Caribbean News from Cayman-Island.org

Celia Cruz

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:04:39 -0600

As Salsa's greatest icon, Cruz garnered all sorts of respect, from a Smithsonian lifetime achievement award to her own street in Miami, to the title "The Queen of Salsa." Her singing is deep and soulful, with expressive improvisations influenced by her Cuban upbringing. You're expected to dance to her music, with its jumping piano chords twinkling over tight conga rhythms, spicy percussion, blazing horn sections, and, atop it all, Cruz's searing vocals. Cream-of-the-crop Afro-Cuban ensembles such as the Fania All-Stars, Willie Colon, Ray Barreto, Johnny Pacheco and Tito Puente always had to work with Cruz. Her popularity reached its peak with the movie Mambo Kings. Cruz died in 2003.

Marc Anthony

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:11:04 -0600

If Ricky Martin is the Latin crossover star that wears tight leather and does Pepsi ads, Marc Anthony is the one wearing the black silk and smoking a cigarette. Anthony established himself in the '90s as a contemporary Salsa superstar, and more recently, his English crossover recordings have expanded his overall audience. Universally respected for his clear and emotional singing style, he's always brought integrity to his music whether singing a shamelessly revealing romantic ballad or cutting loose with some hot Salsa. He's a "NuyoRican" (Puerto Rican from New York City) whose English vocals display no accent. Now visible as a film actor as well, Anthony exudes a cool downtown New York persona, and his mix of contemporary dance ballads and salsa works easily in his hands. - Robert Leaver

Aventura

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:39:55 -0600

Aventura are bachata's first boy band. This renegade group of Dominican American teenagers toured relentlessly through the 1990s, trying to gain acceptance for their unconventional mix of bachata, hip-hop and R&B. By the time 2002's We Broke the Rules was released, it was clear that their transgressions would set new standards. "Obsession" became a huge hit, and the group continued to experiment with bachata's boundaries. Bilingual Love and Hate (2007) found them moving into urban-music territory, incorporating elements of hip-hop and R&B into a mix of tropical styles. Released in 2006 and 2007, respectively, K.O.B. Live and Kings of Bachata - Sold Out at Madison Square Garden showcased their growing stage prowess as well as their burgeoning Rolodex, thanks to cameos from Don Omar and Hector Acosta. Reggaeton beats and appearances by Akon, Wyclef Jean and Ludacris expanded Aventura's range on 2009's The Last, but they never abandoned their bachata roots. - Sarah Bardeen

Tito Puente

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:22:47 -0600

Most of the rock generation is familiar with Tito Puente through Santana's cover of "Oye Como Va" and his appearance in The Mambo Kings. By venturing closer to the source, they will discover what Latin jazz fans have known for years: Puente's intoxicating mix of Big Band jazz and Latin music creates Mambo madness at its finest. Tito Puente is credited with fusing Cuban charangas with Big Band swing and Bop. Puente always had one eye on dance fans and indeed, his music puts the ghost of St. Vitus in your body. But his other eye was planted on jazz fans -- he loved arranging for composers such as Horace Silver and his soulmate Dizzy Gillespie. There are many similarities between Puente and Diz's various big bands -- chief among them the spirit of global brotherhood that they celebrate. But Tito Puente never let his jazz side distract from his music's mass popularity; when the Big Band era was long gone, Puente not only kept his band together but saw it thrive. With more than a hundred albums to his credit, at least one or two should be a part of every collection. - Nick Dedina

Hector Lavoe

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:17:51 -0600

He started out as a skinny 17-year-old from Puerto Rico on the streets of New York, hungry and ready to sing. He ended both a celebrity and a broken man, wasted by a long struggle with drug abuse, personal tragedies and AIDS. Born Hector Juan Perez in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1946, Lavoe pursued singing as a kid, gigging with a 10-piece band by the time he was 14 years old. Against his father's wishes, he moved to New York, where he met Johnny Pacheco of Fania Records. Pacheco introduced Lavoe to Willie Colon, and the two recorded more than 10 groundbreaking albums over eight years. Lavoe's erratic behavior and drug use forced Colon to dissolve the band in 1974, but Lavoe continued recording and packing stadiums in Latin America for the next decade. But he wasn't able to kick his heroin habit and he contracted HIV as a result, and in 1987 his 17-year-old son, Hector Jr., was accidentally killed. Five years after a suicide attempt, Lavoe succumbed to AIDS in 1993. The public outpouring of grief was vast: Lavoe's voice had been as fine as a reed pen, and his knack for phrasing incomparable. He has been called a "singer's singer," but he was also known for his kindness and wit. - Sarah Bardeen

Elvis Crespo

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:17:01 -0600

With his long hair and boyish good looks, Elvis Crespo has captured the tropical music crown with his multiplatinum "Suavemente" (Smoothly) in 1998. A Nuyorican (Puerto Rican born in N.Y.C.) who chooses to sing Merengue (which originates from the Dominican Republic), Crespo represents the new urban Latino who has transformed a traditional folk rhythm into a new, hip style. As the lead singer of the teen group Grupo Mania, Crespo was a Latino pop star by age twenty-two. Several years later he ventured off on his own, just as the tropical music scene was achieving unprecedented crossover success. His smooth, natural voice lends itself well to his catchy original compositions. A constant presence on Spanish-language television (often performing before large crowds of ecstatic Latina girls) this Latin Elvis will continue to dance across the tropical charts. - Robert Leaver

Harry Belafonte

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:20:31 -0600

Harry Belafonte is not just the wide smile and pair of slim hips that seduced so many American women in the 1960s. A crack songwriter and singer who introduced Caribbean music to the United States, Belafonte is also an activist who has fought tirelessly for civil and human rights in the U.S. and around the world. He was instrumental in cracking the color barrier in the U.S., winning fame and fortune for his stage acting (including several Tony awards), his film work, an Emmy-winning television show, and a string of hit albums through the 1950s. Born to Caribbean-American parents, Belafonte spent part of his youth in Jamaica, where he was introduced to local songs like "Day-O." As his reputation grew, so did his interest in the folk music that brought him success. In 2001, Belafonte saw a long-time dream realized when Long Road to Freedom was released. It was a visionary collection of African-American music that spans everything from Yoruba chants and slave songs to early blues recordings by artists like Brownie McGhee. And Belafonte has become no less political with age; in recent years he has been a keynote speaker at peace rallies and other leftist gatherings. - Sarah Bardeen

Gloria Estefan

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:39:35 -0600

Initially considered a Latin version of Madonna, Gloria Estefan developed from a dance diva into a respected songstress. With her husband on keyboards and in the producer's seat, Estefan's band Miami Sound Machine evolved from a wedding band to a veritable hit machine in the 1980s, composing accessible dance tunes that fused Disco with Salsa. "Conga" and "Rhythm is Gonna Get You" were chart-topping dance anthems rooted in Afro-Cuban rhythms that foreshadowed the tropical music explosion. In 1993 she released a Spanish language record, "Mi Tierra (My Land)," which was a mix of nostalgic ballads and contemporary Salsa. Singing in her mother tongue, Estefan's voice reached a new level of sophistication and highlighted her formidable range. Featuring a guest appearance by Celia Cruz on "Alma Caribena (Latin Soul)" (2000), Estefan wholeheartedly embraces her Cuban heritage with superb arrangements. Gloria and her husband Emilio can be credited with putting Miami on the musical map and reconnecting across a great divide back to their motherland -- Cuba. - Robert Leaver

Jerry Rivera

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:11:33 -0600

He's as beefy as a quarterback but the only heavy hitting Jerry Rivera does these days is on the dancefloor. He's been one of the hottest young guns of salsa romantica since 1992's Cuenta Conmigo took off. - Sarah Bardeen

Buena Vista Social Club

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:11:32 -0600

This Cuban musicians' collective has played together for over half a century, and it shows. Stylistically, they span the entire spectrum of Afro-Cuban music. Deliciously slow bolero ballads and majestic danzones feature the swell of strings, while background vocals conveying messages of romance hide behind arrestingly beautiful melodies. Buena Vista Social Club's most influential style is the exuberant, polyrhythmic music known as son, which gave birth to both Mambo and Salsa. These upbeat numbers are full of infectious guitar licks, multilayered Afro-Cuban rhythms, soaring vocal melodies, and brash, Big Band-style horn parts. - Noah Enelow

Wyclef Jean

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:03:50 -0600

More Bob Marley than Bambaataa, Haitian emcee/producer Wyclef Jean is hip-hop's most globally minded star. Jean shot to stardom in the mid-'90s as a key member of the immensely popular Fugees. Though that group only released two proper albums, and disbanded before following up the multi-platinum The Score, their footprint remains heavy on everything from boho rap to mainstream hip-hop. After their tumultuous dissolution, Wyclef released his solo debut The Carnival in 1997. Whether experimenting with Caribbean rhythms ("Guantanamera") or pop ballads ("Gone 'Till November"), the album was a celebration of eclecticism. His next four disks ranged from decent (2000's The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II A Book) to great (04's Welcome To Haiti Creole 101), but they were always unpredictable and fun. In 2006, he had his biggest hit since the days of the Fugees when he produced Shakira's dancefloor anthem "Hips Don't Lie." He returned to the charts in 2007 with "Sweetest Girl," a smash featuring it-boyz Lil' Wayne and Akon. His sixth album, Carnival, Vol. 2, was released in December, 2007. - Sam Chennault

Gilberto Santa Rosa

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:57:48 -0600

Gilberto Santa Rosa became a salsero the old-fashioned way: he worked for it. Unlike younger crops of singers who are pretty faces first and singers second, Santa Rosa came on the scene in the 1970s. He climbed up through the ranks, putting in time with unknown orchestras and, when he was lucky, with bigger names like the Puerto Rico All-Stars, Tommy Olivencia and Willie Rosario. He released his first album with his own orchestra in 1986 but it wasn't until 1990 that Santa Rosa made a huge dent in the charts with Punto de Vista. The barnstorming hits "Vivir Sin Ella" and "Perdoname" established him, and his 1991 follow-up Perspectiva confirmed he wasn't a one-hit wonder. - Sarah Bardeen

Xtreme

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:43:48 -0600

Victor Manuelle

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:59:00 -0600

Puerto Rican-born upstart Victor Manuelle owes a debt of gratitude to Gilberto Santa Rosa, who took Manuelle under his wing after the talented upstart famously jumped on stage to sing with Santa Rosa at a concert. Santa Rosa was impressed, and Manuelle got a spot in the band. He went on to sing with a clutch of notable bands, including Puerto Rican Power, Domingo Quinones and Eddie Santiago. But Manuelle eventually proved that he could stand on his own two feet when he released a string of top-selling solo albums that have established him as a salsero for the young people. - Sarah Bardeen

Kevin Lyttle

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:56:40 -0600

Raised on the island of St. Vincent, Kevin Lyttle immersed himself in local music at a young age, and started writing his own songs at 14. Inspired by the traditional soca sound as well as American hits (especially Michael Jackson), he performed in various talent shows around the Caribbean, honing his skills and working on new material. In 2001, he teamed up with a local producer and recorded "Turn Me On," a super-slick party jam that blurred the lines between soca, dancehall, R&B and pop. The song was a huge success locally, and soon spread all over Europe, hitting the top of the charts in France, the U.K., Belgium, Denmark, Germany and several other countries. Lyttle's self-titled debut dropped in the summer of 2004. - Brolin Winning