Jazzin’Around Besame Mucho

Lucho Gatica : In early 1950, a young crooner named Lucho Gatica, stepped nervously in front of a microphone at Odeon’s recording studio in Santiago de Chile. He had achieved a modest popularity as a folk singer but now, for this recording session, the producers had agreed to let him try the more pop-oriented “boleros”. The session yielded several romantic songs that moved everyone present at the cold studio. They felt that something very special had taken place that day…

Ismael Rivera @Wikipedia : Upon his release from jail, Rivera formed his own band called Ismael Rivera and his Cachimbos. This successful band lasted for eight years. Rivera reunited with Cortijo and recorded “Juntos otra vez”. Later, Rivera went solo and did well with the recordings of “El Sonero Mayor” and “Volare”. He scored his greatest hit with “Las caras lindas (de mi gente negra)” written by Tite Curet Alonso. On May 14, 1974, Rivera participated in a concert at the Carnegie Hall which was recorded live. Rivera sang a song from Bobby Capo called “Dormir contigo”. One of his last public performances was in Paris, as an opener for Bob Marley in 1979.

Los Panchos : Hay un sonido que es sinónimo de intimidad de pasión de amor, sus compases se mueven al ritmo del corazón, su nombre.., “BOLERO”. El encierra sentimientos tan hermosos como decir “ Te quiero” o desgarradores como “Nunca Jamás”. No hay habitante de este planeta que no haya escuchado hablar de un Bolero, otra forma de nombrarlo es decir “Los Panchos”.

Freddy La Estrella @Panamérika : Freddy, la Nat King Kong cubana (comparada, incluso, con Ella Fitzgerald), fue la voz de un sentimiento. Varios lo atestiguaron. Entre ellos, el escritor Guillermo Cabrera Infante, quien le dedicó a Fredesvinda García (Freddy) un capítulo extenso en Tres Tristes Tigres (TTT) que, con el tiempo, cobraría la autonomía necesaria para convertirse en una novela independiente: Ella cantaba boleros. La novela es un ejemplo trascendental de lo que podríamos llamar literatura “con banda sonora”; lo que otros gustan clasificar como novela-bolero latinoamericana o —simplemente— écfrasis musical, es decir, la representación —reproducción— de la música de manera verbal.

Compay Segundo @AfroCubaWeb : The salsa tinged The Mambo Kings is the perfect vehicle for Puerto Rican songstress Olga Tañon. She first became the female merengue sensation in 1992, the year of the original soundtrack’s release. Her critically acclaimed debut album, Sola, sold more than 100,000 units, launching a career that has seen the singing sensation sell close to 3 million units worldwide. The Grammy nominated WEA Latina artist continued to break records with the release of Te Acordaras De Mi in 1999, which topped most Latin charts throughout the world.

Pamela Luss : “The lust Luss is able to conjure is hard to resist, as she stands tall and lean among these well-known songs, interpreted with just a dash of sass, a large portion of confidence, a slight vibrato..”All Music Guide (Review of Sweet and Saxy

Gloria Lasso : Même ELLE même ne connaissait pas le nombre exact de chansons qu’elle enregistra pendant sa longue et prodigieuse carrière qui dura 57 années et qui débuta avec ses premiers enregistrements en 78 tours dans son Espagne natale dans les années 1948-1949. Aujourd’hui on peut estimer à 612 enregistrements les chansons qu’enregistra GLORIA LASSO et ceci grâce à une minutieuse comptabilisation que nous devons à notre ami Gérard Fueri, comptabilisation la plus précise possible compte tenu du volume de la discographie de l’artiste.

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