THE MAKING OF LATIN MUSIC
Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music
by Steven Loza ISBN: 978-0-252-06778-5
(Excerpts)
In July-August 1989 Tito Puente recorded his 1990 release, the highly acclaimed album Goza Mi Timbal, for which he
won a fourth Grammy award. The album included arrangements by Puente, Brian Murphy and Marty Sheller and adaptations by Sonny Bravo and Jose Madera.
Of particular interest on this collection are several classics and complex jazz tunes, including two by Sonny Rollins, "Airegin" and "Pent Up House," Miles Davis' "All Blues"
and Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser,"
the latter a refreshingly innovative and involved arrangement by Murphy.
On the well-sculpted, eclectic Mambo of the Times,
Puente again uses an expanded ensemble of
eleven musicians (besides himself),
a combination that enabled him to generate either his
small group sound or one closer to his large orchestra.
The diverse mix of a traditional concert sound and
innovative ideas makes the album one of his
most creative endeavors.
The various tracks include jazz classics arranged by
Brian Murphy, such as Billy Strayhorn's
ballad "Passion Flower," here made into a bolero rhythm,
and "Things to Come," by Gil Fuller and Dizzy Gillespie.
The latter arrangement features both trumpeters,
Charlie Sepulveda and Piro Rodriguez, as soloists; Sepulveda's improvisation is impressive homage
to Gillespie's trumpet style.
Mario Rivera solos on both tenor and baritone saxophones.
Perhaps one of the most innovative arrangements is Murphy's version of Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," converted from its original waltz structure into a 4/4 meter
utilizing Latin rhythms and an interesting, syncopated interpretation of the head on vibraphone.
The balance of the album includes Marty Sheller's arrangement of "If You Could See Me Now"
(Tadd Dameron and Carl Sigman),
Murphy’s arrangement of
"The Best Is Yet to Come"
(Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh).
and Gil Lopez's arrangement of his own "El Titon."
© Steven Loza 1999
