Here is Ray Perez’s Los Calvos with “José” circa 1967, with El Pavo Frank set loose on the full drum kit, and another gorgeous bluesy piano solo by Ray. The brilliance of Calaven is on full display here:
Genre-breaking. With style.
Next is both a majesty and a mystery – Calaven recorded a version of the fantastic Eddie Palmieri original “Oyelo que te Conviene”, but no one seems to have ever seen the vinyl, and no one knows definitively with what group it was recorded.
Ray suggests Calaven recorded it with Jesus “Chuito” Narvaez on sello Velvet. But again, no one has seen the vinyl. My friend the distinguished Venezuelan music journalist/researcher Gherson Maldonado has it on a CD that has the group name as simply “La Tromba”:
Finally, here is Calaven doing “El Gato Negro” with Federico y su Combo. Luis Soulful Torino, who has curated tons of fantastic rereleases – and some originals – on his Soulful Torino label, has this song as a “Jump Boogaloo”:
You can read more about Soulful Torino here http://www.recordkicks.com/news/SOULFUL-TORINO-RECORDS
And read Gherson’s fantastic blog here: http://hemerotecamusicavenezolana.blogspot.com/p/la-palabra-salsa-antecedentes.html