Members pogo97 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2015 More motley than fully black, surely. Motley is the new plaid. Edit: I should add that I've now listened to all of those songs. I recognise one of them. I forget which one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 2, 2015 Members Share Posted May 2, 2015 Perez Prado was popular in the 1950s Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White Patricia Mambo #5 Guaglione You might also try looking up Xavier Cugat with songs like Perfidia and Brazil Both Perez and Xavier were Cuban-Americans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2015 Thanks, Notes. I've added Perfidia and Brazil to my list (I have them by Tito Puente off an 1950s album of my dad's). And I've now downloaded a Perez Prado album with those songs (and 56 others). "Bali Ha'i" as latin! Who'd of thunk it. I'm wondering, though, if I have time to learn real latin songs with any authority at all. I dislike listening to people play music they don't understand and would rather avoid doing so myself. Even for retirement home gigs. Especially for retirement home gigs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 2, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 3, 2015 Members Share Posted May 3, 2015 With all due respects to Bob The Builder, I'll take this one [YOUTUBE] [/YOUTUBE] (hmm, is there a trick to getting the Youtube to play? The more you do different styles of music, the more intensely you listen, the more you learn, and the better you get at it. We have the good fortune to play in multi-cultural South Florida and we did Cruise Ships in the Caribbean for 3 years. We got to trade knowledge with bands from different cultures. We learned little things like in Mambo (and many other forms of Latin Music) the cowbell keeps time and the hand drums are always a bit behind the beat. My friend in San Juan once said, "If the cowbell and congas hit together, I quit listening." This worked, we played a wedding reception (on the ship) for the executive secretary's Cuban-American daughter. They canonized us "Official Latinos". Another thing that helped was my writing aftermarket styles for Band-in-a-Box. If I want the style to sound authentic, I have to figure out (sometimes with trial an error) just what makes it authentic. Little things like rushing the second beat in a waltz measure a bit makes a giant difference in the way the dancers react. Listen to all kinds of music, especially forms out of your comfort zone. And don't just casually listen, intensely listen and try to figure out just what makes them tick. Why does a Afro-Gospel 2 beat sound so different from a Country-Gospel 2 beat? The notes are similar, but the feel, dynamics and placement of the individual notes are slightly different, and that little difference makes all the difference in the world. OK, I'm running off at the mouth so I'll stop. Once I get talking about music, it's hard to quit so please forgive the rambling. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2015 Fully agreed. I believe strongly that the better you understand what you're playing the more deeply your music will connect to people. I tend to expand my repertory in response to projects, like this one. I know full well that I could get away with covering "Yellow Bird" and Morey Amsterdam's cleanup of "Rum & Coca Cola." But that wouldn't be very satisfying, would it? So I research the music (in the case of Calypso, by marrying a brown skin girl whose father from Nevis) and listen to dozens or hundreds of pieces and by plunging into Wikipedia to make connections. Then I pick the twenty-or-so most likely candidates and listen to them over and over; sometimes as I do housework and sometimes when I'm doing nothing but listening intently. At some point I'll start playing along and trying to find the groove, trying to fit into the sound. Then transcribe the chords and words and start learning it solo. Sometimes it doesn't make the transition and I drop it, sometimes it works very nicely. But there's always a shift -- a piano is not a calypso orchestra and I am not Sparrow -- and I demand of myself that the song isn't dumbed down more than I can help it. I've assembled a very nice playlist of latino pieces, I think, but will probably not try to learn them right now. The calypso material is challenge enough for this "Caribbean Month" at the manor. I've noticed, in passing, that the piano in many calypso orchestras sounds very like the piano in many Cuban orchestras and there are many Spanish names among calypsonians. Imagine that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2015 and here's that list of Latin songs that are fairly likely to be known by my elderly audience: Amapola The CastilliansAndalucía (The Breeze and I) Ernesto LecuonaAquellos Ojos Verdes (Green Eyes) Don AzpiazuBésame Mucho Lucho GaticaBrazil Tito PuenteCerezo Rosa (Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White) Pérez PradoEl Manisero (The Peanut Vendor) Don AzpiazuGuaglione Pérez PradoGuantanamera Joseito Fernandez & Indio NaboriMalagueña Ernesto LecuonaMambo No. 5 Pérez PradoMaría Elena Los PanchosMosaico Lecuona Cuban BoysPatricia Pérez PradoPerfidia Los PanchosQuien Será? (Sway) Pablo Beltrán RuizQuiereme Mucho (Yours) Victor Cuban OrchestraSiboney Ernesto Lecuona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted May 4, 2015 Members Share Posted May 4, 2015 Looks good to me. I hope you have them singing along and dancing in the aisles. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted May 20, 2015 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2015 Did the gig this evening. Invited a friend to sit in on conga and percussion. They gave us leis to wear, so we wore them. The folks had fun and so did we. Brought back Caribbean memories for lots of them. I learned about thirty new songs, but only had time to play seventeen of them. Maria Elena El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor) Begin the Beguine Black Orpheus_ Manha de Carnaval _ Scene Du Lever Du Soleil Rum and Coca Cola Brown Skin Gal Matilda Mr. Walker John B Sail (The Wreck of the John B) Mary Ann Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) Amapola Siboney Andalucía (The Breeze and I) Guantanamera Jamaica Farewell Hold 'Im Joe Brown Skin Gal and Hold 'Im Joe did very well despite not being well known. Just very swingy groovy songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 20, 2015 Moderators Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm glad 'Hold'im Joe' made the cut! I love the groove of that song...me donkey wan' water...sing a little louder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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