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Experience the Passion of Tropical Latin Music

Tropical latin music is a rich and diverse genre that invites you to let go, feel the rhythm, and dance like nobody’s watching. From the passion of salsa to the romance of bachata, the energy of merengue, the groove of reggaeton, and the celebration of cumbia, there is a style of tropical latin music for every mood and occasion. So put on your dancing shoes, turn up the music, and let the vibrant beats of tropical latin music transport you to a world of rhythm, joy, and pure dance-floor bliss!

Enjoy the rhythm of passion and energy of  Salsa.

Salsa, the undisputed king of tropical Latin music, embodies passion, energy, and a rhythmic heartbeat that can’t be ignored. With its origins in the clubs of New York and Cuba, salsa has spread its wings across the globe, captivating dancers and music enthusiasts alike. The dynamic brass sections, syncopated piano rhythms, and intoxicating percussion make salsa a joyous celebration of life and love.

Salsa is perhaps the most well-known and beloved style of tropical latin music. Originating in the clubs of New York and influenced by Cuban rhythms, salsa is a high-energy dance music that will make you want to move your hips. With its lively percussion, driving bass, and infectious horn sections, salsa is a true celebration of life and passion. Take some salsa dance lessons and let the music guide your body in exhilarating moves and spins. Feel the heat and let the rhythm carry you away!

Feel the Romance of Bachata.

Bachata, a genre born in the Dominican Republic, is known for its heartfelt lyrics and sensual melodies. With its origins in the rural countryside, bachata has evolved into a popular style of music that touches the hearts of listeners around the world. The slow, melodic guitar rhythms and passionate vocals create an intimate atmosphere that is perfect for dancing close with a partner. Let the smooth beats of bachata embrace you and get lost in the romantic vibes.

Move to the Rhythm of Merengue.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, energetic dance music, then merengue is for you. Originating in the Dominican Republic, merengue is characterized by its lively beat and rapid tempo. The combination of the accordion, güira, and tambora creates a pulsating rhythm that will get your feet moving in no time. Join a merengue dance class and let the infectious energy of this genre take over. Merengue is all about letting go, having fun, and surrendering to the rhythm.

Explore the Groove of Reggaeton.

Reggaeton has taken the music world by storm, blending reggae, hip-hop, and latin beats into an irresistible fusion. Originating in Puerto Rico, this urban genre has become a global sensation, dominating charts and dance floors everywhere. The catchy hooks, pulsating rhythms, and energetic rap verses make reggaeton perfect for a night of dancing with friends. Let the infectious beats of reggaeton move your body and immerse yourself in the dynamic world of latin urban music.

Celebrate with Cumbia.

Originally from Colombia, cumbia is a lively and vibrant rhythm that has spread throughout Latin America. With its infectious beat, cumbia is all about celebrating life and bringing people together. The combination of traditional instruments like the guacharaca, accordion, and drums creates a distinctive sound that will transport you to the heart of Latin America. Join a cumbia dance class and let the rhythmic sway of this genre fill your soul with joy.

Get ready to embark on a musical journey filled with vibrant rhythms, infectious melodies, and a tropical flair that will transport you to sun-drenched beaches and lively dance floors. Tropical Latin music, a genre that encompasses a rich fusion of Caribbean and Latin American influences, is sure to make you move your feet and uplift your spirits. In this post, we invite you to discover the joy of tropical Latin music and explore the captivating sounds that have captivated audiences worldwide.

 

 

Marlow Rosado and Baby Lores revive La Negra Tomasa

Meet Marlow Rosado, One of Salsa’s Underground Heroes

During the pandemic’s darkest days, when clubs were shuttered and his performances were canceled, Marlow Rosado retreated to his Miami Lakes recording studio. He had traditional salsa, a lifelong passion, and Zen, a longtime interest, on his mind.

Rosado, 52, a Grammy and Latin Grammy winner, has emerged with two new recordings and a sense of peace. The albums, he says, represent a new phase in his musical career and a cause for celebration.

Los Colores de la Salsa (The Colors of Salsa) is a modern take on traditional Latin dance rhythms that he recorded with his longtime friend, veteran vocalist Frankie Negron. The official video for the track, “Depende de Ti (It Depends on You)” has garnered more than one million views on YouTube since the album was released in early March.

Orun is a deeper, almost meditative recording and Rosado’s first Latin jazz album. (He interprets the Yoruba word as meaning a protective ancestral spirit.) The album also marks the first time the Puerto Rican musician has worked with Afro-Cuban jazz legend Chucho Valdés. The veteran musician is a guest artist on the track, “Marlow y Chucho,” which Rosado wrote.

“I was able to produce two amazing albums,” Rosado says. “They are very special because they came from a place of despair — of what’s going to happen, I’ve got nothing to do, no work, nowhere to go — to a place of hope for the future.”

Rosado is no stranger to beating the odds. His music isn’t played on Latin commercial radio even though he has won two of the music industry’s biggest awards: a 2012 “Best Tropical Latin Album” Grammy for Retro, which he recorded with his band, Marlow Rosado y La Riqueña, and a 2015 “Best Children’s Album” Latin Grammy for Los Animales.

He is one of salsa’s underground heroes.

“The overwhelming programming [on commercial Latin radio] is urban music,” says Rosado, a pianist, arranger, songwriter, and bandleader. “There are thousands of ‘salseros’ with records out there, but there’s no salsa on the radio.”

Zen has helped him deal with the ups and downs of the music industry, he says.

Rosado was first attracted to Eastern philosophies as a teenager when he picked up a copy of The Pocket Zen Reader. After visiting Nepal in 2007 to perform at a jazz festival, he was hooked. When the festival ended, Rosado spent seven days in the capital of Kathmandu, visiting a Buddhist temple.

He has returned to the Himalayan country twice: “Nepal was a life-changing experience.”

It’s among the poorest countries in the world, he says, “yet we have so much to learn from them.”

What Rosado learned was to try to see opportunities in life’s challenges, he says. His two new albums reflect this mindset.

Colores has Rosado’s trademark “salsa gruesa” (heavy) style — blaring horns, rapid-fire percussion, and lyrical piano solos — with shades of urban music. He recorded the album with Negron, a salsa and Latin pop singer of Puerto Rican heritage from New Jersey, who became popular in the late ’90s with hits such as “Con Amor Se Gana (You Win With Love).”

Rosado says he and Negron, who moved to South Florida a few years ago, went into the studio together, not knowing what to expect.

“It was a fun record to do because there was nothing else to do, we were in quarantine. So, we had a good time doing this,” Rosado recalls. “It’s probably the only record I’ve done that way. We were thinking, ‘If things ever get back to normal, we’re going to release this album,’ and we did.”

Rosado wrote most of the songs on the record, including the call-and-response “Depende de Ti.”

“It calls on younger Latin urban artists to ‘defend’ tropical Latin rhythms that first arrived in the Caribbean on slave ships,” he says. “We’re asking the younger musicians who are hot right now to respect this music, not to dismiss it as old people’s music.

“The original rappers were the ‘soneros’ (salsa vocalists), the rhymers — we invented that.”

 

The more melodic Orun with Valdés is a departure from Rosado’s “heavy metal” style of salsa.

In a recent video for the album, filmed at his Coral Springs home, Valdés had words of encouragement for Rosado.

“He has a great talent and a high level of composition and a tremendous swing on the piano — an incredible vibe,” says Valdés, smoking a cigar on his patio. “All I can say to Marlow is what [jazz composer] David Brubeck once said to me: ‘Marlow, never stop.’”

Valdés is one of Rosado’s idols.

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Source: Deborah Ramirez, ArtburstMiami.com

 

Salsa Legend Marlow Rosado Transports Bailey Hall to Another World

Salsa legend Marlow Rosado lit up Bailey Hall this Friday with his band, La Riqueña. Rosado is a native Puerto Rican who began his music career by studying Jazz education in Florida. He is now a producer, composer, skilled pianist and tireless vocalist. He dabbles in multiple musical genres, incorporating elements of salsa, merengue, bachata and reggaetón into his compositions. Speaking to his mastery of music, his album Retro won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album against competing nominations from star bachatero Romeo Santos.

Marlow Rosado and La Riqueña brought the nightclub vibes to Bailey Hall. The band, consisting of Mike Rivera strumming the bass, Pablo Molina on the congas and Gamalier Reyes playing the timbales performed high-energy rhythms that brought the audience to their feet. Reyes’ rapid-fire drumming was jaw-dropping to watch. Meanwhile, Marlow Rosado’s passionately played Afro-Cuban montuno and tumbao patterns on the piano, intermittently interrupted by strong glissandos, where he would slide his fingers rapidly across the entire keyboard. He carried the air of Elton John, unable to keep from rocking out to the rhythm while attacking the keys.

The band played upbeat pieces, including “Quiero Que Me Quieras” from their 2014 album Salsanimal, alternated with a few slower, romantic ballads that paid homage to their homeland Puerto Rico.

As a surprise to the audience, Rosado invited an old buddy to the stage — coincidentally a Cornell alum who had studied organically chemistry. Rosado exclaimed, “It doesn’t matter how much organic chemistry you do, the music is in your blood!” The two used to perform together, and it was heart-warming to watch them reunite and sing duets. They sang a beautiful rendition of the song “El Cuarto de Tula,” originally by the Buena Vista Social Club, an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996 to promote the music of pre-revolutionary Cuba.

The most astounding moment of the night was when Rosado invited audience members to the stage for the concert’s grande finale. He asked two Cornell music students, a pianist and violinist, to improvise a song with the band and encouraged the audience to join in by dancing or clapping. The Cornell students successfully composed an impromptu song with the band, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Like the Buena Vista Social Club, Marlow Rosado’s music also strives to revive salsa’s roots with old-fashioned, traditional instruments and vocal styles. His music transports the listener to another time, another place. He makes me wonder about the future of the salsa genre. Will there be enough singers to keep the genre going?

Source: The Cornell Daily Sun
By Ariadna Lubinus

Marlow Rosado and Chucho Valdes release the album “Orun”

Marlow Rosado and Dionisio Jesús “Chucho” Valdés Rodríguez live the experience of working together thanks to the album “Orun”, which has nine songs
“Orun is the record that I have wanted to make all my life. It is a truly music album in which the concentration is not commercialism but the musical depth within the arrangements so that the musician stands out with his solos; the most important thing is the expression and wisdom of each participant on their instrument” expressed the composer Marlow Rosado.

As a musician, for the also Puerto Rican writer, working with Dionisio Jesús “Chucho” Valdés Rodríguez has represented an honor and learning.

“Throughout my career I have had the joy of working with many great pianists who have been teachers to me throughout my training such as Richie Ray, Papo Luca, and who has become my piano father – the wonderful Jew – Larry Harlow. But in this case I had the great opportunity, honor and joy of working with the pianist who for me sits on the top of the mountain when we talk about Latin piano, especially in Latin Jazz,” said Rosado.

“I never imagined that my career would have the fortune to record with such an iconic figure of our music. Having recorded my own arrangement, a song written by me with Chucho Valdés, for me is one of those moments before and after. I can happily disappear with this project,” added the composer.

Distributed by JN Music Group Jazz, the new division of JN Music Group, Orun already has a video clip for the song Marlow y Chucho, which was recorded at the house of maestro Chucho Valdés.

This song becomes the first track that comes off this album.

Source: Diario Las Americas
By: Redaccion