ochún
En El Año De Ochún
CD (Ochun Music 61072), Released 2006;
Editor's Pick:
Wow, what pure salsa pleasure we've got here! The opening track, "La Esquína De Galiano (A Bailar Con Rita)" will embrace you with its almost jarring musical integrity. I was delighted to discover that they've included an extended version of this title as the last track. But "La Equína..." is not the only great track on El Año De Ochún. Far from it. This is Ochún's second release, and this New York orchestra is really coming into its own: clearly dedicated students of the great Afro-Cuban traditions. These are well-worked, rich, multi-layered compositions that speak volumes about the earnestness and depth of the musicians as well as the ingenuity of arranger Pablo Moya. This is a first class project that should not be missed. It's not the fastest, hottest, hippest or whatever. Ochún does not seem to be interested in any of those labels. This band is so soulful that even the one bolero, "Un Beso Y Un Adios," rang true and nearly conjured a tear from this jaded listener. And what a lush, moving version of the charanga classic "Camagüey." It's just gorgeous.
Great job by vocalist Miguel Garcia. Also kudos to pianist-vocalist Paul Armstrong, conguero/timbalero Gabriel (Chinchilita) Machado, sax and flute player Ocavio Ponce, bassists Gregg August and Guillermo Edgehill and many others. Guests include Oriente Lopez and Mauricio Smith Jr., Meilana McLean Gillard and others.
Note to up-and-coming bands out there: Study this CD hard. It's a gem.
MIGUEL GARCIA - VOCALS
MIGUEL WAS BORN IN 1947 IN PANAMA CITY TO A CUBAN MOTHER AND A COLOMBIAN FATHER.....AT THE AGE OF 2, HIS FAMILY RETURNED TO HAVANA WHERE THEY LIVED UNTIL MIGUEL WAS 14 YEARS OLD.
IN 1961, MIGUEL CAME TO THE UNITED STATES AND PURSUED HIS AMBITION TO BE A MUSICIAN AND SINGER BY TEACHING HIMSELF THE GUITAR AND STARTING HIS FIRST POP MUSIC BAND.
DURING THE EARLY 70’S, MIGUEL CO-FOUNDED HIS FIRST LATIN ROCK BAND, ‘MACAU’, WITH GUITARIST JAIME VILLA AND BASSIST NINO TORRENTE...THEY PERFORMED WITH MUCH SUCCESS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA FOR SEVERAL YEARS. DURING THIS TIME, ‘MACAU’ OPENED FOR TITO PUENTE AND ‘ORQUESTA YAMBU’, AMONG OTHER WELL KNOWN LATIN PERFORMERS.
IN THE MID 70’S, MIGUEL JOINED FORCES WITH A CUBAN GUITARIST, ALFONSO OSUNA, WHO SHARED HIS LOVE OF TRADITIONAL CUBAN MUSIC. TOGETHER, THEY ASSEMBLED AN OUTSTANDING GROUP OF 7 MUSICIANS ( AMONG THEM RAUL OSUNA ON BASS, JESUS FERNANDEZ ON CONGAS, AND A TIMBALERO NAMED ALBERTO GARCIA) ...THEY PERFORMED THE SON MONTUNO, CHARANGA, AND RUMBAS THAT SO INFLUENCED THEIR LIVES WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG.....DURING THIS PERIOD, ‘OSUNA SON’ FREQUENTLY OPENED FOR CHARLIE PALMIERI, TITO PUENTE, AND OTHERS.
‘ SON DE HOY’ CAME INTO BEING IN EARLY 2002. ONCE AGAIN, MIGUEL JOINED WITH ALFONSO OSUNA AND NINO TORRENTE TO EXPLORE THEIR NATIVE CUBAN RHYTHMS...THIS TIME, THEY WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND PAUL ARMSTRONG, A TEXAS BORN PIANIST WITH A CUBAN HEART. THE REKNOWNED FLUTIST MAURICIO SMITH AND PERCUSSIONIST RENATO THOMS SOON FOLLOWED.
MIGUEL AND PAUL ARMSTRONG CO-FOUNDED ‘OCHUN’ IN 2003...THE TWO BEGAN TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE WELL KNOWN ARRANGER/ TRES PLAYER, PABLO MOYA ON BOTH CUBAN CLASSICS AND ORIGINAL TUNES..TOGETHER WITH OCTAVIO PONCE ON FLUTE AND SAX, GABRIEL ‘CHINCHILITA’ MACHADO AND NESTOR VILLAR ON PERCUSSION, CLASSICALLY TRAINED BASSIST VICTOR SANCHEZ, JOHN HINES AND TOMER LEVY ON TRUMPET, THEY FINE TUNED THE UNIQUE RHYTHM THAT HAS BECOME SYNONOMOUS WITH ‘OCHUN’. THE GROUPS FIRST CD, “OCHUN” IS SOON TO BE RELEASED.
PAUL ARMSTONG – PIANO
TEXAS BORN AND BRED, PAUL PERFORMED PROFESSIONALLY IN COLORADO AND TOURED EUROPE EARLY IN HIS CAREER.
FROM 1993 THROUGH 2000 PAUL RAN THE SKY TRAIL RECORDING STUDIO WHERE HE PRODUCED MUSIC FOR ORIGINAL ARTISTS, CARTOONS AND COMMERCIALS.
AFTER RELOCATING TO NEW YORK CITY IN 2001, PAUL WORKED AS SOUND EDITOR AND/OR COMPOSER FOR SEVERAL PROJECTS, AMONG THEM, “THE FIGHTING FOODONS”, A JAPANESE ANIMATED SERIES THAT AIRED ON WARNER BROTHERS NETWORK AND THE MA-YI THEATRE PRODUCTION OF “SALAD DAYS’.
PAUL JOINED MIGUEL GARCIA AND NINO TORRENTE IN EARLY 2002 TO FOUND THE CUBAN BAND “SON DE HOY’.....THEY BECAME FAVORITES WITH LOCAL RESTAURANTS AND WHEN NOT PLAYING IN RESTAURANTS, WERE KEPT BUSY WITH FUND RAISERS AND PRIVATE PARTIES.
IN 2003, ‘OCHUN’ CAME INTO BEING THRU THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF PAUL AND MIGUEL GARCIA.....ALTHOUGH HE WAS KEPT BUSY WITH ‘OCHUN’, PAUL CONTINUED TO WORK ON SOLO PROJECTS....HE PLAYED WITH THE CUBAN BAND ‘LA MACHINA AMARILLA’ AND THE BRAZILIAN GROUP ‘ART TROPICALIA’.........IN 2004, HE COMPOSED AND RECORDED THE ENTIRE 15 SONG SOUNDTRACK FOR THE FILM ‘MAKING GRACE’, AN AUBIN PICTURES RELEASE.
PABLO MOYA – TRES
PABLO WAS BORN IN CENTRAL SOLEDAD, GUANTANAMO, CUBA. HIS FATHER, PABLO MOYA TELLEZ, LEAD A LOCAL CHANGUI GROUP, AND IT WAS HE WHO GAVE YOUNG PABLO HIS FIRST TRES LESSONS.
PABLO TRAVELED TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA TO JOIN FAMILY FRIEND ELIADES OCHOA ( OF ‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’ FAME) TO PLAY IN BARS, RESTAURANTS, AND BROTHELS. KNOWING HE NEEDED TO FURTHER HIS STUDIES, PABLO SOON LEFT FOR HAVANA, WHERE HE ATTENDED THE SALESIANO COLLEGE, ‘DON BOSCO’ AT GUANABACOA....HIS MAJOR, NATURALLY, WAS MUSIC.
PABLO RETURNED TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA AS A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN....HE QUICKLY FOUND WORK AS A GUITARIST WITH THE ‘MODERN MUSIC CUBAN ORQUESTA’ AND ANOTHER POPULAR ORQUESTA, ‘THE TAINOS’.
IN 1974, PABLO FORMED HIS OWN BAND, ‘LOS KARACHI’, WHICH ENJOYED MUCH SUCCESS. THE GROUP WON SEVERAL PRIZES...AMONG THEM FIRST PRIZE IN THE 1979 NATIONAL SON FESTIVAL AND THE 1984 VARADERO 84 FESTIVAL. ‘LOS KARACHI’ BECAME WELL-KNOWN IN SEVERAL CONTINENTS (EUROPE, MIDDLE AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES) THROUGH THEIR PARTICIPATION IN MANY INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVALS.
IN 1976, PABLO ENTERED THE UNIVERSITY ‘GUILLERMON MONCADA’...HE GRADUATED IN 1978 WITH DEGREES IN ARRANGING AND COMPOSING ...NOT YET SATISFIED WITH HIS MUSICAL EDUCATION, PABLO CONTINUED TO STUDY AND TEACH BASS AT THE MUSIC CONSERVATORY, ‘ESTABAN SALAS’.
WHEN PABLO CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, HE QUICKLY FOUND WORK AS A TRECERO WITH LOCAL CUBAN BANDS. CURRENTLY, PABLO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PLAYING HIS AMAZING TRES AND ARRANGING THE RYTHMIC SOUNDS OF ‘OCHUN’.
GABRIEL “ CHINCHILITA” MACHADO – PERCUSSION
GABRIEL IS THE COMPLETE LATIN PERCUSSIONIST. HE WAS BORN IN THE RHYTHM –RICH DANCE-CRAZED ATMOSPHERE OF ORIENTE , CUBA. SINCE HIS ARRIVAL TO THIS COUNTRY, HE HAS PERFORMED HERE AND AROUND THE WORLD WITH MAJOR LATIN JAZZ MUSIC STARS, AMONG THEM: DIZZY GILLESPIE, LIONEL HAMPTON, PAQUITO D’RIVERA, DUKE ELLINGTON’S ORCHESTRA, ARTURO SANDAVAL, JOHN FADDIS, BRANFORD MARSALIS, TIPICA NOVEL, ORQUESTA
BROADWAY, CHARANGA 76 AND ORQUESTA FAJARDO
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