Introducing Lalo Rodríguez & Simón Pérez
Tommy Olivencia
Tommy Olivencia had a remarkable talent for renewing his music and maintaining his La Primerísima orchestra in the avant-garde of salsa. In 1976, the bandleader gained fame again with the introduction of two new singers: Lalo Rodríguez and Simón Pérez.
A year earlier, Olivencia had reigned in the Puerto Rican and South American salsa circuit together with sonero Chamaco Ramírez. The album Planté Bandera was an event: it sold over 100.000 copies and earned the group top billing in the salsa ballrooms of the time. The orchestra was playing two, even three concerts per day.
Almost every single track in Planté Bandera was a hit single. Whereas everything would indicate that Chamaco's second round with La Primerísima would last a number of years, the singer's personal problems distanced him from the orchestra.
Showcasing his unerring commercial instinct, Olivencia compensated for the absence of his star sonero with Lalo and Simón. With only 18 years of age, Lalo had replaced Ismael Quintana in Eddie Palmieri's orchestra, becoming the youngest Latino singer to win a Grammy award with the records The Sun Of Latin Music and Unfinished Masterpiece, released in 1974 and 1975 respectively.
Those two albums were recorded in New York for Harvey Averne's Coco label. In 1975, the company was also responsible for connecting Rodríguez with Machito, with whom he would record the classic Fireworks session. Singing with Olivencia was the perfect excuse for Rodríguez to return to his native Puerto Rico.
Even though he only recorded this one album with La Primerísima, the singer's excellence resulted in a collaboration with the Puerto Rico All Stars and his eventual solo debut for Fran Ferrer's Tierrazo label.
Lalo Rodríguez has been one of the most remarkable vocalists that salsa has ever known. Three decades later, his high pitched register has not been equaled. Wichie Camacho may have come close, and La India may be Lalo's female equivalent, particularly in her debut album with Eddie Palmieri, but as far as male vocalists go, Rodríguez is still unmatched.
The singer is also a gifted composer, a trait that is particularly apparent in his masterpiece El niño, el hombre, el soñador y el loco. His songwriting can be appreciated on this CD. The boleros “Hoy No Me Recuerdas” and “No Has De Verme Llorar,” with arrangements by Marty Sheller and Perico Ortiz, demonstrate that the success of Lalo's bolero “Deseo Salvaje,” which he wrote and recorded with Palmieri, was no fluke. His powerful vocal range is showcased on the guaguancó “Vengo Del Monte,” which ends with a dizzying percussion climax courtesy of David Rosario Cortijito on congas and timbalero Julito Morales.
The session's other singer was Simón Pérez, who would remain with Olivencia on the subsequent releases El Negro Chombo and La Primerísima. Blessed with a highly nasal voice, Simón was responsible for filling in the shoes of Chamaco Ramírez. He lacked Chamaco's streetwise bravado, but did an acceptable job at performing a second version of “Evelio (El Muerto Se Fue De Rumba)" by Tite Curet Alonso, and upbeat salsa numbers like “Buena Suerte” and “42nd St, Mambo.”
On “Push-Push” (a calypso with touches of jala jala) and “Merensalsa” (a sticky merengue), Simón demonstrated that he could easily adapt to other styles as well.
“Tommy Olivencia - Introducing Lalo Rodríguez & Simón Pérez” did not sell as many copies as Planté Bandera did, but it met the expectations of the band's fans, kept Olivencia alive in the salsa world, and underscored the orchestra's place as a school for stars in the making: future singers would include Gilberto Santa Rosa, Frankie Ruiz, Héctor Tricoche, Paquito Acosta, Mel Martínez and others.
Credits
Rafael Rodríguez – Trombone
Radamés González – Trombone
Louis “Perico” Ortíz – Trumpet
Víctor E. Rodríguez – Trumpet
Héctor Zarzuela – Trumpet
Juan F. Revilla – Piano
Rafael L. Castro – Bass
Julio Morales – Timbales
David Rosario – Congas
Pedro A. Hernández – Bongo
Ismael Quintana - Maracas, Güiro, Clave
Lead Vocals – Lalo Rodríguez, Simon Perez
Chorus - Adalberto Santiago, Yayo El Indio, Lalo Rodríguez, Ismael Quintana (“42nd Mambo)
Producer – Luis “Perico” Ortíz
Musical Director – Tommy Olivencia
Recorded at – Good Vibrations Sound Studios, N.Y.
Engineer – Jon Fausty
Original Album Photography – Lee Marshall
Original Album Design – Ely Besalel
Written by Jaime Torres Torres
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