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The first dance of Afro-Cuban origin to obtain success with the American public was the rhumba. This rhythm was introduced in the 1930s through a 78 RPM rendition of El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor) by Dan Azpiazu and his Havana Casino Orchestra. The song was composed by Cuban pianist, Moises Simons and became a popular favorite and paved the way for the rhumba craze.The band though that really popularized Latin rhythms, during this time, was that of Spanish violinist, Xavier Cugat. His repertoire was eclectic but it did not lack in quality. Two of his vocalists were Miguelito Valdes and Frank Grillo (better known as Machito). Cugat enjoyed great commercial success and was responsible for the growing Latinization of American music. El Barrio During the late 1930s and 1940s in New York's El Barrio Latin musicians, mainly Cuban and Puerto Rican, crossed over to develop a blend of Latin and Black American (jazz) rhythms. Many of these musicians worked in the jazz orchestras of the era. Two bands developed during this era of musical exchange. One band was led by Puerto Rican pianist Nora Morales and the other was fronted by vocalist Machito. The heart and soul of the Machito Orchestra was Mario Bauza, the musical director. He was also Machito's brother-in-law. Mario was an accomplished jazz saxophonist & trumpeter. He played with Chick Webb & Cab Calloway. It is during these gigs that he honed his jazz arrangements. Soon the Machito Orchestra became the most exciting orchestra in the Latin field, taking over the crown of Xavier Cugat. These bands had a more direct Afro-Cuban sound than that of their predecessors. Also they added the lush orchestrations of jazz with its brass and wood sections to the traditional rhumba instrumentation based on percussion instruments (tymbal, bongos ans congas) plus piano, bass, claves and maracas. Another band that enjoyed success during this period was that of Cuban born pianist Jose Curbelo. This band included two musicians who would later become legends on the New York Latin music scene, Puerto Rican singer Tito Rodriguez and El Barrio born percussionist Tito Puente. Cubop During the second half of the 1940s, many jazz musicians entered Latin bands and many jazz band leaders started to include afro-cuban elements to their arrangements.This fusion led to the emergence of a new trend: Cubop. The movement was led by Machito and Dizzy Gillespie among others. After hour jam sessions were the rage at many established jazz clubs. Jazz greats such as Charlie "Bird" Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the emissaries of bebop, would jam with the best Latin musicians at the time. Mambo It is also during this era that a new cuban-originated rhythm was introduced: The Mambo. Quite different in its beat and with more syncopation than the rhumba, the mambo first succeeded in Mexico thanks to the cuban bandleader Damaso Perez Prado. Prado started to attract local attention in Mexico in 1948 with his first mambo recordings. His popularity quickly rose due to the success of his song "Que Rico El Mambo" a year later. Mambo soon took over Mexico. The mambo was introduced in the States by the Latin orchestras of New York, who were well aware of its success in Mexico. After leaving the Jose Curbelo Orchestra to form their own respective groups, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente jumped to make their own mambo recordings which found immediate popularity in New York ballrooms. The mambo did not gain nationwide appeal until the west coast tour of Perez Prado and His Orchestra in 1951. The success of his tour was enormous, as Americans saw him as "Rey Del Mambo", the true personal personification of the new dance craze. The Palladium In 1951, the mambo reached its highest point when the illustrious Palladium Dance Hall changed its music policy to become the mambo center of the world. During its prime the Palladium regularly featured the Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito Orchestras. It became common for other ballroom owners to insist that their musicians include the new Latin rhythm to their repertoire. 1955 saw the success of the cha-cha-cha, a mambo derived rhythm slower and more rocking in tempo. The cha-cha-cha became an overnight success, but its popularity lasted less than that of the mambo. Prologue Another important orchestra in the 1950s that contributed to the emergence of Latin music was that of cuban born vocalist Beny More, ex-singer for Perez Prado's Orchestra in Mexico. Another great vocalist to come out of Cuba during this era was Celia Cruz, who made many great recordings with Tito Puente. After its heyday in the 1950s Latin music has gone through many changes, both in rhythm and popularity. Through the decades it has influenced some of pop music's most popular songs. Today it has attained its goal of becoming mainstream in popular music. There are many other great musicians who are equally responsible for the incredible sounds of mambo/salsa. I will profile one each week with a selected discography of their works.
Courtesy of Music of Puerto Rico
The History of Salsa |
