Various – ¡Saoco! Vol 1 - The Bomba And Plena Explosion In Puerto Rico 1954-1966 2xlp

Various – ¡Saoco! Vol 1 - The Bomba And Plena Explosion In Puerto Rico 1954-1966 2xlp

Cortijo y su Combo with Ismael Rivera, and Mon Rivera with his tongue twisters and trombones, are pioneers of a story that opened up the way to the salsa movement. With an unprecedented mix of flavors and Afro-West Indian rhythms, their dance proposals competed with the best tropical orchestras of the '50s and '60s. The legendary legacy of these Puerto Rican orchestras, however, hadn't been the subject of a proper retrospective until now. In the case of Cortijo and Ismael, it's a cultural legacy related to the "third root", or African contribution, in Puerto Rico's Caribbean culture. Since its birth in the year 1954 until today (half a century after its break up in 1962), Cortijo's combo and its stellar singer, Ismael Rivera, have been the best exponents of a modern, orchestrated and commercial way of performing bomba and plena, Afro-Puerto Rican genres in whose tradition they had been raised in the capital's neighborhood of Santurce. To these native rhythms they added other Caribbean ingredients which were popular at the time, creating an integrating and innovative proposal that many consider the greatest precedent of the salsa movement that would emerge years later in New York. In only eight years of existence, the group became hugely successful in Puerto Rico and New York, the West Indies and part of Latin America, and even Europe. With percussions upfront, Cortijo y su Combo were a tight mess of rhythms, expressive even in the shaking and dancing of the band members while they performed their choreography on stage. This compilation looks at the importance of Cortijo and Ismael in the context of the time, contrasting their recordings with those by other contemporary artists with more or less similar styles. Among them is the essential figure of another great "plenero" and salsa pioneer such as Mon Rivera, known as "El Rey del Trabalengua" (The Tongue Twister King) and for having started the "trombanga" kind of sound, which replaces trumpets and saxophones with trombones. It was a key innovation in the birth of boogaloo and salsa, which particularly inspired Eddie Palmieri and Willie Colón. 

Tracklist:

A1 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – El Bombón De Elena
A2 Cortijo, Raful – Cortaron A Elena
A3 Mon Rivera Y Su Orquesta – Karakatis Ki
A4 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Caballero Qué Bomba
A5 Baltazar Carrero – En Órbita
A6 Moncho Leña Y Los Ases Del Ritmo, Mon Rivera – Bailando Plena
A7 Orquesta Panamericana, Ismael Rivera – El Charlatán
B1 Los Caballeros Del Ritmo – Habla Cuembé
B2 Ángel Luis Torruellas Y Su Conjunto Pleneros De Borinquen – Olvídalo
B3 Mon Rivera Y Su Orquesta – El Plenero
B4 Moncho Leña Y Los Ases Del Ritmo, Mon Rivera – ¡Alo! ¿Quien Ñama?
B5 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Déjalo Que Suba
B6 Cortijo, Raful – Santa María
B7 Mon Rivera Y Su Orquesta – Ola De Agua
B8 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Calypso, Bomba Y Plena
C1 Odilio González – Sacude Zapato Viejo
C2 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Maquinolandera
C3 Ángel Luis Torruellas Y Su Conjunto Pleneros De Borinquen – Camelia
C4 Monse García Y Su Conjunto – El Gallo Espuelérico
C5 La Sonora Ponceña, Charlie Martínez – Tan Linda Que Era
C6 Moncho Leña Y Los Ases Del Ritmo, Mon Rivera – Carbón De Palito
C7 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Y Pedro Flores (Jugando Gallo)
C8 Chivirico Davila – Belinda
D1 Juanchín Y Sus Pleneros Del Palmar, Tasso Peña – Maldito Vicio
D2 Ramito – Te Están Vacilando
D3 Odilio González – Ni De Madera Son Buenas
D4 Orquesta Panamericana, Ruth Fernandez – Bembeteando
D5 Mario Ortiz All Star Band, Paquito Alvarez – Güiro Y Pandereta
D6 Cortijo Y Su Combo, Ismael Rivera – Cúcala
D7 Mon Rivera Y Su Orquesta - Ron Con Coco