Saboreando: An Insiders Perspective by Rick Davies

 Introduction by John Child

 I initially met Rick Davies, first trombonist and musical director with Wayne Gorbea's Salsa Picante, when the band made their live UK debut at London's Jazz Café on March 6th 1999.  It was the first gig in what turned out to be a highly successful national tour.  The band received a rapturous reception from the capacity Jazz Café crowd.   They just wouldn't let the band leave the stage.    Chants of 'Wayne, Wayne, Wayne' brought them back for two encores.

 

While waiting with the band outside the Jazz Café for the van to arrive to collect their equipment, I become engrossed in conversation with Rick.  I was fascinated to learn that he had recently completed a doctoral dissertation at New York University on Alfredo 'Chocolate' Armenteros' trumpet performance.  The study broke new ground at the University.  I mentioned that he might be interested in seeing entries I had written on Chocolate for the first and second edition of The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1989 and 1998) and the Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1992).  So I was particularly chuffed when he told me that he used my entries from the first Penguin edition and Guinness book for his thesis and listed them in the bibliography.  Rick's PhD dissertation, Cuban Trumpet Playing: The Solo Performance Style of Alfredo 'Chocolate' Armenteros, was subsequently published and he has also contributed a chapter on Chocolate to Musicians From Cuba (edited by Charlie Gerard), to be published by Praeger Press.

 

After relocating to New York in 1977, Rick has clocked up considerable accomplishments in various musical genres.  On the salsa and Latin jazz scene he has worked with Tito Puente, Johnny Colón, Charlie Palmieri, Marc Anthony, Rey Reyes, Santiago Ceron and Manny Oquendo & Libre, amongst others.  He joined Wayne's band Conjunto Salsa in 1985 through the auspices of band member Dave Chamberlain (trombonist/arranger).  He made his recording debut with Wayne on three cuts of 1986's Sigan Bailando (the rest was already in the can before Rick started).  His first arrangement for Conjunto Salsa, the bolero 'Pensando en Ti' was for this album.  In addition he played along with Chamberlain on 'Lo Que Dice Justi' and the title tune.  Following musical director Harry Justiniano's departure in 1987, he shared musical director duties with Chamberlain for a couple of years (through the El Condimento release of 1988) before becoming the full-fledged director (following Chamberlain's move to the band Cruz Control).  The song 'El Vago' on El Condimento was his second arrangement for the group.  He subsequently worked as first trombonist and musical director on Wayne Gorbea and Salsa Picante's international hit Cogele El Gusto (1997) and now their 2000 release Saboreando.  He wrote and arranged the UK salsa club hit 'Strut' on Cogele El Gusto and 'Calle Loca' on Saboreando; reworking the former as the title track of his yet to be released CD Salsa Strut by his Latin jazz group Jazzismo.

 I asked Rick to prepare a commentary on Saboreando, which he did willingly and with considerable skill and ability.

 

Saboreando  by Wayne Gorbea and Salsa Picante

Notes by Rick Davies, Musical Director/Lead Trombonist

El Yoyo 

El Yoyo is a song originally performed by Cortijo.  Salsa Picante’s version of the song is one of the most danceable cuts on the CD Saboreando.  Wayne Gorbea starts the piece with a piano montuno and is joined four measures later by the rest of the rhythm section.  The entire song is built over a single C7 dominant harmony.  The beginning consists of eight-measure segments traded between the coro and the horns.  Following the second coro, the horn part expands into a mambo figure which leads to a tasty piano solo by Gorbea.  After returning to the original piano montuno, the mambo is repeated and followed by a busy and highly rhythmic vocal coro section featuring stop-time figures in the rhythm section.

A horn section interlude introduces a sparse but driving timbale solo by Ruben Borgas.  Mike Lewis’ trumpet solo is preceded by and concluded with the same trombone moña.  Like most of the other moñas on the CD, this one was created in the studio during the recording.  A two-syllable coro figure interspersed with solo singing brings the piece to an end with a reprise of the earlier brass interlude.

 

Nelida

Nelida is a tour-de-force composition and arrangement by Ramon Rosado.  Whereas El Yoyo is noted by its formal and harmonic simplicity, Nelida is a labyrinth with numerous contrasting sections.  The introduction is thirty-two bars in length, the first twenty-four of which are built over a rhythmic two-pitch piano figure.  A repeated sixteen-measure vocal section is noted by lengthy breaks in the vocal line and a final four-bar pseudo-Brazillian groove that was inspired by bassist Andy Gonzales.  The bridge is harmonically rich and contrasting in texture. 

Following a repeat of the first section, the montuno section starts with a brass interlude to the coro/solo singing section.  The coro in this case is simply the word Nelida.  After six four-measure sonero/coro sections, the mambo begins with a break and consists of two eight-bar segments, each of which repeats.  A two-measure coro and a two-measure section by Otero follows the mambo.  This happens four times before the trombones enter with a moña figure that sets up a trumpet solo by Tomer Levy.  The final sonero/coro part leads to a three-against-four coda.

 

Son Picante

While slower in tempo than most of the cuts on the album, Son Picante possesses an infectious rhythmic drive from beginning to end.  Composed and arranged by Rosado, Son Picante starts the introduction with a paraphrase of the coro figure (a trademark in Rosado’s writing).  He finishes the intro with trumpet embellishments over syncopated figures.  A two-measure coro is established, which trades the first two times with horn section parts reminiscent of the kind employed by Arsenio Rodriguez in his 1940s conjunto.  The next two coros alternate with a trombone solo by Rafi Malkiel and then a trumpet solo by Lewis.  After the trumpet solo, Frank Otero enters with an eight-measure solo vocal part over a primarily dominant harmony that resolves to tonic only in the fourth measure of each repeated phrase.  Two additional coro/solo brass sections lead to a repetition of the sonero melody before the horn section paraphrases the coro melody and introduces the montuno section.

After four coro/sonero sections, Gorbea plays a short solo followed by an intricate but swinging mambo.  Frankie Reyes then plays an elegant conga solo which is supported at one point by offbeat trombone figures.  The same break that initialized the mambo ends the conga solo and introduces a trumpet solo by Lewis.  Levy and trombonist Rick Davies come in behind Lewis with a moña figure that transfers to a trombone solo by Malkiel.  The same moña brings Malkiel’s solo to a close.  Son Picante ends with four coro/sonero sections and an ensemble coda.

 

Coco

The idea in the arranging Coco was to convert the tune from its original Ritmo Oriental songo feel to the New York salsa groove that is the specialty of Salsa Picante.  The mozambique of the introduction is another common element in the New York tradition.  Otero’s vocal is interspersed with horn section figures throughout the largo section.  In typical fashion, the bongo and timbale cascara supports this part of the song.  The montuno section is introduced by an elaboration of the upcoming coro melody by the horns. The montuno chord progression is eight measures in length; each pattern contains two similar coro phrases, which are altered melodically to conform to the chord changes.  Otero supplies solo vocal commentary between the coros.  In the traditional salsa fashion, both bongocero Juan Rodriguez and timbalero Borgas switch to cowbell for the montuno section.

The songo feel of the original recording is hinted at in the mambo section especially in the piano, bass, and percussion parts.  After the mambo, an exciting call and response is set up between two four-measure coros.  The first coro is harmonized and the answering one is in unison.  A descending quarter-note based four-bar break by the entire ensemble leads back to the original coro and a trombone solo by Davies (who also wrote the arrangement).  The end of the solo with its trumpet/trombone moña background leads back to the solo vocal, which continues until the piece ends with a shortened reprise of the introduction.

 

Con Un Poco De Suerte

A short horn section introduction ending with a three-note break by the entire band leads to a vocal duet starting with the title phrase Con Un Poco De Suerte (with a little luck).  Following a repeat of the duet, Otero sings a sixteen-measure solo melody that leads back to a reprise of the duet.  A lengthy instrumental interlude over a piano/bass pedal point brings on the montuno section.  The four-measure long coros and soneros at the start of the montuno contain long half-phrase pickup figures. 

At this point Rosado provides an intricate mambo that gradually builds momentum before giving way to the second coro/sonero section.  A busy moña figure serves up a trombone solo by the always-lyrical Malkiel.  The solo is supported at the end by a reemergence of the moña.  A short coro/sonero part and the final brief coda close out the song.

 

Calle Loca

Calle Loca is an instrumental written by Davies.  Like Strut on the Salsa Picante album Cogele El Gusto, the goal here is to use sophisticated jazz harmonic and melodic structures in a context that owes its primary allegiance to the Afro-Cuban/salsa dance tradition.  Gorbea begins the piece with a four-measure riff that provides a counterpoint to the harmonized horn melody that enters (along with the rest of the ensemble) eight measures later.  The first sixteen measures of the melody are over four repetitions of this four-bar G minor chord pattern. 

A twelve-measure section moves through a variety of complex tonalities before returning to a repeated G minor pattern (in this case two measures in length).  The final part of the form consists of four iterations of a four-bar turnaround progression in Bb major.  Guest alto saxophonist Sam Furnace and Davies both improvise one chorus each over the forty-eight-measure form before the reprise of the melody by the horn section.  Furnace plays a lyrical solo that builds slowly throughout before ending with passionate high register screams.  In the trombone solo an attempt is made to keep a dance feel throughout, even during the harmonically complex middle section. 

Following the final horn section melody, the song is extended by continuous repetitions of the final four-measure montuno pattern.  Borgas plays a timbale solo over this section.  The tune was originally designed to fade out in the mix.  However, the chaotic breakdown at the end appealed to the band and seemed to define the “loca” in Calle Loca.  Hence, the ending as originally recorded was retained and even enhanced with overdubbed demented-sounding vocal comments by the musicians (most notably Otero).

 

Guajira Inspiracion

Guajira Inspiracion was written by Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros and recorded by the trumpeter in the mid-1970s on his Chocolate Caliente album.  Salsa Picante’s version of the guajira begins with a two trombone rubato version of Chocolate’s original solo introduction.  This same line is repeated in tempo leading to an ensemble break, which introduces the two-measure montuno pattern.  The entrance of the coro coincides with a change to a unison melodic line in the piano and bass.  Horn solos by Davies, Levy, and Malkiel alternating with the four-bar coro are the main focus of the beginning of Guajira Inspiracion.  Each of these players performs two solos.  The third solo demonstrates Malkiel’s commanding grasp of the subtle time stretching that is an essential feature of traditional Afro-Cuban brass soloing.  Davies picks up on this at the beginning of his second solo (the fourth solo section), which continues the time stretching of his fellow trombonist’s previous solo.  However, Davies shifts to the front part of the beat and ends the solo with double-time repeated-note figures in the upper range of the trombone.  In the following trumpet solo, Levy thumbs his nose at the technical limitations of his slide-challenged section mates with a classic solo that over a three-bar period ascends for more than two octaves with a series of virtuosic figurations that demonstrate the trumpeter’s considerable technique.  Levy contrasts this continuous linear ascent with broken up motivically-related figures in the second half of the solo.

Following Malkiel’s second solo, Otero enters with his solo vocal.  After two more coros surrounding an additional solo section by Otero, the final part of the piece continues with a four-measure break that leads to a change in the melody of the piano/bass montuno vamp and a brass mambo.  Following the mambo, the piano/bass figure changes again and a shortened coro trades with Davies’ soloing before the other horns signal that the guajira is over with four iterations of a traditional two-note end-of-tune figure. 

 

No Me LLeves

Salsa Picante dusts off its Puerto Rican roots with the Cortijo bomba No Me Lleves.  The authenticity of the piece is furthered by the presence of master percussionist Papo Pepin on the guiro.  Following the introduction, the form of the first part of the piece is a continuous trading off between solo singer, coro, and horn section.  The coro figure comes in again after the last of the initial horn section parts and a solo vocal by Otero.  Most of the mambo is over a static one-chord harmony that returns in the end to the song’s original harmonic progression and the coro.  In this arrangement of No Me Lleves, the introduction also serves as the coda to end the selection.  This is the only selection on the CD that doesn’t contain an instrumental solo.

 

Buche y Pluma

Buche y Pluma is an old standard written by Rafael Hernandez.  Rosado’s arrangement creates an ingenious paraphrase of the coro figure in the introduction.  One interesting feature is the held note that begins on beat four of the third measure in each of the opening eight-bar segments.  While the first of these unison trombone notes is a supertonic C, the second instance is an unusual B natural which resides a half step above the tonic root.  Rosado has stated that he arrived at this B natural by accident while playing the figure on piano and decided to retain the dissonant note in the final arrangement. 

Although the beginning of the vocal section is highly orchestrated in both the horns and rhythm section, this part is formally the same as the first part of the montuno section with eight-measure alternations between coro and sonero.  A horn section figure introduces the montuno proper, which continues the same eight-bar tradeoffs between coro and solo singer as in the beginning.

The mambo features syncopated trombone figures and leads to a new four-measure coro figure, which briefly trades with the sonero.  A horn moña introduces a trombone solo by Davies who is announced verbally by Rosado.  This same moña brings the solo to a close.  The final coro/sonero section is compressed further to a repeated four-measure section with the solo singer performing in the first two measures and the coro completing the phrase.  A recapitulation of the first part of the introduction and a three-against-four coda completes the tune.

 

Estamos Chao

Most famously recorded by Eddie Palmieri and La Perfecta on their album Mozambique, Estamos Chao is a tribute to that seminal salsa group of the 1960s and 1970s.  The Salsa Picante version of the song also pays homage to the early 1970s Palmieri recording of Bilongo, which featured the trumpet soloing of Chocolate.  This merging of tunes is possible because Bilongo and Estamos Chao share the same G minor chord progression in their respective montuno sections.  During his series of solo spots at the beginning of the montuno section, Davies quotes liberally from the Chocolate solo on the Palmieri version.  Another reference to the Palmieri Bilongo is the final set of moñas behind Levy’s trumpet solo, which is a transcription of Jose Rodrigues’ moñas behind Chocolate on the Palmieri original.

Gorbea’s piano solo amply demonstrates why he has developed into one of the finest piano soloists currently performing in the Afro-Cuban/salsa tradition.  Eschewing the technical glibness of many of his fellow keyboardists, Wayne goes straight to the heart and swing of the matter.  A bongo solo by Rodríguez (with coro accompaniment) follows the piano solo.

The mambo of Estamos Chao is one of the swingingest sections on the entire album.  This intensification of the rhythm is the perfect setup to the alto sax solo by Furnace.  A passionate and inventive soloist, Furnace is a member of Rick Davies’ Latin jazz group Jazzismo and also played with and composed for Mongo Santa Maria’s band in the 1980s.  Furnace’s fiery solo is brought to an end with a driving five-note brass figure that was played by Chocolate at the beginning of his solo on Palmieri’s Bilongo. 

 

© Rick Davies, 2000.  Used by permission.