Salsa Clasica – Chicago 1975

En 1975 La Sonora Tropical de Chicago grabo su primer disco. El titulo del disco, “Tierra Borincana,” fue la version estilo salsa con letra de German Rosario. El coro, “Un Saludo Pa Borinquen,” lo dice todo. Si estaban en Chicago durante esos tiempos, miren a ver si se acuerdan de este numero.

    Sonora Tropical de Chicago

Papo Quintero

    Papo Quintero

 

Much has been said over the years about Chicago talent. To some Chicago is a town where you can test the waters to see if you have what it takes to make it in the music world. Many have started out in Chicago and moved on to fame and great careers. Others for whatever reason have chosen to stay. Sometimes we don’t know what we have until we lose it. During the 1970s and 1980s in Chicago we had the pleasure of being entertained by a multi-talented singer/ percussionist. His real name was Jorge Quintero but everyone knew him as “Papo” Quintero. Papo Quintero was probably the most talented vocalist in the Chicago salsa scene during that time. Papo had the rare ability to improvise on just about any subject in his “soneos” in a manner that stands up with any of the best Soneros today. Papo was also an accomplished percussionist. He had an appeal that drew you in. I recall a young lady telling me that she never met anyone like him who had the ability to talk the pants off of any girl with his natural wit and charm. For those who don’t know, Papo Quintero was the lead vocalist for Chicago’s La Confidencia Orchestra. Papo was with the band for many years before venturing out on his own singing with many other local Chicago salsa bands. Had he moved on to New York or Puerto Rico, his career would have no doubt taken off. Unfortunately, Papo Quintero left us too soon when he met the same fate that many like Hector Lavoe did. For those of us that remember him lets keep him in our thoughts. For those that didn’t know him you will have to wait until you move on to the afterlife where you will no doubt hear him singing to one of the largest audiences in the sky.

Teddy Torres

During the time that Chicago was experiencing the Slasa Explosion, a young singer came on scene form Hartford, Connecticut I believe. That singer, Teddy Torres, got his feet wet in the Chicago Latin night club scene and was immediately accepted. As I remember it, Teddy was a pretty boy of sorts charming the ladies as he sang to them. He was charismatic and a true showman. I don’t know whatever became of him and was wondering if anyone out there can give us an update. I recall that he recorded an album with renowned trumpet player, Jose Merino, who wrote most of the material on the album entitled, “Jose Merino” (Borincano Records – 1974). I managed to attach a short clip of one of the cuts on the album. See if you remember him.

Cali takes claim as the Salsa Capital of the World…

Everyone knows that the original salsa capital of the world was New York. That is where it originated and that is where anyone looking for serious salsa went to. Many other cities in the Americas picked up the ball so to speak when the genre settled down a little in NYC. Puerto Rico, Florida and Colombia kept it alive but Colombia took it even further. Today, Colombia makes claim that they are the salsa capital of the world and maybe they are for they have yet to succumb to the other alternative genres as the others did. See the attached article for more info and thank you Colombia for keeping it alive.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/a-splash-of-salsa-and-hold-the-chat-20100225-p58n.html

The Official Roster of Chicago Salsa Musicians

Over the years there were many musicians that played a role in Chicago’s salsa history. Unfortunately, too many have been forgotten. In their honor we owe it to them to let everyone know who they were. In an effort to recognize those musicians, we would like to post a roster here of all Chicago salsa musicians - both past and present. For this we need your help. I can start the list with the names of some of those I remember but will need your help to make the list complete. Again, help us recognize them for their influence in molding Chicago’s salsa scene. Please feel free to add any names to the list so that everyone will know who they were or still are. Thanks.

Vitin Santiago – Vocalist/ Band Leader

Gilberto Diaz – Timbales/ Band Leader

Joe "Peruco" Torres – Bass

Tommy Muriel – Piano

Facio (Helios Alfacio)– Piano

Arturo Aguilar - Piano

Tito DelToro – Timbales

Chiqle – Trumpet

Felipe – Trumpet/ Band Leader - Felipe Y Su Gran Sonora

Edwin "Tarzan" Rivera– Congas/ Band Leader (La Poderosa)

Jack “Papo” Feliciano – Conga/ Trumpet/ Band Leader (Sonora Tropical)

Angelo Perez – Bass
Juan Perez - Piano

Chito Castro – Vibraphone/ Flute (Manuel Y Sus Estrellas)

Hector “Tato” Rivera – Conga

Gelito Sanchez – Guitar/ Band Leader

Angel Perez – Vocalist

Julio Ortiz – Trumpet

Bob Stockwell – Trumpet

Aniel Lugo – Bass

Mickey Rivera – Timbales

Ray Soto – Timbales (Los Consules)

Mike Maldonado – Vocalist

Teddy Torres – Vocalist

Chuck Velez – Bass (Sonora Tropical)

Richie Straka – Trumpet (La Confidencia)

Jorge “Papo” Quintero – Vocalist (La Confidencia)

Hector Narvaez – Piano

Roberto Sanchez – Bongos (Sonora Tropical)

Dez Desormeaux – Sax (Sonora Tropical)

Greg Aguirre – Trombone (Sonora Tropical)

Scott Sutter – Trombone (Sonora Tropical)

Harry Vera – Vocalist (Sonora Tropical)

Jesus “Papiro” Vera – Timbales (Sonora Tropical)

Miguel “Chocolate” Cruz – Bongo (Various)

Jose “Negrito” Perez – Conga (Various)

Marcus Persiani – Piano (Sonora Tropical)

Sol Sostre – Conga

Freddie Rodriguez – Trumpet (Various)

Hector Nunez – Vocalist (Various)

Luis “Prieto” Rosario – Timbales (Various)

Jesus Soto – Bass (La Solucion – Chicago)

Juan “Jap” Castro – Bass (La Justicia)

Edwin Sanchez – Piano (Various)

Mike Rivera – Bass (Tipica 78 – Chicago)

David Rodriguez – Tres/ Guitar  (La Solucion - Chicago)

Carlos Gonzalez – Timbales

Elmer Brown – Trumpet (Various)

Mike Janus – Trumpet (Various)

Angel Melendez – Trombone/ Band Leader (911)

Freddie Torres – Bass (Various)

Frankie Rodriguez – Trombone (911)

Manuel Ramos – Timbales/ Band Leader (Manuel Y Sus Estrellas)

Vida Rivera – Congas (Tipica 78 – Chicago)

Leo Velez – Guitar (La Union)

Jimmy “Jimbo” Cruz – La Union

Samuel “Sammy” Castro – Bongo

Jorge Gonzalez – Timbales (911)

Willie Garcia – Vocalist

Antonio Castro – Piano

Willie Negron – Conga

Edwin Torres – Timbales

Miguel Mendez – Vocalist

Everardo Rey – Trumpet

Raul Ortiz – Timbales

Eliezer "Pepe" Armijos - Piano

Mike Martinez – Piano

Vic Parra – Conga/ Band Leader

Ramon “Chocolate” Moreno - Trumpet
Manny Garcia - Bass/ Band Leader 
Angel Oliver - Trombone
Edwin Rodriguez - Trombone
Santos Pagan - Trumpet
Marcelino Gonzalez - Saxophone
Tony Del Valle - Piano
Ivan Gonzalez - Conga
Jimmy Ortiz - Vocals
Hector Del Valle - Vocalist
David Febles - Timbales 
Freddy Garcia - Vocals
Luis Maldonado - Vocalist (La Poderosa)
Juan Arnau - Trumpet
Victor Flores - Trumpet
Luis "Ralo" Dominguez - Bass
"Wolfie" Dominguez - Piano
Manny Picarro - Guitar
Victor Martinez - Timbales
Wifredo Torres - Vocalist
Johnny Melendez - Vocalist (Cabito Y Su Combo Puertio Rico)
Hector Reyes - Vocals
Angel "Mulato" Maldonado - Bongo
Jesus Enrique - Vocalist
Jorge Dalto - Piano
Juan Carlos "JC" Delgado - Congas
Jorge Millet - Piano
Juan "Cabito" Rivera - Cabito Y Su Combo Puerto Rico
Charlie Burgos - Trombone/ Vocals (La Justicia)
Adalbrto Quinones - Congas (La Justicia)
Albert Martinez - Sax (La Justicia)
Ismael "Jibarito" Rosa - Vocalist (La Justicia)
Jorge Alvarado - Trumpet (La Justicia)
Herman Gonzalez - Trumpet (La Justicia)
Jose Sanchez - Trumpet (La Justicia)
Ramiro Hernandez - Piano (La Justicia)
Antonio Duprey - Timbales (La Justicia)
Joe Diaz - Bongo/ Percussion (La Justicia)
Sureya Perez - Vocalist
Hector Colon - Vocalist
Shorty Ramirez - Conga/ Band Leader
Patricia A. Murray - Guitar (Tipica Leal 79)
Dennis Calito - Timbal/Music Director (Rica Obsesion)
Byron Calito - Congas/Coro (Rica Obsesion)
Harley Figueroa - Saxophone / Coro (Rica Obsesion)
Micah Frazier - Trumpet (Rica Obsesion)
Junior Rivera - Lead Vocal / Coro (Rica Obsesion)
Alex Torres - Lead Vocal / Coro (Rica Obsesion)
Joe Mende - Trombone (Rica Obsesion)
Stuart Mindiman - Piano (Rica Obsesion)
Brian Rivera - Bongo (Rica Obsesion)

Richie Pillot - Bass (Rica Obsesion and others)
Antonio Morales - Trombone (Tipica Leal 79, Projecto 7 - Elgin)
Antonio Vasquez - Trombone (La Union)
Johnny Placeres - Congas (Tipica Leal 79)
Luis Alequin - Timbales (La Solucion)
Hector Rodriguez - Percussion (Tipica Leal)
Joe Frau - Percussion

La Historia De La Salsa En Chicago

Sabe usted la historia de la salsa en Chicago? Comparten sus experiencias con nosotros o diganos lo que sabe sobre la era de la salsa de la década de los 1970s en la ciudad de Chicago. Habian muchas bandas y músicos que nos entretuvo durante esos años. Ayúdanos a recordar esos tiempos.

Gelito Sanchez at the Night Life Night Club – 1970s

 

Cerebro - Gelito Sanchez

In a recent thread, I briefly described the mood of the Tropical Magic Night Club on Fullerton Avenue back in the 70s. Now I would like to take you a little west to a smaller neighborhood club called, “The Night Life Night Club.” As I said before, salsa clubs were popular back then and this one was no different. The Night Life Club was located on North Avenue near Tripp in one of the most violent areas in the city at the time. When you entered the club the first thing you noticed was that you were almost entirely in the dark. The only areas with artificial lighting were the bar area and the stage. Other than that, the only lighting was supplied by candles that were at the center of each red clothed table. The mirrored disco ball at the center of the dance floor was the only exception. The reflection of light from the tiny mirrors of the disco ball made its way through the smoke filled room while slowly spinning around the club giving you the feeling of continuous motion. I recall that every weekend we would ask what club had which band and decide where to go for the night. At the Night Life, you knew that “Sanchez” was playing there. “Sanchez,” whose real name is Gelito Sanchez, was the leader of a group he formed called, “Sus Mejores.” The owner of the club, who would occasionally hire trios and conjuntos for the more tipical music, took a liking to Sanchez and tapped him to run the house band. Sanchez quickly put a group together whose members consisted of vocalist Angel Perez, Julio Ortiz and Bob Stockwell on trumpets, Aniel Lugo on bass, Hector Rivera – better known as “Tato” on congas and Mickey Rivera on timbales. Gelito Sanchez played acoustic guitar with a pickup attached. Gelito Sanchez was a throwback to the conjunto days when every house party or local dance had a conjunto comprised entirely of guitars playing guarachas and merengues. Sanchez was loyal and steady. He held that gig for the longest time playing mostly “rutina.” During their tenure there the owner of the Night Life produced a record album featuring the group entitled, “Cerebro – Gelito Sanchez Y Sus Mejores.” I attached a little of one of the songs you would hear them play. Take a listen and see if you remember it.

Numero Label Discovers Chicago Old School Salsa

    Cult Cargo - Salsa Boricua De Chicago

It was just a matter of time when someone would finally ask, What role did Chicago play in the history of salsa? The question was finally asked and it took someone like Rob Sevier and his dogged determination to get the answer. You see, Rob Sevier is a historian of sorts. His quest is to unearth music and musicians that played a role in Chicago’s music history that were passed over in time due to lack of funds or marketing. When he makes a find, his mission is to re-introduce the forgotten stars and music through the Numero Label. A few years ago, Rob Sevier, Ken Shipley and Tom Lunt formed the Numero Group, a music archive label. Their past releases are quite impressive and now Sevier and the Numero Label hit the gold mine. They discovered recordings from the earliest salsa groups of the 1970s and 1980s in Chicago. Rob Sevier was lucky to get his hands on salsa music recorded during the salsa boom in Chicago under the Ebirac Label. Numero recently released a CD of tunes recorded by Ebirac groups like, La Justicia, La Union, Tipica Leal 79 and others. The CD is entitled, “Cult Cargo: Salsa Boricua De Chicago.” So if you really want to know the role that Chicago played in the history of salsa, pick up the CD and be enlightened. If you lived through it you will no doubt be taken back in time after hearing it. Click on the attached link to the Numero Group Web Page for more info and to purchase the CD. Nice job Numero Group!

http://www.numerogroup.com/catalog_detail.php?uid=01227#

Charlie Burgos and La Nuestra sing, “That’s No Sweat” – A Chicago old school salsa gem.

During the 1980s salsa bands in Chicago were plentiful. In addition to the established salsa bands during that era many more continued to form. This was partly due to the efforts of Carlos “Caribe” Ruiz, the founder of El Congreso Puertoriqueno on North Avenue. Through his Civic Organization, “Caribe,” as most people called him, continued to indoctrinate youths into salsa by way of his sponsorship of young salsa bands. “Caribe” eventually formed his own record company named “Ebirac” (Caribe backwards). “Caribe” would tote boxes containing recordings of many of the young bands he sponsored and would sell them at the many dances his bands played. In doing so, Caribe gave many youth a first time experience in making records. Many of the recordings were not studio quality but served as a way to create a fan base among the many teens that followed the bands. While doing my research on these “Caribe” bands I came across a single recorded by a band named, “La Nuestra,” one of the Caribe bands.  The title of the tune is, “That’s No Sweat,” written and sung by vocalist Charlie Burgos. “That’s No Sweat” is an original tune recorded by “La Nuestra.” If you can ignore the quality of the recording you will treat yourself to a very good Spanish/English crossover salsa tune. The lyrics and melody are very good and remind me of Fania’s star Joe Bataan. Bataan became popular in New York for Latinizing Soul music. He was one of the New York salsa artists who had success in doing the Spanish/ English crossover. I don’t know what ever happened to La Nuestra or the talented Charlie Burgos but I managed to copy a little bit of the tune for you to sample. If only Caribe would have stayed around a little longer. It looked like he was on the right track. Listen and enjoy!

Judy and Ralph

 

Every now and then I get in a nostalgic mood and wander into the past when the salsa clubs and venues were buzzing with excitement. I remember the echo of the dance halls and the skill of the dancers, putting their own signatures on their style of spinning as the trumpets blared on. There were many regulars that followed the Latin scene back then. I am talking about the 1970s in Chicago of course and if you followed the salsa scene back in the day you can’t help but remember Judy and Ralph. Judy and Ralph was an Anglo dance couple that appeared at all the dance events and night clubs. Judy (I don’t recall her last name but may have been Loeb) was a Jewish artist by day and professional salsa dancer by night. She often appeared at these venues accompanied by a gentleman named Ralph. I never did know his last name but if you ever were at any of these events you had to have seen them. At the time they were well into their years but that did not stop them from pursuing their love for salsa dancing. In many instances they were as popular as the band and had their own following. Today I wonder what ever happened to this couple. I am interested to see if anyone still remembers them or can update us on whatever became of them. If anyone out there knows please fell free to post a comment so we can update everyone else.

Chicago Salsa Flashback of the 70s - Manuel Y Sus Estrellas

It was Saturday on a hot summer night during the mid 1970s. We decided to check out a Latin Club and went to the Tropical Magic Night Club on Fullerton Avenue at Rockwell. The neighborhood was kind of rough back in the day but it didn’t matter because everyone was there for the same thing – Salsa. The Tropical magic was one of the more popular West Side Latin Night Clubs at the time. It was dark inside with bamboo décor, plastic palm trees and a long colorful glass bar. The walls were painted black with green fluorescent paint that lit up with the purple black lights that were strategically placed throughout the club. When you came to the door, the bouncer dressed in a white suit with an open collar and a thick gold chain, patted you down to make sure you had no weapons. The band was on break but the juke was blaring, “Toro Mata Ayi Toro Mata”…the popular Celia Cruz tune. The dance floor was crowded with couples.

After the break, the small group returned to the stage. The group named, “Manuel Y Sus Estrellas” started playing and the dancers quickly came to their feet. The group was comprised of a pianist, baby bass player, a conga player, timbalero, a vocalist, and a vibraphone player, who doubled on flute. They were tight and had a swing that was contagious. They sounded a lot like the Joe Cuba Sextet of the 60s from New York and were the hottest group in the Latin Night Club scene at the time. I remember that the leader’s name was Manuel, who I think played timbales. The conga player I think was Tato, the vibe player Chito and the piano player was Arturo Aguilar, a club regular who always wore dark glasses. Those were the days when the pure Latin rhythms your body craved through live music was the fix everyone looked for on the weekends. Those were the days.

I often wondered what ever happened to this group. I did a little web searching and found that Manuel Y Sus Estrellas had actually recorded a single. I found it on Youtube and attached the link for your listening pleasure. If you remember this group or any of its members or simply want to share your Tropical Magic experience please let us know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUlGPB85zY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL