Panama’s Musica Típica is a universe of music unto itself. Toronto’s Dr. Sean Bellaviti (see his PHD thesis here) has a forthcoming book on the subject, which I can’t wait to read.
Here are three songs I find especially beautiful. The first is “Que Me Lleve El Diablo” by Fray Rivera con Sinda Diaz, Conjunto Estivana. The only other Fray Rivera song I have found was on sello Tipico, and his is not a name you hear often in Típica discussions.
The song deals with a man telling a young woman that he doesn’t care, let the devil take him, but for now she needs to leave her folks and come with him. In that way it reminds me of Jimmy Hughes’ “Steal Away.”
Next is the great Idamerica Ruiz con Osvaldo Ayala y Su Conjunto – “La Guayabita”:
Idamerica Ruiz
Finally, here is Ceferino Nieto y Su Conjunto Bella Luna – “Tocando y Cantando”, on a 45 Cefe privately pressed that talks about (and really captures the feeling of) Las Navidades, the time at the end of the year when families all over the world come together and rest, and celebrate:
The first song I’d like to share is by Nelson Ferreyra y su Sonora (Peru), “Flores Para Tu Altar” from the La Guarachera LP. I have the Mexican Audioton repress of this tough LP, and it does not list the musicians but from comparing other songs I’m fairly sure the vocals are by Naylle Fernandez, who turns out to be from Panama (!).
She was obviously listening to a lot of Cuba’s Celina and Reutilio, as she and Nelson also recorded a very heavy LP of covers of their songs on the amazing Peruvian MAG label (1968) that also saw a release on Discuba:
Let’s talk a little about Celina Gonzalez. Born in Matanzas Province, she met her partner and husband Reutilio Domínguez in Santiago and they co-authored “A Santa Barbara” (Que Viva Chango) together. They went on to create a number of brilliant songs in the Guajira/Musica Campesina genre and are a centerpiece of the discussion around what is African and what is Spanish (Especially from the Canary Islands) in Cuban music.
Per Wikipedia “In 1948 they began working with the famous Ñico Saquito and gained increasing popularity on radio, film and television. They performed in New York with Beny Moré and Barbarito Diez.” There are some great black and white videos of her singing in this era on Youtube, really worth taking a look at.
Reutilio passed in 1971, but Celina has some really beautiful recordings I believe from the late ’70s or early ’80s, including this reworking of “Que Viva Chango”, which I first heard on a CD I picked up in Haifa, Israel in the late ’90s:
Finally, here is “Eso No Es Na” by the great Maria Teresa Vera, a key figure in the early history of recorded Son Cubano. As a composer and guitarist who led her own Sexteto and recorded successfully for years, she seems like the perfect subject matter for a book about her as a woman of accomplishment in an era that was very difficult for women (I’d love to show this to my daughters.)
Here are some highlights of her career from Wikipedia, which dovetail with both Ignacio Piñeiro of Septeto Nacional and Lorenzo Hierrezuelo of Duo Los Compadres, two huge names in AfroCuban music history:
“She started her career as a singer in 1911 in a theatre where she sang the criolla “Mercedes” of Manuel Corona…
She formed a duo with Rafael Zequeira from 1916–1924, when he fell ill and died. They had made over a hundred recordings together in New York, most of which have not survived…
She then formed the Sexteto Occidente in 1925 with Miguel García as first voice, clavé and Director (because he knew most about music), Ignacio Piñeiro on double bass, Julio Torres Biart on tres, Manuel Reinoso on bongo and Francisco Sánchez on maracas…
She joined Lorenzo Hierrezuelo as a duet in 1935, and this duet lasted for 27 years. For much of this time Hierrezuelo ran his duo with Vera alongside his partnership with Compay Segundo (Francisco Repilado), as the duo Los Compadres.”
These recordings were likely done in the ’70s, and released on an LP on the Egrem label in 1990:
If you want to hear something unforgettable, Youtube her songs “He Perdido Contigo” and “Veinte Años”.
I’d like to share two more times when Ray Perez versioned himself – not just with alternate takes, but with completely new creations. The first involves the remarkable song “Te Pongo a Valer” from the first Los Kenya LP on sello Velvet (1968).
Los Kenya were one of three bands Ray was directing (and producing and composing and playing piano for) in 1968, along with his Salsa Dura supergroup Los Dementes and the ahead-of-its-time Los Calvos (with Calaven). Los Kenya and Los Calvos were studio bands, excepting one time when Los Kenya played live for “El Show de Medianoche” on Canal 8.
(If you are wondering (as I have) what happened to the footage of all the bands that played live on Venezuelan TV in the ’60s and 70s – all of the reels were destroyed or recycled, as far as I have been able to understand. The same is true, equally crushingly, of Panama btw.)
Los Kenya used trumpets (Luis Arias and Luis Lewis) instead of Los Dementes Trombone-led sound, and featured golden-throated singer Carlin Rodriguez, who also sang with Federico y su Combo. Other musicians included Professor Alberto Naranjo (who went on to become a master of Venezuelan Folkloric percussion) on drum kit, Miguel Silva on bass, Pedro “Guapacha” Garcia on Congas and “Cosa Buena” on Bongo.
Original press on Velvet
Calaven joins Carlin on this song – what a duet!
Here are Ray’s comments on the song’s meaning:
RP: Trata sobre un tipo que pone a su novia a trabajar, de manera que ella adquiera auto-estima, pero ella no reconoce lo que él hizo por ella. Era mi mensaje a los músicos que decían que yo los trataba injustamente, algunos de los músicos de Los Dementes. Así les riposté, como el proverbio judío que dice: “Aquel que vive de la espada…”
RP: The song deals with a guy who sets his girlfriend to working, in a way that she acquires self-confidence, but she doesn’t recognize what he has done for her. It was my message to the musicians that said I treated them unfairly, some of the Los Dementes musicians. This was my reply to them, like the Jewish proverb which says: “Whover lives by the sword…”
Here is another version of the same song (with a new arrangement by Ray) which first came out on Ray’s Pyraphon label, and was later repressed on Discomoda. Not as dynamic as the original but lovely in its own right and quite a difficult 45 to find:
Next I’d like to share two versions of “Sonero Soy” – the first by Ray with Los Dementes, on the epic “Soneros Somos” LP on Velvet (1969), with the great Perucho Torcat on vocals:
Nothing to improve on here, nothing whatsoever to gain re-doing this song… unless you are going to do this to it with Los Kenya – with Carlin Rodriguez on vocals:
’80s repress on Ray’s Pyraphone label. He kept the rights to all his masters.
I want to share three 45s – all covers – by a Panamanian vocalist whose voice simply makes me happy – Raul “Beby” (or Baby) Santizo. Beby sang with Los Flamantes de Puerto Armuelles starting in 1970 – Puerto Armuelles being an important deep water port surrounded by a Banana growing region in the Chiriquí province, on the Pacific coast of Panamá near the border with Costa Rica.
Los Flamantes recorded a number of 45s in Panamá and an LP that was released in Costa Rica, and were directed by Trumpet player Margio Castillo. Other musicians included Singers Carlos McDonald, Ernesto “Leo Cobra” Rodríguez, Catalino “Catingo” Quintero, Ernesto Barrantes on Batería y Timbales, Gerardo Centeno on bass, Luis “Lucho” Miranda on guitar, Ricardo “Rica” Barrantes on piano and Porfirio “Pompo” Aparicio on the tumbadoras.
They seem to have morphed into Conjunto los Magneticos at some point, and an article online (with few details otherwise) notes that they toured Central America in 1972.
The first song presented here is “Quiero Decirte que te Extraño” on sello Onda Nueva, a (super Soul and Funkdified) cover of “Quiero Decirte que te Extraño Siempre” as composed by María De Los Ángeles Rodríguez and sung by Brazil’s Altemar Dutra:
Next is Beby and Los Magneticos “No Quiero Estar Solo”, a cover of “Just Don’t Want to be Lonely” by Main Ingredient:
Finally, here is “Un Bello Sueño de Amor”, a cover of “Lovin You” by Minnie Riperton. Already made my day better just listening to this =)
The first song I’d like to share is a real treasure by Sir Jablonski (Vincent Hill), “Judas and Barrabas” on Tropelco. Per the documentary Calipso (1991) by His Excellency Professor Gerardo Maloney (Panama’s former ambassador to Jamaica) , Hill started playing tumbadora “at Fattie George Bar”, dancing, “jitterbugging”, singing in both in Spanish and in English with another well known Calypsonian called Swing Papa (who unfortunately never recorded).
His first big hit was “Fat Pork” (youtube his “More Pork” and “Green Banana”, they are fantastic) and he was soon booked into the Teatro Rio, and Colon Theater. In 1961 he was contracted in NY, and he has a number of excellent 45s on Panamanian, NY and I believe I’ve even seen a Jamaican label?
This song is lovely early Jablonsky with Combo, most likely Victor Boa’s (that’s got to be him cascading his fingers over the ivories) and Reggie Johnson is likely on Sax (he doesn’t remember, recorded on so many sessions =)
The coro says “In the name of the father and the holy, pass pass the money” (took me forever to figure that out).
Next is the original version of a Lord Cobra original, “Love Letters” on Padisco. He made a brilliant funky remake with the Duncan Brothers which was comped on Panama! 2 – you can still find plenty of people who will sing this tender song with you, word for word, in Panama today:
Finally, here is “Panama Panama” by Panama Boy on Onda Nueva. The song is credited to “Kon Tiki” and it sounds like Lord Kontiki singing as well. Magical.
