Musical Notation
by George Rivera
Musical Notation
by George Rivera
The Big Apple Still Swings to the Latin Beats
August 6, 2000 - No
matter what anyone says, New York City has got to be the swingingest place when
it comes to Latin music. No matter how hard Miami, Los Angeles or San Juan may
try, there is just no place like the Apple when it comes to Latin music. This is
something that goes back a long way, back to a bygone era when the New York
nightclub circuit was inundated with all kinds of Latin music. Back to the days
when a young maverick by the name of Federico Pagani, with the aid of the
legendary Machito, approached a gentleman by the name of Maxwell Hyman and made
him an offer he simply could not refuse.
Pagani, who went on to become the leading promoter when it came to Latin music,
simply boasted that he could fill Hyman's nightclub on any given off-night.
Hyman, along with his wife, an heiress to the Otis Elevator Company fortune, was
the owner of one of the most popular nightclubs in the city at the time, we're
talking Palladium. Well, Max put Federico to the test and offered him a shot to
prove himself. Federico immediately went to work with Machito handing out
leaflets and spreading the word throughout the Latino community. On the day of reckoning,
a day that would change the ambiance of New York's nightlife, the line extended
around the block and continued to grow throughout the night. Needless to say,
there were a whole lot of people that never got near the entrance to the
Palladium that evening; however, they would all have their shot and more after
that night.
This
past Monday we had yet another magical evening of Latin music when Johnny
Pacheco and Ramon Quian (aka Monguito El Unico) were reunited at SOB's. This was
the very first time in over thirty plus years that these two individuals took to
the stage together. The architect of this magical night is one of those unsung
heroes that dwells behind the scenes of today's Latin music industry. The man is
currently responsible for booking SOB's Monday night Tropical series. He is also
one of those individuals that can partly be held accountable for the current
outbreak of Cubania that can be felt throughout the continental United States.
That man is Nando Alvericci.
Like those legendary promoters that came before him, Nando has been battling
against the odds to prove himself in the Latin music arena. He's been taking
those risks that all the "veteran" promoters should be taking.
From the look of things, those risks seem to be paying off. And if SOB's were a
bigger venue the payoff would be far greater.
To get back to the "reunion" of these two musical giants, it
was a night loaded with lots of classics. Pacheco opened the night with his
current vocalist, Casanova, by his side. The band immediately jump-started the
crowd with a short set of classics. Then it was time for Pacheco to introduce
Monguito to the crowd. The crowd immediately roared as the man stepped up to the
stage dressed all in white. From that point on the spotlight was on the man who
has been an MIA in the New York scene, even though he's a resident. Needless to
say the man put on a tremendous clinic for all those aspiring soneros. Pacheco
and Monguito were as winning a combination that night as they were back in the
60's.
These are the things that need to be done if the Latin music scene is to
survive. This music is about dancing. Dancing was what made the bands of
yesterdays legends. Dancing is what drove the musicians of those bands to excel
on their instruments. The excitement of that era was driven by those dancers
whose feet graced the floor of the Palladium, Manhattan Center, Tritons and the
3-and-1. That's what is needed today for the ailing music scene to get healthy
once again. Will the folks at SOB's continue promoting evenings like this? As
long as the crowd continues showing their support, I'm sure they will.
Hasta la
proxima, ciao…