Before Jerry Masucci and Fania, there was Al Santiago and Alegre. Albert Santiago Alvarez (February 23, 1932 – December 9, 1996) was a teenage tenor saxophonist who played in his father Alfredo's big band, as well as the Bartolo Alvarez Orchestra - led by an uncle who also ran the famed Casa Latina record store in New York's East Harlem.

Inspired by a similar interest, Al opened a record store called Casa Latina Del Bronx in 1951, on Brook Avenue. By 1955, Al had moved it to the corner of Westchester, Prospect and Longwood Avenues, where it became known as Casa Alegre.

"I used to work for Al," recalls composer and record store owner Mike Amadeo. "He had the most incredible sense of humor, and was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back. The musicians loved him. Al had great ideas about promoting the store, and it eventually became more popular than his uncle’s.” It didn’t hurt that a new, young crop of musicians that included Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Orlando Marín, Manny Oquendo and Charlie and Eddie Palmieri lived near the store and frequented it.

Forming a partnership with the Jewish owner of the clothing store next to Casa Alegre, Ben Perlman, Al founded Alegre Records in 1956 for the sum of $750. Early releases included the first recordings by timbalero Kako and Joe Cotto. In 1960, Al released the first charanga album by flute player Johnny Pacheco. It sold over 100,000 copies in less than six months - establishing the label as a force to be reckoned with.

Through the popularity of his store, Al had access to an unprecedented network of musicians. Inspired by the Cuban jam session (descarga) albums that the Panart label had put out in the late '50s, Al decided to release his own version of the same concept. In an interview published in Dr. Vernon Boggs' book Salsiology, Al stated: “I was familiar with the Panart releases - the hippest Latin jazz thing that I had ever heard in my life. I decided to bring my bandleaders together, form a band, and fill the missing spots with the best musicians from the groups that I had under contract.” The result was one of the most influential series of recordings in the history of Afro-Cuban music.

For the first time, we hear the magic of trombonists Barry Rogers and Mark Weinstein; timbaleros Kako, Willie Rosario and Orlando Marín; tenor saxophonist José ‘Chombo’ Silva; bassist Bobby Rodríguez and his tocayo (namesake) clarinetist Bobby Rodríguez; conguero Frankie Malabe; trumpet players Pedro ‘Puchi’ Boulong, Ray Maldonado and Roy Román; vocalists like Cheo Feliciano, Willie Torres, Rudy Calzado, Chivirico Dávila and Víctor Velázquez; vibist Louis Ramírez; musical director Charlie Palmieri on piano; and a host of other soloists in true descarga fashion.

Uptempo numbers like Moisés Simón’s “El Manicero,” Juan Tizol’s “Perdido,” and Heny Alvarez’s “Kako Y Palmieri” got the free-form Alegre treatment - exploding with solos that became models of creativity for subsequent generations of musicians.

Al’s sense of humor was evident in his decision to record the banter between musicians and use it as the intros for each individual track. This feeling of bonhomie was passed on to the audience that Al brought into the studio to inspire the musicians. You can hear it on “Para Ti,” “Ay Camina y Ven,” “Bobby Bajo y Clarinete,” and the great soneos on “El Sopón,” “Yumbambe,” and the Willie Torres tour-de-force bolero “Lágrimas y Tristezas.”

The collection closes with a classic burner, the All Stars' version of Chano Pozo’s mambo-jazz “Manteca.”

Al sold Alegre in 1966, but continued working in the industry as a producer until his untimely death. The Alegre All Stars recordings are his most lasting contribution to the history of Latin music - testimony to his creative genius. I can imagine Al, looking down from heaven, saying: Estoy buscando a Kako - Where is Kako?




Liner notes written by Bobby Sanabria



LESS >