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THE
SALSA BANDS
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LATIN GROOVE YOUTH ENSEMBLE (PDX)
The Latin Groove Workshop Band is a new project by veteran music educators Ben & Michelle Medler. Bridging the gap between upcoming young artists and professionals. The Workshop band is made up of some of Portland’s most talented young musicians with guest singer Julana Torres & other local professionals. Students participate in a week-long workshop working with musicians from the Portland Salsa scene, studying the intricate rhythms and the rich culture of the music while preparing to perform. The future of Salsa! As educators, Michelle & Ben have worked with all ages from 4th grade band –college in schools, as clinicians, private instructors, etc. In 2001 they started the Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra, which they co-direct.
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Currently, they run four bands during the school year and a week-long summer workshop partnered with the Mt Hood Jazz Festival.
Ben is also the Jazz Trombone instructor at Portland State University.As musicians, they both keep very busy. They are active the in Latin, Jazz, rock, and classical music communities of the Pacific NW. Ben plays trombone, trumpet, and bass while Michelle plays saxophones, flute, and clarinet. In the Salsa scene one or both of them can be found in the horn section with Cubaneo, Afincando, Latin Expression, Cambalache, Groupo Ache, Melao de Cuba, Mambo Queens, Havana City, and others.
The Medlers also have several bands of their own, The Medler Sepetet a Latin-Jazz group, the Michelle Medler Quartet –Jazz/funk, Trombone encounters and others. Michelle is also a member of the saxophone quartet the Quadraphonnes. More can be found at medlerstudios.com.
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CUBANEO (PDX)
Playing a diverse repertory of Latin songs emphasizing Cuban compositions from the 1900s to today, Portland-based Cubaneo embodies the heartbeat of Cuba. The group’s diversity of music styles (son, cha-cha, salsa, Latin jazz) reflects the diversity of audiences and venues that Cubaneo has embraced throughout the Portland Metropolitan area. With fans ranging from dedicated ballroom dancers to college students and everyone in between, Cubaneo’s blend of tropical rhythms and voices has diners and dancers excited about Latin music. In fact, Cubaneo was named the 2007 Best Salsa Band NW at the recent NW Salsa Awards in Portland, Oregon.
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Since its beginnings, Cubaneo’s sound has filled both small and large venues. For nearly two years, Cubaneo’s small ensemble (4-5 members) performed at Salvador Molly’s restaurants (East and West). In addition, the band has a loyal following every Thursday evening at Andrea’s Cha Cha Club and brings dancers and fans to locations including Aztec Willie’s, Mambo Lounge
and Mississippi Pizza Pub. Cubaneo also performs for larger industry events, such as Portland Community Media’s recent 25th Anniversary Celebration and the 2007 NW Salsa Awards.
Cubaneo currently has a minimum of 6 people for more intimate settings and a maximum of 10 people for a big band sound.
The 6-member group includes piano, sax, congas, timbales and vocals. The 10-member group has additional percussion,
brass, and bass. |
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AFINCANDO (PDX)
The name of Portland’s hottest Salsa band literally translates to what the band does every time they play – Groove! Playing in the best dance venues all over Portland, Afincando started in the basement of band leader and percussionist Giovanni Cruz he explains, “We spent over a year in my basement, just playing around with our sound…working to get our rhythm section tight ~ just former bassist Bryan Hopkins, my wife Christine on keyboards and myself on congas. Slowly we developed the sound I was looking for - New York style Salsa modeled on the flavor of some of my favorite bands like Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the Ray Barreto Orchestra and the LA based New Yorican sounds of Johnny Polanco y Su Conjunto Amistad." |
Many of Portland’s best musicians have been added to our roster. The vocal talents of local favorite Oscar Herrera, Christine Cruz, Edgardo Perez and Zapoura Calvert combine with a hot horn section featuring local Jazz artist such as Ben Medler, Farnell Newton, Michelle Medler, Sam Lett and Justin Smith to complete the recipe for flavorful Salsa you can't get enough of. Afincando has earned
a reputation for the kind of tight rhythm and beautiful melody that gets dancers out on the floor, and has been a featured attraction at Salsa en la Calle, the Salem World Beat Festival and the Spicy Foods Festival in Pasco, WA. Wether headlining, opening for such visiting bands as Monchi y Alexandra or playing at local hot spots, Afincando is the band of choice for Portland's Salsa dancers.
If you like to dance and you love Salsa, Afincando is the band for you.
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LATIN EXPRESSION (Puerto Rico-Seattle)
Latin Expression, a.k.a. Expresión Latina, is not new in the salsa circuit -- this
awesome orchestra has paid its dues. Created in Seattle in May of 1986 by composer/vocalist Francisco “Papo” Medina Sr., combined with his son, Jr. Medina,
Ted Bowden, and Dennis Haldane -- all still active members in the group – along
with several other local talented musicians, Papo’s dream orchestra was born.
Today this 13-piece ensemble is comprised of 4 vocalists, 4 horns, plus a 5 piece
rhythm and percussion section, making Latin Expression a powerhouse orchestra of
Latin music that has performed from Canada to Los Angeles, packing clubs and filling
dance floors as well as delighting festival crowds. Their repertoire includes rhythms
from around the Caribbean including, salsa, cumbia, Afro-Cuban, as well as what
they call “power-salsa”. |
In 1997, Papo Medina and the rest of the band released their debut CD titled Realidad
on the Tocolo Música label. The CD which was nominated for a NAMA award,
featured eight original compositions including fan favorites Realidad and Alejate.
2005 brought the release of the highly anticipated production entitled 9 Días de
Rumba, which was recorded in Medellín, Colombia. Produced by Papo Medina, music
arranged and directed by Orlando Libreros and featuring special guest performances
by Diego and Jaimé Galé who inject the perfect amount of Columbian flavor into this
majestic force of Puerto Rican salsa. This album which includes 11 tunes was
designed for both the dancers and salsa lovers alike.
Latin Expression was once described as “the Northwest’s best kept salsa secret”…
a secret no more. With the international release of 9 Días de Rumba the secret is out.
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CAMBALACHE (Peru-Seattle)
In September 1999, a pamphlet circulating in Seattle featured “The fresh sounds of Cambalache,” referring to the philosophy of the nine-piece Seattle salsa band that made its debut that year.
Ever since, Cambalache has challenged and redefined the characteristic sound of Northwest Salsa scene. Never afraid to incorporate new ideas, or to drop others that have been exploited. Cambalache’s eclectic style is an embodiment of the richness and diversity of Latin America. Deeply rooted in the latest music movements developing in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Cambalache’s performances are a blend of great salsa classics and contemporary tunes. |
At each performance, audiences are seduced by the energetic atmosphere of Rumba and Nueva Salsa. Now, after six years of hard work and continuous learning, Cambalache has placed itself at the top of the Northwest Salsa scene. They have broken attendance records of virtually every salsa club in the Northwest of the USA, Southwest of Canada and Alaska.Their show is considered to be one of the most entertaining and fun in the NW for salsa dancers as well as for those who just love the music. Testament to this is that Cambalache was selected to play at the 2001 Major League All-Star Game to a crowd of more than 55,000 people at Safeco Field in Seattle. In addition, Cambalache has opened for some of the biggest names in Latin music including Grupo Niche de Colombia and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
“Clasiqueando”, Cambalache’s first CD was officially released on April 23rd, 2004. Descarga from New York describes the CD as “Killer dance club Salsa... highly combustible, get-on-the-dance floor tracks with zero filler material. DJ alert and highly recommended”. The CD has now gotten reviews from all over the world and it is being sold at the most important Latin music stores in England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Japan, Canada, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
Their youth, energy and intense passion for music are the defining element that complements the quality of their sound. This makes Cambalache a band with tremendous potential and a promising future.
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GRUPO NICHE (Colombia)
Grupo Niche is one of the world’s best known salsa and cumbia groups from Colombia and it enjoys great popularity throughout Latin America. It was formed in 1980 by Jairo Varela, who became producer, director, songwriter, vocalist and guiro player. It also included Nicolas Cristanelo, on the piano; Alexis Lozano, on the trombone; Francisco Garcia, on the bass; Luis Pacheco, on the congas; as well as vocalists Jorge Bassam and Hector Viveros.
Grupo Niche’s first album: “Al Pasito” was released that same year, 1980, and placed their native Colombia in a modest position in the salsa world. “Querer Es Poder” was Grupo Niche’s second album, released in 1981, one year immediately after the first. The group’s success was growing larger |
“Trateno” became the group’s third album, which featured “Atrato Viajero”, one of Varela’s compositions of his teen years. And, in 1984, Grupo Niche released “No Hay Quinto Malo”, which featured their signature song, “Cali Pachanguero”. But, perhaps Grupo Niche’s best recording was their next release, “Se Paso!”, produced in 1985 under the New York Latin Records label.
In 1986, the band incorporated Puerto Rican vocalist Tito Gomez, who had previously worked with the famous Puerto Rican salsa group, la Sonora Poncena, and Ray Barretto, the Godfather of Latin Jazz. Later that year, 1986, Grupo Niche released “Me Huele A Matrimonio”. Afterward, yet another Puerto Rican joined, the pianist Israel Tanenbaum, who would eventually separate from the group and join a Niche spin-off band: Orquesta Guayacan.
Grupo Niche is known for both its vigorous, uptempo dance music as well as slower-paced romantic numbers. Among its best known hits are “Cali Pachanguero”, “Del Puente Pa’llá”, “Sin Sentimientos”, “Una Aventura”, “Etnia”, “Gotas de Lluvia”, “Han Cogido la Cosa”, “Mi Pueblo”, Hagamos Lo Que Diga Corazon, “Duele Mas”, “Nuestro Sueño”, and the famous cumbia “Canoa Rancha”.
Some of the most famous singers from Niche throughout its changing history include Tito Gomez, Moncho Santana, Charlie Cardona as well as Willy Garcia and Javier Vasquez, now members of the group ‘Son de Cali’. They have been very successful, and some of their songs are considered Classics of Salsa Music.
The group tours making worldwide presentations, and singing their most memorable songs.
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EL BAND SCHEDULE
12:00am - 01:00pm - Latin Groove Youth Ensemble(PDX)
01:30pm - 02:30pm - Cubaneo(PDX)
03:00pm - 04:00pm - Afincando(PDX)
04:30pm - 05:30pm - Latin Expression(Puerto Rico)
06:00pm - 07:00pm - Cambalache(Seattle-Peru)
07:30pm - 10:00pm - GRUPO NICHE(Colombia) |
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