FANIA NEWS FLASH OCTOBER 2006:

October 9, 2006 - New York, NY – Fania, the famed label that originated Salsa, announced today the release of Johnny Pacheco “A Man and His Music,” a two-disc retrospective commemorating Pacheco’s celebrated career. The release coincides with the Fania All Stars reunion concert to celebrate Pacheco’s 50th Anniversary in music on Friday, October 20th at The Theater-Madison Square Garden.

“Pacheco has a natural feel for what swings,” said best-selling artist Willie Colon. “His intuition for recording was very influential on me. He just knew how he wanted the horns to phrase and how the rhythm track should feel. Most of all, Johnny knows how to bring out the best in people,” added Colon. “He always made the job fun and has a great sense of humor.”

The 30-track re-mastered album includes such classic hits as “Cañonazo,” “Químbara,” and “Guaguanco Pa'l Que Sabe,” and includes recordings with Celia Cruz, Jose Fajardo, and Pete “Conde” Rodriguez. One of the fathers of Salsa and legendary music impresario, Pacheco joined forces with Jerry Masucci in New York City to form Fania Records in late 1963. Their shared passion for great music and innovation turned Fania Records into the birthplace for a new style of sounds mixing a wide array of influences to create one of the most respected catalogs in Latin music.

Since the early 1960s, Pacheco has been at the center of the Latin music universe. His nine Grammy nominations, ten Gold records and numerous awards – in addition to receiving The Latin Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 – all pay tribute to his creative talent as composer, bandleader, and producer.

At Fania, he solidified the careers of many who are now part of the history of the “Fania Family,” including such artist as Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow and Ray Barretto. Pacheco was also founder of the legendary orchestra Fania All Stars, which became known as one of the most inclusive groups in the history of popular music, their revolving lineups reflecting the ever-changing melting pot of cultures present in New York City.

As with other Fania albums, A Man and His Music is re-mastered from original tracks. Listening to Pacheco’s original sound it’s sure to stir euphoric nostalgia among old fans and find instant followers in younger generations. Among many of these remarkable tracks is “Químbara,” which features Celia Cruz. The song embodies all the flavors of Salsa and Fania.
The release of “A Man and His Music” coincides with a once in a lifetime concert, Friday, October 20th, that will bring together three glorious eras of Latin music: Charanga, Tumbao and Salsa. The spectacular production will include the most prolific ensemble in the history of Latin music, including: Bobby Valentín, Roberto Roena, Papo Lucca, Ismael Miranda, Adalberto Santiago, Yomo Toro, Nicky Marrero, Eddie Montalvo, Hector “Bomberito” Zarzuela, Pupi Lagarreta, Lepoldo Pineda, Reynaldo Jorge and Jimmy Bosch

The concert lineup will also include Eddie Zervigon and Jose Fajardo Jr., along with Hector Casanova, Ray Viera and Pacheco’s own group “Tumbao Añejo.” In addition, guest artists such as “The Queen of Merengue” Milly Quezada and “The World’s Sonero” Oscar D’Leon guarantee that the tribute will be the musical celebration of a lifetime indeed. A host of other guest artists that are invited to perform will bring Salsa music to new heights.

For more than six decades, Johnny Pacheco has been a foundation of the Latin music world. “As a leader in the entertainment and event marketing industry, Eventus is proud to produce such a historic event in the Latin music spectrum to be treasured for years to come,” said Nelson Albareda, President & CEO of Eventus.

Latin Beat Magazine, Nov, 2003, by Vicki Sola

Fajardo y Sus Estrellas, under the direction of Armando Fajardo (son of the late legend Jose Fajardo), expects to release a new production, Mis Recuerdos, in early 2004. The younger Fajardo comments, "This is the first release recorded by Fajardo y Sus Estrellas in twenty years. It has become a labor of love for all of us, to honor Jose Antonio Fajardo by completing this project with the participation of a few invited artists--Alfredo de la Fe, Tony Borrero, Manny Mieles, Tom Brown, and Kevin Rodriguez."

On a recent Saturday afternoon during my radio show, Fajardo treated my audience to two tracks from the forthcoming album: Fajardo's Salsa, and Quedate. The latter track is a remake of a song made popular by Lara Fabian, featuring Ines Fajardo (Armando's sister) on vocals.

Latin Beat Magazine, May, 2002, by Vicki Sola

On January 30, 2002, Armando Fajardo moved his timbales up to the front of the stage at New York's La Maganette and began a new chapter in his life, that of assuming the role of bandleader, and carrying on the name, music and orchestra of his father, legendary flutist/band-leader Jose Antonio Fajardo, who passed away on December 11, 2001.

Armando's mother Miriam looked on tearfully but proudly as her son led Fajardo y Sus Estrellas through two dynamic sets of El Maestro's repertoire. The band, which featured the addition of Armando's vocalist sister Ines, and Orchestra Broadway's flutist/leader Eddie Zervigon, was the pure embodiment of energy and vibrancy, whipping out classic after classic tunes, giving dancers little chance to catch their breath.

One unforgettable highlight of the evening occurred spontaneously when three star flutists, Andrea Brachfeld, Connie Grossman, and Karen Joseph, took to the stage together and performed a spectacular jam in tribute to the man they revered. Other participating musicians included timbaleros Ralph Irizarry and Orlando Mari­n, singer Julio Salgado, Latin Affair's flutist Dave Santiago, Jr. and conguero Ernie Acevedo, leader of Grupo Imagen (a band that once featured Armando Fajardo, and one with which Jose Fajardo also recorded). Check out La Doctora from the 1996 R&E CD Christmas with Imagen. Also on hand that evening were Amsterdam, Holland's Latin music radio hosts "Dr. & Mrs. Salsa," Dr. Ira Goldwasser and Harriett Broekman, who stopped in to pay their respects before flying to Puerto Rico. Everyone in the house felt the presence of Jose Fajardo, who had performed on that very stage every last Wednesday night of each month. Indeed, toward the end, he'd struggled to blow his very last bits of breath into his flute.


Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 2002, by Vicki Sola

March was Women's History Month, and it was marked on the evening of the 6th at La Maganette in Manhattan by the dynamic debut of Las Charangueras de Nueva York, a new all-female band headlining three of Latin music's most respected flutists, Andrea Brachfeld, Connie Grossman and Karen Joseph, together on one stage, along with pianist Nikki Denner, bassist Jennifer Vincent, violinist Betsy Hill, timbal player Annette Aguilar, conguera Nydia Mata, and vocalist Claudette Sierra.

Cameras flashed, videocams rolled and dancers danced non-stop, with musicians Larry Harlow, Luis Rosa, and Armando Fajardo on hand, as the ensemble electrified the packed room, playing one classic after another. Descargas in both sets gave each band member a chance to stretch out with solos. Kikiriki spotlighted Karen Joseph, well-known for her work as a member of Johnny Almendra's Jovenes del Barrio, and also for her stints around town with charangas such as Steve Colon's Siglo '20'. Both Bilongo and the late Jose Fajardo's La Charanga featured Connie Grossman. Fajardo took to the stage to jam with Grossman and the band, as they performed his late father's number. Grossman also works with Armando Fajardo these days and was profoundly honored to play flute in his legendary father's place for the current Fajardo y Sus Estrellas orchestra.

Andrea Brachfeld was at the helm for Oye Como Va, Delirio, and Pare Cochero. Back in 1978, a Latin New York Magazine poll cited Brachfeld as being Latin music's number two flutist--the legendary Jose Fajardo was number one. Brachfeld, whose "marvelous tone and technique," Hubert Laws has described as "astonishing," has developed a clinic/performance workshop titled "The Role of the Flute in Afro-Cuban Music: 1900-Present."

"The flute," says Brachfeld, "was introduced to Cuba by way of Haiti in the late 1700s by the French landowners who had been forced to emigrate to Cuba during the Haitian Revolution. They brought the five-key flute with them, along with a rich musical culture. The flute was eventually incorporated into a musical ensemble called the charanga francesa, or charanga ti­pica."

In addition to teaching the music's history, Brachfeld's clinic highlights significant flute players, along with their contributions and innovations, dating from 1900 to the present. Each clinic ends with a performance of original music containing influences of charanga, other facets of Afro-Cuban music and jazz. More info is available at www.phoenixrisingmusic.com.

Women's History Month was marked in the Bronx on March 16 by a double bill at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts' "Bronx on Stage Series 2002." Connie Grossman and Betsy Hill's Pasión played, as well as Retumba, an all-female group whose specialty is Afro-Caribbean music and dance.

On June 30, cable station Bravo will air a documentary entitled "History of the Mambo Kings," produced and directed by filmmaker Kevin Kaufman. New York's own "Cuban Pete" Aguilar and his dance partner Barbara Craddock [both profiled in my October 2000 column], will be featured story-tellers, as the film traces the history of Latin music, "from its Afro-Caribbean roots, to New York's Palladium Ballroom, to the Catskill Mountains." Larry Harlow, Bobby Sanabria, Ray Barretto, Ray Santos, Eddie Palmieri, Latin Beat's Max Salazar, journalist/historian Aurora Flores, Birdland's Andy Kaufman, and NPR radio host/historian Phil Schaap, are among those scheduled to appear.