Rumbeando
con Richie Blondet
THE LAST MAMBO SHOW: THE FANIA ALL STARS...LIVE Part 1
It had been weeks, even months, before the concert was even promoted, that the buzz on the streets began taking place. The buzz being the news that the Fania All Stars were getting together for perhaps one last hurrah, before the 20th Century was no more. Tickets went on sale a month prior to the date of the concert. People from all walks of life scrambled everywhere to get their hands on them. Prior to the concert date I had been receiving a plethora of mail asking for info on the location, ticket prices and availability, and the line-up of performers. People from Connecticut, South Jersey, Florida, New England, New Hampshire, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Puerto Rico, and other far away places, notified me of their intentions of wanting to attend this once in a lifetime concert. Someone from as far away as London, England asked me what was the best route from Kennedy Airport to Madison Square Garden. This grand event was unique in that unlike previous Salsa Festivals held at the Garden, this one was not really promoted at full throttle. The amazing thing is that with the lack of promotion, they still managed to sell out Madison Square Garden completely. What made up for the lack of promotion was the incessant execution of word of mouth by the fans.
For many, this would be a concert of nostalgia. A musical ceremony of what once was. For others, particularly the new generation of salseros, this would be their first...AND their last opportunity, to observe what all the fuss surrounding these legends and their sound was all about, the last opportunity to experience what the Golden Age of Salsa was like. This was their Cheetah, their Red Garter, their Yankee Stadium all rolled up in one. It was something for the ages...and a display of musical excellence that they will not soon, nor ever, come to forget.
- UN LEON LO INICIA
October 23rd, 1999, at precisely 8:06 PM, veteran MC, Paquito Navarro, took what seemed his umpteenth time at center stage, and welcomed everyone to what was being touted as the Concert of the Millennium! To kick things off, Paco introduced the 17,000 plus Salseros to the incomparable Leon De La Salsa, Oscar D'Leon.
Oscar D'Leon is a master showman and one of the
last true-blue soneros on the salsa scene today. His large orchestra began with a bevy of
rhythms that began pulsating through the Garden rafters. With the rhythm section at full
throttle, in comes the self proclaimed Rey de los Soneros, who begins his
vocalization to a joropo version of the song Alma Llanera. As soon as the joropo
ended, the intro to one of Oscar D'Leon's most famous and most memorable classics began.
Everyone in the Garden cheered as the recognizable horn riffs to Lloraras began to
wail. The song is practically 20 plus years old, yet it still manages to cook today. Oscar
put on a show that made you wonder just how in the world were the All Stars going to top
his presentation? At one point, he began improvising on the subject of how much time he
had left in his set during the song, Me Voy Pa' Cali. It was awesome how he managed
to insert that bit of thought process into the tune. Without making it sound as if it did
not make sense. After three or four more numbers, which included a medley of some of the
greatest tunes which are considered to be legendary classics such as La Murga and
El
Manicero, Oscar paid tribute to one of the fathers of our Latin thing, Frank
Machito Grillo. Oscar verbalized an entire soneo revolving around the legendary bandleader. He
truly made a good argument for the Rey de los Soneros tag on this one. Some comedy
schtick was added as one of his reed players was desperately trying to play a solo. Only
Oscar wouldn’t permit him to. And when he did, he would only complain that he was
taking too much time. He even attempted to thwart him from playing, when he mischievously
pulled off a piece of the flute and ran off with it. Somehow the musician managed to pull
off a few notes with what Oscar had left him with. An added highlight to Oscar's
performance was when Oscar himself looked into the audience and said, "Y
Isidro...donde esta?" Oscar requested that Isidro Infante, RMM's musical
director, producer, and arranger, come up on stage and do a little soft shoe with his
fingers on the piano. A couple of seconds passed before Isidro ran onto the stage and took
over the keyboard from Oscar's regular pianist. Oscar then managed to manipulate the two
to a duel it out while circling around the piano at the same time. It was an exciting
sight indeed. Oscar ended his set to a round of applause and cheering from the fans. It
truly was a remarkable performance and set the tone for the spectacular showcase that was
to follow.
- DIZZY IZZY
It had been quite some time since Izzy Sanabria had made an appearance of this type. The last time Sanabria MC'd an event of this magnitude was at the concert in Colombia a few years ago. Before that, he was present at the previous reunion way back in '94, along with the late great Mambo dancer and fellow Fania MC, Anibal Vasquez (who passed away earlier this year). They both took the helm and introduced those that were participating in the showcase to the audience that year. Due to the passing of Annibal Vazquez, Izzy Sanabria would go it alone this night.
Right off the bat you got a sense of nostalgia as
Izzy, dressed in a red tuxedo jacket, black pants, white shirt and a large jet-black bow
tie, evoked memories of the 1970's. He didn’t look bad. But just by looking at him
walk up to the microphone, you could tell he had the '70's written all over him. He looked
as if he would have been more comfortable in bell bottoms and a polyester shirt than his
present wardrobe. Unlike his dress code, one thing that Izzy has maintained
throughout the years is his sense of humor. Mr. Salsa had the audience in the palm
of his hand with his one-liners and frequent jabs at some of the more advanced
veterans participating in the concert. But with that aside, as the audience clapped a 3/2
clave in unison and clamored for more, the moment was at hand to introduce the members of
THE greatest Salsa Orchestra of this, or any other Century. To get things going,
Izzy, as
he had done in previous Fania concerts, got the audience to follow his SALSA chants. The
people on the right side of the Garden were to scream "SAAALLL...", while the
left side, would chant "SAAAA!!!" Izzy was like a conductor leading an
orchestra. A 17,000 plus piece orchestra to say the least! Then all together everyone
would merge the two and erupt in..."SAAAALLLL...SAAAA!!!" To some, it may have
seemed corny and unnecessary, but to a generation X'er like myself, the moment was as
grandiose as the concert itself. I had only heard stories of how Izzy would manipulate the
crowd and organize everyone to repeat the holy word he wanted them to say, via his every
whim. This night, thanks to Izzy Sanabria, I was now a part of that, and could share that
experience with others, as others have done with me.
Izzy then
introduced individually, one by one, the participants of this grand event. Only those who
were participating in the opening song would be introduced. These introductions have
become as legendary as the musical performances themselves. It is similar to a fashion
show, as the Fania All Star’s each have their distinct style of dress and image. This
night would prove to be no different. The side musician's, in particular the brass
section, percussionist Eddie Montalvo, and the coristas, Ray Viera,
Batacumbelista, Jerry
Medina, and Isidro Infante's front man, Kevin Ceballos, were all clad in black shirts and
dress pants. However, the All-Stars was an entire matter altogether in itself.
Adalberto Santiago, Ismael Quintana, Roberto Roena and Pupi Legarretta, were dressed
conservatively in dark colors. Then the FANIA dress code started getting loud. Papo Lucca
waltzed on stage in a fiery red suit. Ray Barretto shows up in an electric blue suit. But
then, a creature from the 21st Century arrived. Fully clad in a silver shirt with sprinkles shaped in the form of
musical notes over it, Elton John size shades, bleached blond hair and shiny red baggy
pants that would have doused the glimmer on Dorothy's ruby red shoes, Nicky Marrero wowed
the crowd with his appearance, while holding onto two Puerto Rican flags alongside his
sticks. As if this were not enough to get everybody going, next up was the leader of the
Orchestra Harlow. Larry put new meaning to the name, Judio Maravilloso, with the get up he
had on. Harlow raised his hands in the air and received a thunderous applause. He wrapped
his bright green feather boa around his neck and pranced off into the direction of the
piano. I thought to myself, next up Willie Colón will probably surprise us in an afro and
huge sideburns to boot. Luckily for the weak-hearted in loud fashion, Yomo Toro appeared
in a dark suit and hat. Whew…
To be continued...
Que siga la Rumba!