestone-encrusted white shirt soaked in sweat. The concert cemented the band’s, and his, legendary stature.The 1975 double-album “Fania All Stars Live at Yankee Stadium” earned the group its first Grammy nomination.Credit…Fania RecordsIn 1975, Fania released the long-awaited double album “Live at Yankee Stadium,” which, despite the name, also included material from a show at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico that had much better sound quality. The album earned the Fania All Stars their first Grammy nomination for best Latin recording.In 2004, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry.Michael Levenson contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More