Edgardo & Candela
Celebrando 20 Años
ORIGINAL and very DANCEABLE SALSA music with a hint of South American flavor and powerful lyrics.
LATEST RELEASE BY THIS GREAT BAY AREA SALSA BAND
“El Sonero del Uruguay,” Edgardo Cambón.
(Jesús “Chucho” Valdes at the Havana Jazz Festival while performing with Irakere)
Liner Notes:
Celebrando 20 Años is a tribute. It is Candela’s tribute to the Afro-Latin music we love and respect. A tribute to the elders who have gone before and the younger generations who will push this music toward new horizons. A tribute to the musicians who, night after night, year after year, have given the music steamy, sweaty life.
Celebrando 20 Años contains not just songs, but themes that range from the political to the personal. They have a direction from beginning to end, with each musical idea reaching its full interpretation via inventive arrangers and expressive musicians. This recording is as close as it can be to the live sound of Candela, but we’re not afraid to add new elements: the melancholy bandoneón at the beginning of Ciudad de Tango, the flamenco-salsa of Corazón, or the Uruguayan candombe rhythms of Ayer Te Ví. This is not fusion or formula. We tap into different styles because they are in our background.
Celebrando 20 Años is our gift to the audiences who have trusted us for 20 years with the responsibility of supplying a solid groove so they could dance. Many things have changed over the decades. But I am not trying to keep up with the times, I’m just trying to keep up with my own artistic concept. To me, salsa is contemporary, it’s vibrant, it’s a way of living and expressing myself now. We proudly present this mostly original material to those who follow the Candela sound—and need its energy.
The energy that blisters the conguero’s hands and pulses through the veins on the sonero's neck. The energy that vibrates in the trombonist’s lips and emanates from the bass strings. The energy that reverberates in the piano montuno, and in the bodies of dancers who settle for nothing less than a live band. That energy is our creative force.
May we continue playing and dancing together for many years to come.
¡Muchas gracias!
—Edgardo
“I feel very naked singing my own songs with my own band without playing congas. My vocal lock to the music comes from the drum. Candela allows me to express myself while doing two of my favorite things: playing and singing at the same time.” Edgardo.(at KCSM Radio Interview with Jesse "Chuy" Varela)
Featuring:
"Candela":
Edgardo Cambón-Congas-Lead Vocals-Cajón-Djembe-Bongó and all hand percussions.
Sandy Cressman- Vocals,
Julio Areas-Bongó and Vocals,
Bob Karty-Piano,
David Belove-Bass,
Jeff Cressman -Trombone,
Abel Figueroa-Trombone,
Marty Wehner-Trombone,
Omar Ledezma –Timbales and Vocals,
Plus special guests:
Jason McGuire- Guitar, Seth Asarnow-Bandoneón, Hugo Fattoruso-Piano and Keyboards; "LaTiDo": Juan Ceballos-Flute, Camilo Landau-Tres, Steve Senft-Bass. Uruguayan Candombe drummers: Walter Gonzalez, Fernando Núñez and Diego.
About Edgardo:
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1960, Edgardo Cambón started performing at the ripe age of nine, while singing Tangos and Uruguayan folklore music on National TV with his Church choir. At age thirteen, and having fallen in love with Santana’s “Abraxas” album, he decided to buy a pair of Bongoes, and develop his percussion abilities. That event started his never ending journey of respect, passion and love for Latin Music, Latin Rhythms and the singing that accompanies those genres.
30 some years later and having performed with artist like, Jesús “Chucho” Valdez, Eddie Palmieri, Rebeca Mauleón Santana, Karl Perazzo (from Santana’s Band), Giovanni Hidalgo, Jaime Roos (during his Europe residency years), Joan Baez, Linda Tillery, Keith Terry and Crosspulse, the vocal ensemble “Sovosó” among many others, Edgardo presents to us his 3rd CD.
Latin: Latin Pop