The latest on the block was Ismael Rivera fronting timbalero Kako’s band with Patato on congas. These giants came together in an Afro-Caribbean mix of Puerto Rican and Cuban rhythms indicative of the growing “salsa” movement of the time.
“Maelo” (as he was known) was already doing well in his New York based career. He had gone through a spiritual awakening in Panama where he was “baptized” in the river during the annual procession of the Black Christ of Portobelo. He had worked alongside friend and musical colleague Tito Puente on “De Colores” and “Controversia” organizing and fronting his own band, “Los Cachimbos.”
On this recording, Maelo joins Francisco Angel Bastar, better known as “Kako,” who not only had a tight, hard driving orchestra but also worked alongside Al Santiago and the Allegre All-Stars. The arrangements were done by Javier Vasquez (who went on to be the musical director of “Los Cachimbos”) and Francisco Cabrera. Five hits surged from this recording including “Mi Negrita Me Espera,” “La Cumbita,” “Moti-Agua” “Lo Ultimo en la Avenida,” and “El Cumbanchero.”
This last cover tune penned by the international Boricua composer Rafael Hernandez, becomes a showcase for Maelo’s vocal virtuosity. Upbeat and rhythmic, while emitting syllables and words with the speed of a machine gun, the singer bodaciously boasts, “They call me the master singer because I party with the clave and I have swing.” Maelo’s voice darts around the metronomic clave, gives a shout out to Kako’s tremendous solo and challenges Patato’s playing. A great arrangement, a great band and one of Maelo’s most amazingly executed vocal stylings. No wonder Cuba’s Benny Moré casually commented that the very young Maelo, while with Cortijo on a 1957 tour where they accompanied “El Barbaro del Ritmo” in Puerto Rico, was singing with the skill of a “sonero mayor.”
Yet, it wasn’t until 1968, that Maelo began using the “sonero mayor” moniker. The same promoter who took Benny to Puerto Rico was now running a Bronx club where Maelo was to appear. In order to promote the dance, the savvy promoter remembered Benny’s remark and gave Maelo the title, “El Sonero Mayor.”
Carlos Suarez’ “Mi Negrita Me Espera” opens this production with an upbeat son-montuno where Maelo is singing to his mother, who would worry when he began doing all nightclub dates.
Francisco Cabrera’s “Lo Ultimo en la Avenida,” has Maelo popularizing some of the street phrases of the time. Another good dance number, Maelo’s knack for picking phrases that came from forgotten corners touched Latinos, in particular the ones in New York who were marginalized and invisible on the mainstream radar. His music was, as he put it, “by the book.”
A typical Cuban rumba, sung in the style of the previous “Controversia,” puts Maelo directly in the “rumba” mix with “Cantar Maravilloso,” placing him in the unique position of being just as adept at the folk Cuban rhythms as he was with the Boricua beats.
“Truquito” and “Cumbita” both swing hard propelling dancers to parallel the exhilarating crescendos heard here. The percussive engine is turbocharged; the sound is “diesel.”
“Moti-Agua” takes us back to Africa with this tune written by Carlos “Patato” Valdes & Eugenio Arango. “Entierro a la Moda” has Maelo describing his funeral naming all the artistic friends that will celebrate him. He cautiously reminds them that if the music they play is swinging, he may just get up and dance. Something that almost happened at his own funeral some sixteen years later.
“Siete Pies Bajo la Tierra” and “Lleva y Trae” both make the dancers step while showcasing the virtuosity of the band.
Overall, a “smoking” recording from a master singer that illustrates why artists who followed such as Hector LaVoe, Ruben Blades, Gilberto SantaRosa and many others, looked up to Maelo for style and inspiration.
Credits:
Produced by Miguel Estivell
Arrangements – Javier Vazquez y Francisco Cabrera
Original Liner Notes – Miguel Estivell
Original Cover Design – Ely Besabel
Written by Aurora Flores
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