The musical director with Puerto Rico's legendary Sonora Ponceña, Papo Lucca had contributed luminous piano solos to the pair of classic albums that bandleader and Fania co-founder Johnny Pacheco and the Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz recorded in 1974 and 1975: Celia & Johnny and Tremendo Caché.
In 1976, Pacheco took this collaboration a step further by giving Lucca and sonero Justo Betancourt equal billing on a session that was meant to celebrate the roots of Afro-Cuban music: "Recordando El Ayer." Remembering yesterday.
It was a wonderful experience, recalls Lucca from his home in Puerto Rico. We recorded it together in the studio, the way albums were made in those days. Pacheco made it a point that the four of us should be depicted on the cover, since we all contributed ideas during rehearsals. I remember there was a conscious attempt on our part to make an album that would be even better than the previous Celia & Johnny sessions.
Papo Lucca's solos have always defined the very essence of Puerto Rican salsa: the supreme elegance, the barely restrained swing, the unexpected melodic turns and a close connection to the pianists of mainstream American jazz. Lucca's solo spots on “Ritmo, Tambor y Flores” and “Ahora Sí” are worth the price of admission here-- not only the solos per se, but the swinging explosion of trumpets and rhythm section that follows them.
You listen to what everybody else is doing, and your personal style emerges on its own, explains Lucca. There was a Puerto Rican pianist named Mario Román that influenced me as a student. I would go to see him every night at the Hotel Continental. I should also mention everyone I ever listened to: Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Charlie and Eddie Palmieri, Peruchín, Rubén González.
If Papo Lucca's influences are not always obvious, Pacheco's certainly are. Growing up in his native Dominican Republic, he was bewitched by the songs of Arsenio Rodríguez and Orquesta Aragón that he would listen to on Cuban radio.
Throughout his recordings of the early '60s, Pacheco paid tribute to traditional Cuban charanga. Then, he spent most of the '70s updating and honoring the conjunto sound popularized all over Latin America by La Sonora Matancera-- the band that launched Celia Cruz.
While other Fania musicians were busy pioneering the urban salsa sound through a gritty combination of Afro-Cuban stylings with '70s r&b, Pacheco generated what the experts call "la matancerización de la salsa." To Pacheco's ears, the vintage Matancera nuggets were the epitome of cool. Remembering yesterday was trendy. He added modern touches to the arrangements, but the vibrant swing of the '50s remained unchanged.
Some of the tracks in "Recordando El Ayer" were hits with the original Matancera. “Yerbero Moderno”, in fact, was an indispensable part of La Reina's repertoire-- she continued singing it onstage until her death in 2003. “Ritmo, Tambor y Flores” was also one of Celia's happiest moments with La Matancera, and one of this record's highlights.
Most of the material in this seminal session is relentlessly upbeat. Lover of bolero tenderness, however, will fall head over heels with the smoldering duet between Celia and Justo Betancourt on “Cuando Tú Me Quieras”. It is the only melodramatic moment in an album that, now more than ever, underscores the infectious joy of vintage Afro-Cuban dance music.
Credits:
Johnny Pacheco - Leader, Flute, Güiro, Percussion
Papo Lucca - Piano
Luis Mangual - Bongos, Cowbell, Timbalitos (Paila) solo ("Reina Rumba")
Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez - Congas
Luis "Perico" Ortiz - Trumpet
Hector "Bomberito" Zarzuela - Trumpet
Charlie Rodriguez - Tres
Harry Viggiano - Tres
Victor Venegas - Bass
Eddie "Guagua" Rivera - Bass
Ismael Quintana - Maracas
Lead Vocal - Celia Cruz , Justo Betancourt
Producer – Jerry Massucci
Recording Director – Johnny Pacheco
Written by Ernesto Lechner
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