Hello,
Today's artist was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and her trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, she "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose.".....N'Joy
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Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez in Havana, Cuba, the second of four children. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railroad stoker and her mother, Catalina Alfonso was a homemaker who took care of an extended family. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children- brothers, sisters, and many cousins- she often had to put the younger ones to bed by singing them to sleep. While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo and Arsenio Rodríguez. Despite her father's opposition and the fact that she was Catholic, as a child Cruz learned Santería songs from her neighbor who practiced Santería.
As a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to attend school in the hope she would become a teacher. After high school she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana with the intent of becoming a literature teacher. At the time being a singer was not viewed as an entirely respectable career. However, one of her teachers told her that as an entertainer she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. Cruz's big break came in 1950 when Myrta Silva, the singer with Cuba's Sonora Matancera, returned to her native Puerto Rico. Since they were in need of a new singer, the band decided to give the young Celia Cruz a chance. She auditioned in June, and at the end of July she was asked to join as lead singer.[10] She won the support of Sonora's band leader, Rogelio Martínez, and went on to record hits such as "Yembe Laroco" and "Caramelo". Soon her name was bigger than the band's. During her 15 years with Sonora Matancera, she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as Rincón criollo (1950), Una gallega en La Habana (1955) and Amorcito corazón (1961), toured all over Latin America, and became a regular at Havana's famous Tropicana nightspot.
After Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba in 1959, when the Sonora Matancera left Cuba to perform in Mexico in June 1960, they did not return. Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, were prohibited from returning to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. In 1965, Cruz left the group and in 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records).
In 1976, she participated in a documentary film Salsa about the Latin culture, along with figures like Dolores del Río and Willie Colón. She also made three albums with Willie Colon (1977, 1981, 1987). With a voice described as operatic, Cruz moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavor to salsa. Her flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution. During the 1980s, Cruz began to garner the international recognition that was her due, she made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 feature film Salsa alongside Robby Draco Rosa.
In 1990, Cruz won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance – Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz – Ritmo en el Corazón. She later recorded an anniversary album with Sonora Matancera. In the same year, she was recipient of the Excellence Award at the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards. In 1992, she starred with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas in the film The Mambo Kings. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level after she appeared in the The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild.In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. In the same year, she was inducted into Billboards Latin Music Hall of Fame along with fellow Cuban musician Cachao López. In 1999, Cruz was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign.
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This album, The Winners, originally released in 1987 on Vaya Records, was the last of three collaborations between the late, great sonera, Celia Cruz and world renown trombonist, producer and singer, Willie Colon. Celia's readily apparent improvisational vocal prowess leaves no doubt as to why she was the most sought after female sonera of the era. Por algo le decian "La Reina"! Willie does not play any musical instruments, but his phenomenal skills as a producer and innovator are tantamount. As evidence of the high esteem and affection that Willie held for the trombone, he recruited not one, not two, not three, but FIVE excellent trombonists for this album: Steve Turre, Barry Rogers, Angel Vazquez, Leopoldo Pineda and Lewis Kahn. Also, in addition to producing the album, Willie sings the chorus lines along with some of the most mellifluous voces of the era: Milton Cardona, Tito Allen, Domingo Quinones and Adalberto Santiago. With a cast of seasoned musicians, this album had all the important elements in place for a blockbuster recording.
Celia Cruz y Willie Colon - The Winners (flac 247mb)
01 Un Bembe Pa' Yemaya 5:45
02 Son Matamoros 4:17
03 Vendedores 5:43
04 El Paraiso 5:16
05 Dice Anton 5:17
06 Yo Si Soy Veneno 6:13
07 Se Tambalea 4:28
08 Ache Para Todos 4:22
Celia Cruz y Willie Colon - The Winners (ogg 97mb)
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Master conguero Ray Barretto and salsa queen Celia Cruz had already worked together on the 1983 session Tremendo Trío, which found them teaming up with Puerto Rican sonero Adalberto Santiago. Five years later, towards the end of 1988, la guarachera and Barretto recorded the delightful, no-frills salsa session that you hold in your hands. The quality of the songwriting and the excellent production values of "Ritmo En El Corazon" gained the album a Grammy award in 1990.
Historically speaking, this is a fascinating session. It was recorded during the very last days of the Fania heyday-- it is, in fact, one of the company's last albums to shine with the same kind of majestic feeling that defines the label's classic sessions of the '70s and early '80s. By the late '80s, Cruz was getting ready to embark on the next (and last) phase of her career, favoring a poppier sound and experimenting with new formats such as hip-hop on a string of commercially successful albums recorded for the RMM and Sony labels. Barretto's career was also in something of a transition. The Nuyorican percussionist had abandoned the more progressive side of salsa that characterized seminal sessions such as The Message and Indestructible. He would eventually abandon tropical music altogether and shine with smaller instrumental combos in the Latin jazz arena.
"Ritmo En El Corazon," then, offers a stark contrast to the stylistic directions that both of its protagonists would follow in the future. The album is made up of eight salsa jams, bubbly and concise, devoid of any grand artistic pretensions or excessive soloing. In fact, there is not a single instance in the entire collection where you can hear Barretto's congas stand out from the meticulously orchestrated ensemble-- a testament to the late bandleader's decision never to position himself on the foreground.
Celia Cruz y Ray Barretto - Ritmo En El Corazon (flac 244mb)
01 El Chisme 4:33
02 No Me Cambie Camino 4:28
03 Para Decirte Adios 5:00
04 Mala Suerte 5:05
05 En Que Quedamos 4:50
06 Tu Musica Popular 4:48
07 Bambarakatunga 4:33
08 Ritmo En El Corazon 4:40
Celia Cruz y Ray Barretto - Ritmo En El Corazon (ogg 104mb)
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The question that must be confronted for those familiar with the breadth of her work is, "Is it even possible for Celia Cruz to record a bad album?" With elements such as producer Emilio Estefan, Jr., executive producer Angel Carrasco, and of course, la guarachera del mundo herself converging to create 2000's Siempre Vivire, the answer to that question seems clear. Celia's first album for Sony certainly captured those elements that uniquely belong to Cruz, and discriminatingly avoided any influences of the day that might adulterate those qualities or date the project. In conceiving this record, the creative team walked a very fine line by deciding on a project that could both stand among its contemporary peers and yet sound classic. It is hard in modern salsa to find the tres, a sultry bolero, or to hear plena played well. In a genre that continues to narrow its stylistic scope, it's refreshing to come across a record that can simultaneously be a citizen of the present, and reach to the past. Cruz herself delivers that gutsy, dark molasses tone that is as sweet as the "Azucarrr!" she made famous. Like Celia, Siempre Vivire is of such a high quality that is both a bold challenge for tomorrow and a graceful bow to yesterday.
Celia Cruz - Siempre Vivire (flac 354mb)
01 Cucala 3:48
02 Orizah Eh 4:15
03 Tres Dias De Carnaval 4:58
04 No Me Hables De Amor 3:19
05 Dime Si Llegue A Tiempo 3:49
06 La Sopa En Botella 5:08
07 De La Verdegue 3:00
08 Ni Hablar 3:11
09 Rico Changi 4:22
10 No Aguanto Mas 3:31
Celia Cruz - Siempre Vivire (ogg 133mb)
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Two things, looking at the cover, Celia seems to be all dressed up in her future heavenly attire (as imagined by us mortals), anyway she passed on weeks before her final 'soul gift' got released, not sure why the older i will survive got added, Celia had done more than enough that she wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon, clearly the power of the internet wasn't grasped yet.
The final recording of the mighty Queen of Salsa's career, Regalo del Alma was certainly in keeping with the exuberant, joyful tone that her enormous fan base has come to expect from her. With stylistic influences and production value a bit more modern than one might expect from a legend whose recording career has spanned 45 years, this album will hook yet another generation on Celia Cruz's regal, earthy presence. Cruz is joined by a cast of consummate professionals including producer Sergio George, percussionists Marc Quiñones and Luis Quintero, and many of the usual suspects that one might expect to find on a record of this caliber. These contemporary masters bring a freshness to the project that is invigorating. There are several loop-driven tracks like "Ella Tiene Fuego" and "La Nina de la Trenza Negra" that propel Cruz and her loyal fan base into the 21st century. There are times when this production masks the subtle richness of Celia's vocal performance. For this reason, there could be some Cruz purists who are turned off by the new approach. The final track on the album is a creative rendition of the disco classic "I Will Survive." Like a declaration from beyond, chilling lyrics and a gorgeous arrangement hit their mark with force. "In the soul of my people, in the skin of the drums, in the hands of the conga player, in the feet of the dancer, I will live on."
Celia Cruz - Regalo del Alma (flac 338mb)
01 Ella Tiene Fuego 4:07
02 Jose Caridad 3:59
03 Rie Y Llora 4:10
04 Ay, Pena, Penita 4:58
05 Diagnostico 4:28
06 La Nina De La Trenza Negra 4:10
07 Me Huele A Rumba 4:04
08 No Estes Amargao 4:03
09 Pa' La Cola 4:04
10 Maria La Loca 4:01
Bonus
11 Yo Vivire 4:31
Celia Cruz - Regalo del Alma (ogg 123mb)
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Today's artist was one of Latin music's most respected vocalists. A ten-time Grammy nominee, who sang only in her native Spanish language, received a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement award, a National Medal of the Arts, and honorary doctorates from Yale University and the University of Miami. A street in Miami was even renamed in her honor, and her trademark orange, red, and white polka dot dress and shoes have been placed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute of Technology. The Hollywood Wax Museum includes a statue of the Cuba-born songstress. According to the European Jazz Network, she "commands her realm with a down-to-earth dignity unmistakably vibrant in her wide smile and striking pose.".....N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso was born on October 21, 1925 in the diverse, working-class neighborhood of Santos Suárez in Havana, Cuba, the second of four children. Her father, Simón Cruz, was a railroad stoker and her mother, Catalina Alfonso was a homemaker who took care of an extended family. Celia was one of the eldest among fourteen children- brothers, sisters, and many cousins- she often had to put the younger ones to bed by singing them to sleep. While growing up in Cuba's diverse 1930s musical climate, Cruz listened to many musicians who influenced her adult career, including Fernando Collazo, Abelardo Barroso, Pablo Quevedo and Arsenio Rodríguez. Despite her father's opposition and the fact that she was Catholic, as a child Cruz learned Santería songs from her neighbor who practiced Santería.
As a teenager, her aunt took her and her cousin to cabarets to sing, but her father encouraged her to attend school in the hope she would become a teacher. After high school she attended the Normal School for Teachers in Havana with the intent of becoming a literature teacher. At the time being a singer was not viewed as an entirely respectable career. However, one of her teachers told her that as an entertainer she could earn in one day what most Cuban teachers earned in a month. Cruz's big break came in 1950 when Myrta Silva, the singer with Cuba's Sonora Matancera, returned to her native Puerto Rico. Since they were in need of a new singer, the band decided to give the young Celia Cruz a chance. She auditioned in June, and at the end of July she was asked to join as lead singer.[10] She won the support of Sonora's band leader, Rogelio Martínez, and went on to record hits such as "Yembe Laroco" and "Caramelo". Soon her name was bigger than the band's. During her 15 years with Sonora Matancera, she appeared in cameos in some Mexican films such as Rincón criollo (1950), Una gallega en La Habana (1955) and Amorcito corazón (1961), toured all over Latin America, and became a regular at Havana's famous Tropicana nightspot.
After Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba in 1959, when the Sonora Matancera left Cuba to perform in Mexico in June 1960, they did not return. Cruz and her husband, Pedro Knight, were prohibited from returning to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. In 1965, Cruz left the group and in 1966, Cruz and Tito Puente began an association that would lead to eight albums for Tico Records. The albums were not as successful as expected. However, Puente and Cruz later joined the Vaya Records label. There, she joined accomplished pianist Larry Harlow and was soon headlining a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. Cruz's 1974 album with Johnny Pacheco, Celia y Johnny, was very successful, and Cruz soon found herself in a group named the Fania All-Stars, which was an ensemble of salsa musicians from every orchestra signed by the Fania label (owner of Vaya Records).
In 1976, she participated in a documentary film Salsa about the Latin culture, along with figures like Dolores del Río and Willie Colón. She also made three albums with Willie Colon (1977, 1981, 1987). With a voice described as operatic, Cruz moved through high and low pitches with an ease that belied her age, and her style improvising rhymed lyrics added a distinctive flavor to salsa. Her flamboyant costume, which included various colored wigs, tight sequined dresses, and very high heels, became so famous that one of them was acquired by the Smithsonian institution. During the 1980s, Cruz began to garner the international recognition that was her due, she made many tours in Latin America and Europe, doing multiple concerts and television shows wherever she went, and singing both with younger stars and stars of her own era. She began a crossover of sorts, when she participated in the 1988 feature film Salsa alongside Robby Draco Rosa.
In 1990, Cruz won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance – Ray Barretto & Celia Cruz – Ritmo en el Corazón. She later recorded an anniversary album with Sonora Matancera. In the same year, she was recipient of the Excellence Award at the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards. In 1992, she starred with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas in the film The Mambo Kings. Cruz's popularity reached its highest level after she appeared in the The Mambo Kings. Cruz also appeared in the film The Perez Family. She sang a duet version of "Loco de Amor," with David Byrne, in the Jonathan Demme movie Something Wild.In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Cruz the National Medal of Arts. In the same year, she was inducted into Billboards Latin Music Hall of Fame along with fellow Cuban musician Cachao López. In 1999, Cruz was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.Cruz continued to record and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from surgery to remove the tumor, she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record Regalo de Alma. Her surgery was only partially successful and she died July 16, 2003. The passing of the "Queen of Salsa" left a huge gap in Latin music, but also a remarkable catalog to document her reign.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
This album, The Winners, originally released in 1987 on Vaya Records, was the last of three collaborations between the late, great sonera, Celia Cruz and world renown trombonist, producer and singer, Willie Colon. Celia's readily apparent improvisational vocal prowess leaves no doubt as to why she was the most sought after female sonera of the era. Por algo le decian "La Reina"! Willie does not play any musical instruments, but his phenomenal skills as a producer and innovator are tantamount. As evidence of the high esteem and affection that Willie held for the trombone, he recruited not one, not two, not three, but FIVE excellent trombonists for this album: Steve Turre, Barry Rogers, Angel Vazquez, Leopoldo Pineda and Lewis Kahn. Also, in addition to producing the album, Willie sings the chorus lines along with some of the most mellifluous voces of the era: Milton Cardona, Tito Allen, Domingo Quinones and Adalberto Santiago. With a cast of seasoned musicians, this album had all the important elements in place for a blockbuster recording.
Celia Cruz y Willie Colon - The Winners (flac 247mb)
01 Un Bembe Pa' Yemaya 5:45
02 Son Matamoros 4:17
03 Vendedores 5:43
04 El Paraiso 5:16
05 Dice Anton 5:17
06 Yo Si Soy Veneno 6:13
07 Se Tambalea 4:28
08 Ache Para Todos 4:22
Celia Cruz y Willie Colon - The Winners (ogg 97mb)
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Master conguero Ray Barretto and salsa queen Celia Cruz had already worked together on the 1983 session Tremendo Trío, which found them teaming up with Puerto Rican sonero Adalberto Santiago. Five years later, towards the end of 1988, la guarachera and Barretto recorded the delightful, no-frills salsa session that you hold in your hands. The quality of the songwriting and the excellent production values of "Ritmo En El Corazon" gained the album a Grammy award in 1990.
Historically speaking, this is a fascinating session. It was recorded during the very last days of the Fania heyday-- it is, in fact, one of the company's last albums to shine with the same kind of majestic feeling that defines the label's classic sessions of the '70s and early '80s. By the late '80s, Cruz was getting ready to embark on the next (and last) phase of her career, favoring a poppier sound and experimenting with new formats such as hip-hop on a string of commercially successful albums recorded for the RMM and Sony labels. Barretto's career was also in something of a transition. The Nuyorican percussionist had abandoned the more progressive side of salsa that characterized seminal sessions such as The Message and Indestructible. He would eventually abandon tropical music altogether and shine with smaller instrumental combos in the Latin jazz arena.
"Ritmo En El Corazon," then, offers a stark contrast to the stylistic directions that both of its protagonists would follow in the future. The album is made up of eight salsa jams, bubbly and concise, devoid of any grand artistic pretensions or excessive soloing. In fact, there is not a single instance in the entire collection where you can hear Barretto's congas stand out from the meticulously orchestrated ensemble-- a testament to the late bandleader's decision never to position himself on the foreground.
Celia Cruz y Ray Barretto - Ritmo En El Corazon (flac 244mb)
01 El Chisme 4:33
02 No Me Cambie Camino 4:28
03 Para Decirte Adios 5:00
04 Mala Suerte 5:05
05 En Que Quedamos 4:50
06 Tu Musica Popular 4:48
07 Bambarakatunga 4:33
08 Ritmo En El Corazon 4:40
Celia Cruz y Ray Barretto - Ritmo En El Corazon (ogg 104mb)
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The question that must be confronted for those familiar with the breadth of her work is, "Is it even possible for Celia Cruz to record a bad album?" With elements such as producer Emilio Estefan, Jr., executive producer Angel Carrasco, and of course, la guarachera del mundo herself converging to create 2000's Siempre Vivire, the answer to that question seems clear. Celia's first album for Sony certainly captured those elements that uniquely belong to Cruz, and discriminatingly avoided any influences of the day that might adulterate those qualities or date the project. In conceiving this record, the creative team walked a very fine line by deciding on a project that could both stand among its contemporary peers and yet sound classic. It is hard in modern salsa to find the tres, a sultry bolero, or to hear plena played well. In a genre that continues to narrow its stylistic scope, it's refreshing to come across a record that can simultaneously be a citizen of the present, and reach to the past. Cruz herself delivers that gutsy, dark molasses tone that is as sweet as the "Azucarrr!" she made famous. Like Celia, Siempre Vivire is of such a high quality that is both a bold challenge for tomorrow and a graceful bow to yesterday.
Celia Cruz - Siempre Vivire (flac 354mb)
01 Cucala 3:48
02 Orizah Eh 4:15
03 Tres Dias De Carnaval 4:58
04 No Me Hables De Amor 3:19
05 Dime Si Llegue A Tiempo 3:49
06 La Sopa En Botella 5:08
07 De La Verdegue 3:00
08 Ni Hablar 3:11
09 Rico Changi 4:22
10 No Aguanto Mas 3:31
Celia Cruz - Siempre Vivire (ogg 133mb)
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Two things, looking at the cover, Celia seems to be all dressed up in her future heavenly attire (as imagined by us mortals), anyway she passed on weeks before her final 'soul gift' got released, not sure why the older i will survive got added, Celia had done more than enough that she wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon, clearly the power of the internet wasn't grasped yet.
The final recording of the mighty Queen of Salsa's career, Regalo del Alma was certainly in keeping with the exuberant, joyful tone that her enormous fan base has come to expect from her. With stylistic influences and production value a bit more modern than one might expect from a legend whose recording career has spanned 45 years, this album will hook yet another generation on Celia Cruz's regal, earthy presence. Cruz is joined by a cast of consummate professionals including producer Sergio George, percussionists Marc Quiñones and Luis Quintero, and many of the usual suspects that one might expect to find on a record of this caliber. These contemporary masters bring a freshness to the project that is invigorating. There are several loop-driven tracks like "Ella Tiene Fuego" and "La Nina de la Trenza Negra" that propel Cruz and her loyal fan base into the 21st century. There are times when this production masks the subtle richness of Celia's vocal performance. For this reason, there could be some Cruz purists who are turned off by the new approach. The final track on the album is a creative rendition of the disco classic "I Will Survive." Like a declaration from beyond, chilling lyrics and a gorgeous arrangement hit their mark with force. "In the soul of my people, in the skin of the drums, in the hands of the conga player, in the feet of the dancer, I will live on."
Celia Cruz - Regalo del Alma (flac 338mb)
01 Ella Tiene Fuego 4:07
02 Jose Caridad 3:59
03 Rie Y Llora 4:10
04 Ay, Pena, Penita 4:58
05 Diagnostico 4:28
06 La Nina De La Trenza Negra 4:10
07 Me Huele A Rumba 4:04
08 No Estes Amargao 4:03
09 Pa' La Cola 4:04
10 Maria La Loca 4:01
Bonus
11 Yo Vivire 4:31
Celia Cruz - Regalo del Alma (ogg 123mb)
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