Posted by Joe
Fania Records was the ‘Motown’ of Salsa during the latte 60s and 70s. Formed by Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco, the label had under contract many of the greatest salsa artists of the time including Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Hector Lavoe and Tito Puente.
Fania almost completely monopolized the Salsa Genre during those years. As their artists became more and more popular, Fania gobbled up almost all the smaller salsa labels. Over time, almost anyone who wanted to become a significant artist in Salsa had to become a Fania artist.
Fania is credited with creating the original, classic salsa style, a style to which many newer artists are compared.
As Salsa’s slowly became less popular, Fania went into a decline, but it was the death of Jerry Masucci’s in 1997 that finally marked the end of the once great record label.
Rumba Con Son has in it’s repetoire, many of the great hits of this incredible period in Salsa History.
Posted by Joe
During the 1980s, Fania’s classic salsa style was waning in popularity. This gave way to a softer and more commercial style of Salsa called Salsa Romantica.
Very much like Latin Pop and Rock, Salsa Romantica removed some of the traditional elements of Classic salsa like the musical improvisation. It softened the punch of the orchestra and focused primarily on ballads set to a slowed down salsa rhythm and social commentary was replaced by love songs.
The most famous early salsa romantica artists included Eddie Santiago, Frankie Ruiz, Lalo Rodriguez and Luis Enrique. With time, some of today’s most famous salsa artists took up the style including Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marc Anthony, India and Tito Nieves.
Detractors of salsa romantica have named the style salsa monga, or ‘limp’ salsa. But the straight salsa romantica style, having run its 20-year course, also started losing its commercial appeal.
Today, some salsa romantica artists have started heating up their ballad-based salsa style. Gilberto Santa Rosa’s 2005 Autentico featured an orchestra with a much stronger punch, a brass section that clamored for attention and brought back improvisation. Marc Anthony’s Libre was a personal and unique blend of ballad and classic salsa.
Still other salsa romantica artists are paying attention to the popularity of reggaeton. India’s 2006 Soy Diferente incorporated both salsa romantica and reggaeton-fused numbers while Andy Montanez did the same with Salsa con Reggaeton the same year.
Posted by Joe
The word Salsa means sauce and usually, in Latin or Spanish cooking, it is a very spicy sauce which is used to add flavor to various Spanish favorites. So in a sense, Salsa is a combination of many things which produce something delicious.
In Music, Salsa has come to represent a certain style of Latin Music although this music has been around for quite some time prior to the term “Salsa” being used to describe it. Much of Salsa’s roots lie in the afro-cuban influence brought to the United States from Cuba in the 1940s and 50s, but the term Salsa was not to come into being until the 1970s.
Derived from the Cuban rhythms of Mambo and Son, Salsa became a hybrid of styles and was influenced by Puerto Rican styles as well as American Jazz, R&B and Soul and even Rock.
Some of the older latin musicians who began before Salsa was popularized, never really recognized the form as being a true Latin rhythm. Ruben Blades said that Salsa was more of a concept than a style. Celia Cruz, a who became a legend in the Latin Music industry once said, “salsa is Cuban music with another name. It’s mambo, chachachá, rumba, son … all the Cuban rhythms under one name”.
Despite the controversy regarding Salsa and it’s origins, it continues to be one of the most popular forms of Latin music around today and is the most popular among younger latin club-goers.
Rumba Con Son specializes in the traditional “Salsa Dura” of Puerto Rico and we are ready to entertain at your next party or corporate event. Like the great Latin Big Bands of a byegone era, Rumba Con Son will rock your party all night long.
We look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Posted by Joe
Orquesta Rumba Con Son will bring the “full Latin band sound” to Maxine’s 2 this Friday, August 8th, 2008.
Expect an energetic show that combines classic salsa from the 1970s and 1980s, sung by a front man whose voice has a hint of Domingo Quiñones, Oscar D’Leon, and Hector Lavoe.
The band traces its roots back to Rutgers University where music director Jose Abreu majored in music theory. Abreu, who also studied classical piano, spent the 1990s playing with several bands, including his own. In 2006, he took over “The Rutgers Salsa Band” (founded by Rutgers Professor Dr. Nanette de Jong to give students an opportunity to learn about and perform salsa music), and changed the name to Rumba Con Son. “Although there is only one musician left in Rumba con Son from the musicians I took over from the Rutgers salsa band, it was the combination of the Rutgers salsa band and my band mates from the mid 90s that ultimately resulted in Rumba con Son,” said Abreu.
Lead Singer Moises “El Salsero” Torres joined the band in 2007. Like many artists, Torres found his calling in church. His earliest performances were as a member of the youth band at St. Mary’s Cathedral when he was 12. “I was the kid with the maracas,” he said. The band has performed at numerous festivals and events throughout the state, but for Torres, nothing beats playing for the home crowd. “Trenton is my hometown no matter where I go. This is where the foundation of singing salsa was constructed for me. Without my friends and family (here), I would have never been able to get as far as I have. I was born and raised in Trenton and I am proud of that,” said Torres.
Rumba Con Son will perform from 6-9 PM this Friday, August 8 at Maxine’s 2, 120 S. Warren St, as part of the Trenton2Nite festivities. The show is FREE and open to all ages. For a complete listing of Trenton2Nite events, click on the events calendar above.
