Geri Galian and His Caribbean Rhythm Boys

Artist: Geri Galian and His Caribbean Rhythm Boys

LP: Rhapsody In Rhythm
Song: "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue"
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Song: "Tara Lara"

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I was milling about in Tacoma this past Saturday afternoon after a family get-together for my 8-year-old nephew's birthday in Gig Harbor and before meeting my friend Ryan in the evening to see US at Grand Cinema. I finally paid a visit to the wonderful Tacoma Book Center, and then I popped in at House of Records, where I picked up this 1955 LP by Spanish piano master Geri Galian, who, frankly, I've never heard of before. But then it seems most people nowadays haven't. 

According to the album liner notes, Galian appeared in several hit Hollywood films of the 1940s and '50s, he performed at places like the Hollywood Bowl and Biltmore Theatre in L.A., and at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas...but now the poor guy doesn't even have a Wikipedia page! The sparkly magic he whips up at the piano keyboard is absolutely brilliant and exciting—it's like he's playing all 88 keys at once! I don't see any reason why this guy shouldn't still be famous. It's time for a Geri Galian revival! You with me? I'm putting in an order for bobbleheads and t-shirts.

Geri Galian and His Caribbean Rhythm Boys on YouTube:

[ "Jungle Rumba" ]  

[ Geri Galian and His Caribbean Rhythm Piano ]

[ House of Records / Turntable Treasures — Tacoma, WA ]

Facundo Rivero and His Quartet

Artist: Facundo Rivero and His Quartet

LP: Cha-Cha-Cha: The New Exciting Dance Rhythm From Cuba — double 7" EP

Song: "Negra Mi Cha-Cha-Cha"

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Here's a blast of cha-cha-cha from the middle of the 1950s, when it was a fresh new set of steps that challenged the mambo as the Latin dance of preference in American ballrooms across the land. There's not much to read about Facundo Rivero on the Internet (although I did unearth a handsome lad by that name who's got a Twitter account), but the musical Cuban Facundo Rivero was evidently a famous pianist and bandleader, born in Santa Clara, Cuba in 1910. According to this short Spanish language biography, Rivero played music in Cuba for a number of years, then went to Mexico in 1950, worked in a variety of countries, then landed in New York City for a while after 1959. He then alternated between New York and Miami, ultimately retiring to the warm climate of the Florida city. I find no mention of Facundo's death, so I can only assume he's still lazing around in the Miami sunshine and will be celebrating his 109th birthday at some point this year. 

Rivero is just one of the talented Cuban musicians springing the latest Latin dance craze on unsuspecting Americans in this double 7" EP that contains eight tracks simply bursting with cha-cha. Noro Morales, Ernesto Duarte, Tito Rodriguez and Al Castellanos are among some of the others. The ad on the back of the cover informs us that "EPs are the answer to 'The Music you want when you want it.'" I couldn't agree more. EPs are like the Spotify of 1955!

[ Facundo Rivero ]

Silvestre Mendez, El Rey del Canto Afro-Cubano y Su Orquesta

Artist: Silvestre Mendez, El Rey del Canto Afro Cubano y Su Orquesta

LP: Oriza (Afro-Cuban Rhythms)

Song: "Nueva Oriza"

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Song: "Laye Laye"
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Song: "Malambo"
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The other day after work I was in serious need of some vinyl retail therapy, so I stopped by Daybreak Records on my way home. This spectacular collection of Afro-Cuban rhythms from Silvestre (Mendez), the King of Afro-Cuban Singers (or Rhythms, or both!) and His Orchestra is one of the things I found. According to the online Seeco Album Discography, this LP (catalog #CELP-426/4260) was the label's final release of 1959. I've got the stereo version, which turned out kinda' crappy on my rinky-dink mp3 converter turntable. The horns and Sylvestre's lead vocals shine, but the backing vocals and cowbell (on "Laye Laye") aren't done justice here. You'll just have to come over to listen on my Gemini turntable instead. According to what I've found here, Silvestre Mednez was born in the Jesús Maria neighborhood of Havana in 1921. He left Cuba for Mexico in 1945 and never went back.

 [ Silvestre Mendez: December 31, 1921 — 1997 ]

Cuban Dance Orchestra

Artist: Cuban Dance Orchestra

LP: Cha Cha

Song: "Negrita" 
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Happy Black Friday! I don't usually go shopping on Black Friday, but the Goodwill near my place was having a 40%-off sale on everything in the store (except yellow tag items) so I stopped by to rummage through their records. This scratchy Cuban jazz LP is one of the things I found. There aren't any liner notes on the back of the sleeve (Plymouth stuck their entire catalog listing there instead), and it's impossible to find info online for a group called simply "Cuban Dance Orchestra." What we do know is that a talented bunch of musicians got together about 60 years ago (this album was probably released in 1956) and made some terrific Cuban dance music! Someone recorded it, Plymouth released it, someone bought it, then they died (probably) and it was my good fortune to find it at Goodwill (for .60¢; regularly $1!). Plus we know that this record was also available in red.

Cha Cha, Anyone?

LP: Cha Cha, Anyone?

Artist: Paquitin Lara and His Latin American Orchestra

Song: "Cha Cha Me Baby"

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Artist: Ramon and His Orchestra

Song: "Cuidado Con La Mano"

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Here's a bit of cha-cha-cha from two Latin masters circa 1959—Paquitin Lara, featured on the first side of the record, and Ramon and His Orchestra, featured on side two. My sister and I learned the basic steps of the cha-cha in our dance class at Brigham Young University back in 1991, but even when observing qualified professionals we never saw anyone do the cha-cha while sitting on the floor.

Enric Madriguera and His Orchestra

Artist: Enric Madriguera and His Orchestra

LP: Sourth American Tempos [10" EP]

Song: "South American Flame"
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This 1954 10" EP from Enric Madriguera and His Orchestra is another one of the neat things I found at the GoodWill Thrift Store after church on Sunday. Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1904, Enric was a child prodigy of the violin. He came to the USA when he was just 14 years old, along with his sister, Paquita, who was a child prodigy of the classical piano. Paquita ended up in South America, and Enric landed in Havana, Cuba, where he became director of the Havana Symphony. When Enric returned to New York a few years later, he brought Cuban music with him and helped make the Latin sound popular in the The Big Apple in the mid-1920s. I learned all of this just now from the terrific On This Day In Jazz Age Music blog here. You can find Enric Madriguera's film music credits on IMDB here, and read more on Wikipedia here.

 [ Enric Madriguera: February 17, 1904 — September 7, 1973 ]

Juan Perez con su Orchestra

Artist: Juan Perez con su Orchestra

LP: Cha-Cha-Cha

Song: "Sing A-La Cha-Cha"

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Song: "Shubert Cha-Cha"

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So the big news today is that the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks is dead. I wonder if anyone's ever written a "Bin Laden Cha-Cha." Anyway, the first song here is from side A of the record, whereas "Shubert Cha-Cha" is from side B—the side with strings attached.

George Shearing [1919-2011]

Artist: George Shearing Quintet

LP: Latin Lace

Song: "Sand In My Shoes"

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Whether it's Latin lace, black or white satin, velvet carpet, or blue chiffon, I've learned that you can always count on the records of jazz pianist George Shearing for some luxurious listening material. This 1958 LP was Shearing's second foray into music with a Latin theme, following "Latin Escapade" in 1956. Born in the South London neighborhood of Battersea in 1919, George turned down several scholarships in order to play piano and accordion at Manson's Arms pub instead. He moved to the U.S.A. in 1946 (or maybe '47) where he soon became known for his piano technique that came to be called "the Shearing voicing." George Shearing released a slew of albums during his 60-year career—both with and without his quintet. He played for three U.S. presidents (Ford, Carter, Reagan) and he passed away just a few days ago in New York City at the age of 91. You can read more about George Shearing's life and career on Wikipedia here—where you'll find details about "the Shearing voicing" and see his extensive discography—and you can read Shearing's obituary in the L.A. Times here.

 

 

George Shearing

[August 13, 1919 — February 14, 2011]

We will miss you, George.

Emil Coleman & His Orchestra

Artist: Emil Coleman & His Orchestra

LP: 7" single

Song: "Walter Winchell Rumba"

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Born in Odessa, Russia (it's now Ukraine) in 1892, Emil Coleman (and his orchestra) became a fixture in New York City's high-society nightlife during the first half of the 20th century. He had a regular gig at the Empire Room of the Waldorf Astoria and was always good for an invigorating "Bunny Hug" or even a "Turkey Trot" if you caught him in the right mood. Also, Emil Coleman collected watches. You can read more about him in the notes from this two-disc EP which I believe is from 1958. As for Walter Winchell & His Rumba...I chose this track for posting since Walt had a cameo in DAISY KENYON, a 1947 Joan Crawford vehicle my friend Ryan and I watched last week—Winchell appeared briefly as himself in a scene set at NYC's Stork Club, which was re-created on the sound stages of 20th Century Fox. A famous news and radio personality who evidently invented the gossip column, Winchell was also an early supporter of Senator McCarthy, and used his radio program to denounce people as Communists—including Josephine Baker, who, as a result, was denied a Visa to re-enter the USA. Winchell was reportedly taking revenge on Baker, who had criticized him for not taking a stand against the racist, discriminatory policies of the afore-mentioned Stork Club—but the real one. You can read more about Walter Winchell on Wikipedia here, where they fail to mention how he ended up having a rumba named after him. They do, however, note that only one person showed up at his funeral.

 

 [ Emil Coleman: June 19, 1892 — January 26, 1965 ]

Belmonte and His Afro-American Music

Artist: Belmonte and His Afro-American Music

LP: 7" single — "Mambo at Midnight"

Song: "Baby Doll Mambo"

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When I was a toddler I had a plastic doll named Nist, and when you squeezed her mid-section, she made a high-pitched squealing noise that sounded like a baby's cry. I remember feeling pretty upset when I found Nist lying alone and naked on a table at the yard sale my mom organized when I was a few years older. But now I realize that Nist needed to move on. She had exciting things she wanted to do with her life—like performing with Belmonte and His Afro-American Latin jazz combo in the smokey underground nightclubs of New York City.

Johnny Pacheco/Charlie Palmieri/Jose Fajardo

LP: Las Charangas: Pacheco, Palmieri, Fajardo

Artist: Johnny Pacheco y su Charanga

Song: "Verano de Amor"

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Artist: Charlie Palmieri y su Charanga

Song: "Lloraras"

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Artist: Jose Fajardo y su Charanga

Song: "El Silver Star"

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I thought the Charanga was a sandwich until I found this terrific 1963 Alegre Records compilation at Rooky Ricardo's Records on my trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. The record features three Latin bandleaders who spearheaded the Pachanga dance craze in New York in the early 1960s. Johnny Pacheco, from the Dominican Republic, actually played with Charlie Palmieri's Latin orchestra before forming his own band in 1959. His was the first Latin band to headline at The Apollo, in 1962, and then in 1964 Pacheco created the Fania Records label with lawyer Jerry Masucci. You can read more about Johnny Pacheco here, and visit his official website here to find out what he's up to nowadays and to see where you can catch his next performance. Charlie Palmieri, known as "The Giant of the Keyboards," was born in the South Bronx in 1927 after his parents immigrated to the USA from Puerto Rico in 1926. Palmieri started playing piano by ear at an early age and was a member of Tito Puente's band by the time he was 20. Palmieri played with Puente's group from 1947-1953 after which he continued performing on his own and with artists like Celia Cruz, Herbie Mann, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaría and others until his death from a heart attack in 1988. Cuban flutist Jose Fajardo worked as a policeman in Havana before taking over flute duties from Antonio Arcaño of Arcaño y sus Maravillas in the late 1940s. After forming his own group, Fajardo y sus Estrellas, by the end of that decade, Fajardo's music took him around the globe during the 1950s. He was touring Japan in 1961 when Fidel Castro's government ordered him to steer his tour into Communist territories. Fajardo refused and settled in the United States rather than returning to Cuba. He continued to perform in New York City and Puerto Rico until his death from an aneurysm in 2001. You can read more about Jose Fajardo in his New York Times obituary here. The LP liner notes, written by Tom Rosado, are included below; LP cover art is by Abel G. Navarro and the record was produced by Al Santiago.

[ Johnny Pacheco, b. March 24, 1935 ]

 [ Charlie Palmieri: November 21, 1927 — September 12, 1988 ]

[ Jose Fajardo: 1919 — December 11, 2001 ]