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Joe Cuba

Joe Cuba, was a Spanish Harlem band leader and conga player who became known as the father of Latin boogaloo because of a string of innovative hit records in the 1960s and ’70s that fused Latin and soul elements. Originally the leader of a Latin band with jazz leanings, Mr. Cuba found commercial success by mixing rhythm and blues into his music and Spanish and English into his lyrics. Hits like “Sock It to Me Baby” and “Bang Bang,” both from 1967, demonstrated a crossover popularity that was unusual for the time, appealing almost equally to Latinos, blacks and mainstream audiences. “Joe was really the pioneer in making the move to singing in both languages, and it blended very well with those up tempos he liked to use,” said the jazz and salsa pianist Eddie Palmieri, who first met Mr. Cuba in 1955, when both men were playing in the Catskills. “He takes a top position in the history of the music for that, and also because he showed what you can do with a small group.” Born Gilberto Miguel Calderon in the Spanish Harlem section of Manhattan, to parents who had migrated to the city from Puerto Rico, Mr. Cuba took up the conga drums as a teenager. He enrolled in college, but after seeing the percussionist Tito Puente in performance and striking up a friendship with him, decided to become a professional musician. After stints in several New York-based ensembles, Mr. Cuba formed his own group in the mid-1950s, at the height of the mambo dance craze. At his agent’s suggestion, he soon changed the band’s name from the Jose Calderon Sextet to the Joe Cuba Sextet. The group found work playing shows of all kinds, from weddings to Latin dance parties, up and down the Eastern seaboard. n 1962, Cuba recorded "To Be With You" with the vocals of Cheo Feliciano and Jimmy Sabater. The band became popular in the New York Latin community. The lyrics to Cuba's music used a mixture of Spanish and English, becoming an important part of the Nuyorican Movement. In 1967, his band which included timbales, vibraphones, and the piano among its musical instruments, scored a "hit" in the United States National Hit Parade List with the song "Bang Bang" - a song which ushered in the Latin Boogaloo era. He also had a #1 hit, that year in the Billboards with the song "Sock It To Me Baby".

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249
Album Review

Joe Cuba: A Man & His Music--El Alcalde del Barrio

Read "A Man & His Music--El Alcalde del Barrio" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


Exhaustive and exhausting (because you won't be able to stop dancing), A Man & His Music--El Alcalde del Barrio presents the first major retrospective of the 240 albums recorded by Joe Cuba, the Father of Latin boogaloo, and was released in February 2010 to commemorate the one year anniversary of his passing.Gilberto Navarro was born in early 1930s Spanish Harlem. Inspired by the storied Latin percussionist Sabu, he taught himself to jam on congas and eventually wound up ...

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200

Recording

Fania Records Presents "Joe Cuba: El Alcalde Del Barrio" (2xcd) out February 23

Fania Records Presents "Joe Cuba:  El Alcalde Del Barrio" (2xcd) out  February 23

Source: Press Junkie PR

FANIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF A DELUXE 2-DISC 34-TRACK BOX SET OF THE LATE LEGENDARY JOE CUBA: A MAN AND HIS MUSIC: EL ALCALDE DEL BARRIO

New York, NY -- Fania Records announcedthe release of a deluxe 2-disc, 34-track box set of the father of Latin Boogaloo, Joe Cuba. This release is scheduled for February 23, 2010 and commemorates one-year after the passing of this legend. Joe Cuba: A Man and His Music: El Alcalde Del Barrio is a truly ...

380

Obituary

Joe Cuba NYC Salsa Band Leader Dies

Joe Cuba NYC Salsa Band Leader Dies

Source: All About Jazz

Salsa band leader Joe Cuba, dubbed the “Father of Latin Boogaloo" for weaving a fluid, bilingual mix of musical influences, died Sunday in New York City, a member of his group said. He was 78.

The musician, a friend and contemporary of the late salsa giant Tito Puente, died from complications of a persistent bacterial infection at Mount Sinai Medical Center a day after doctors disconnected his life support, said Cheo Feliciano, a longtime friend and singer in the Joe ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Best Of Joe Cuba...

Kedar Entertainment Group
1994

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El Pirata Del Caribe...

Kedar Entertainment Group
1979

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Tartara

Kedar Entertainment Group
1979

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