Tito Puente and the Mambo: Sound of the Divine

We've all faced challenges lately, which makes me all the more grateful for this year's  blessings. After exactly two decades, I had the opportunity to reconnect with and present the awe-inspiring 20-member Mambo Legends Orchestra (essentially, the former Tito Puente Orchestra) in a concert glowingly-reviewed by The Huffington Post. That same day, I welcomed the amazing Joe Conzo - Tito Puente's biographer, archivist and best-friend of over 40 years - as my guest panelist for the season three-finale of 'Metro Mambo' - my Latin-jazz lecture series for the Smithsonian Institution.

As a result of that collaboration, Joe agreed to become a regular guest on my radio show for a segment called the 'Metro Mambo Time Machine'. To my delight and astonishment, Joe has generously agreed to share gems from his renowned private collection of ultra-rare vintage recordings by everyone from Tito Puente and Machito, to Orquesta Broadway and Arsenio Rodriguez. Rarest of all are reel-to-reel recordings made live in the 1950's, 60's and 70's at venues such as the Apollo, the Band Box, The Beacon Theatre, Birdland, and the Palladium Ballroom - New York's fabled 'Home of the Mambo'.

The segment debut was on October 28, in tandem with the release of his latest endeavor, as executive producer for Sony Music Latin's boxed-set "Quatro: The Definitive Collection" - a beautifully presented re-mastering of four classic Tito Puente albums of the mid-1950's through early 1960's - appropriately displayed above on the 1961 Webcor Overture Silhouette Stereo console (...and the word 'albums' is correct, as it has been released both on CD and in real, high-quality vinyl). In addition to writing the liner notes, Joe provided the content for a fifth 'bonus album' featuring multiple out-takes from the recording session for Pa' Los Rumberos from Puente's classic 1956 album "Cuban Carnival."

These out-takes and live recordings are a critical reminder of the virtually lost craft of 'live' recording. Today, musicians often record their respective segments individually, only committing the perfect track to the completed whole. Sometimes, the musicians can be hundreds, if not thousands of miles apart from one another. How refreshing to hear the misfires, flubs, and even Puente's exasperation - reminding us not only of the hard work involved, but also of the bonding between 15, 18 or 20 individual artists as they struggle collectively to create the gift of something truly fine.

That level of quality contains another rare ingredient: time. Before hearing the familiar studio recording of Mambo Gozon from Puente's landmark 1958 album "Dance Mania,"we played Joe's un-released live recording of the tune - from two years earlier(!)  It's a little slower, sans vocals - but with the addition of instrumental jazz solos(!).  All of our favorite vamps and breaks are in evidence, but differently ordered or inverted.  Recorded at El Patio Club on Atlantic Beach on Long Island, New York, Joe confirms it as the club at which, Joe confirms, Puente first performed with his own band in 1949 (sharing the bill with a young Tony Bennett). But it confirms that Puente didn't just write a tune and run into he studio.  Actually, he'd been work shopping Mambo Gozon for two years - polishing it to a deep, rich lustre -  before taking it into the RCA-Victor studio's for the then highly-expensive recording process.

At times, hundreds of dancers would just stand in awe, transfixed as the Mambo Legends Orchestra performed a range of new works and Palladium-era classics at Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia back in September. These vintage recordings underscore why. The Band is a direct link to a bygone era of artisanal music, crafted live by musicians committing actual skin, breath, blood and bone to its creation. Without any computerized tricks, the presentation is so perfect as to be almost otherworldly. Just as on Puente's classic albums like "Dance Mania" and "Night Beat," the MLO sounds almost like an Organ - as if the musicians were being manipulated in-unison by one instrumentalist 'playing them' via a keyboard.  Watch and listen....

Hearing the Puente out-takes from "Quatro" - and Joe Conzo's early live recordings allowing us to hear the classics of Latin-jazz literally being born - reminds us not only of the majesty of 'El Rey', but also of the meaning of true artistry.  The synthesised 'perfection' achieved today through computer chips will always sound hollow. Disconnected.  Nothing can compare the sound of artists who take you with them in their passionate pursuit of that perfection - and getting close enough to connect us to the Divine.

P.S.: So where in the heck has Mambo-phoniC been? Ahhhh..., the best laid plans of mice and men - and mambo. How diligent I was going to be, I said back in the Spring, about keeping up with Mambo-phoniC! Well.., one job restructuring, a major car accident, three consecutive surprise interim assignments, a derecho storm, and two home mortgage refinancing's later, and well... I'm still here, and so are you. And we're blessed to be here.  So..., here is the next monthly installment of Mambo-phoniC!

The Oscars and the Mambo - Rock Around The Clock Goes Latin (Scene 3)

As we approach Academy Awards weekend, I turn my 'mid-century modern mambo spotlight' on two of my favorite examples of the use of mambo in Hollywood films:  the rock & roll cult-classic 'Rock Around the Clock' (Columbia, 1956), and it's mostly forgotten (and until recently, unavailable) companion film, the Mambo-centric "Cha Cha Cha BOOM!".

Most people forget that Mambo played a critical role in "Rock Around the Clock," as did pioneering actor and west coast bandleader Tony Martinez. Far from being derided, Mambo is presented by the talent scouts in the film as a popular genre enjoyed by young folks that is already 'established'.  Mambo isn't dismissed as 'old folks music' in Tony Martinez' scenes.  Conversely, the 'kids' on the dance floor all know and love the mambo.  During one critical scene, Martinez is paid by the promoter to have his band play all boleros and ballads, so that the rock and roll band sounds 'hotter'.  Then, after Bill Haley and his Comets play their number, Martinez tells his band to turn on the heat, and the kids jump right up and mambo like mad. 

What's even more telling is that Columbia made a companion musical film called "Cha Cha Cha BOOM!".  Using the same leading lady (Alix Talton), and even the plot of a talent scout seeking to find the next big craze, "...BOOM!" featured Mexican bandleader Luis Arcaraz, West coast charanga pioneer Manny Lopez, and Latin music superstar Perez Prado!  Watching the clip below, you'll even see some of the same sets!  The very fact that the film was even made is a testament to the impact of the Mambo craze in the early 1950's.  The film was produced shortly after Prado had scored one of the biggest hits of the first half of the 1950's with 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" (which held the #1 spot on the pop charts for 10 straight weeks).   "Cha Cha Cha BOOM!" is a great demonstration of the fact that - in mid-1955 - for a film studio to ignore Mambo was leaving potential money on the table.  The original posters proudly proclaim "Made by the producers of 'Rock Around the Clock'!"

However, it soon became clear that the 'easy-money' was following the rock & roll trend.  "Rock Around the Clock" was a huge hit, and soon inspired innumerable knock-offs by producer Fred F. Sears and others.  Meanwhile, despite decent reviews (especially for dancers Dante De Paulo and Sylvia Lewis), "Cha Cha Cha BOOM!" was all but dumped onto the market and soon forgotten.  In fact, it was mysteriously unavailable for years after a brief clip turned up in the PBS documentary "Routes of Rhythm." in the early 1990's, only to suddenly reappear a couple of years ago, much to the delight of fans of Latin music.

Neither of these movies could possibly be considered examples of great film making.  But as historical documents, both contain other layers of information much deeper than one would expect.  Tony Martinez' band in Rock Around the Clock features rare footage of some of the pillars of the west coast Latin-jazz scene: Freddie Aguirre on timbales; Carlos Mejia on bongo; Rafael Vazquez on bass; and the legendary pianist Eddie Cano!  One of the first Latinos with a regular role on a prime time series (the popular 'The Real McCoys'), Tony Martinez originated the role of 'Sancho Panza' in the Broadway hit Man of La Mancha, and appeared in touring productions into the 1980's).  In addition to a rare Hollywood film appearance by Perez Prado, "Cha Cha Cha BOOM!" also features Mexican bandleader Luis Arcaraz, and a rare film appearance by west coast charanga pioneer Manny Lopez, to whom your blogger had the great pleasure of giving a copy of the film to watch for the first time in 52 years. 

Because of the way art and culture are packaged and sold in the U.S., Latin music fans often miss out on some great screen moments of authentic mambo music.  Often, great examples are hidden in plain sight.

The Oscars and the Mambo: Cross Body Leads (Scene 2)

Not unlike a trompe l'oeil painting, many vintage Hollywood films posses their own brand of perspectival illusionism.  At first glance, the film may seem 'one-dimensional' as they deal with Latin music and/or characters.  Sometimes, however, the more you look, the more information can emerge from the confines of the screen.

One good example is "Criss Cross" (Universal, 1949), a rather well-known film noir crime drama by director Robert Siodmak.  The film stars brooding Burt Lancaster and stunning Yvonne DeCarlo, long before her days as ghoulish 'Lilly Munster' of mid-1960's television fame.  The viewer is first introduced to DeCarlo's character, 'Anna', when recent parolee Lancaster spots his old flame doing the rumba in a crowded, smoky little Los Angeles dance hall.  The band, which thankfully received billing in the credits, is led by virtuoso flautist Esy Morales, brother of legendary bandleader Noro Morales. 

Esy was considered among the most gifted flautists of the 1940's.  Adept in classical, jazz and Latin genres, he performed to acclaim at Carnegie Hall (his version of 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' was legendary), and recorded widely on labels such as Decca and RCA-Victor.  The legendary Tito Puente named one of his more memorable early Latin-jazz numbers 'Esy,' upon the 43 year old flautist's premature death of a heart attack in 1950.  For this reason alone, this clip is a treat.

But a dramatic close-up during a relatively lengthy piano solo reveals even more to the astute viewer.  The pianist driving delectable DeCarlo into a dance floor frenzy is none other than the legendary Rene Touzet, one of the greatest Cuban composers of his generation.  Touzet's many hit compositions include "Mi Musica Es Para Ti," "Tu Felicidad (Made For Each Other)", and "No Te Importe Saber" (recorded as "Let Me Love You Tonight" by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and other top pop vocalists of the era).  Touzet relocated to the U.S. in the early 1940's, and by the mid 1950's was among the top Latin bandleaders on the West Coast scene (a staple at promoter/dj Chico Sesma's legendary 'Latin Holiday' dances at the Hollywood Palladium).  As an added bonus in this film, Yvonne DeCarlo's dance partner in this scene is none other than future top 1950's heartthrob Tony Curtis, in one of his first screen appearances.  A decade later, Curtis would be at his peak, co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in the classic "Some Like it Hot."

All too often early Hollywood films are 'written off' by Latin music scholars because they usually didn't contain 'big name' bands (a la Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez...).  However, even the most unlikely films often contain a bounty of information and insight when you look deeper.

The Oscars and the Mambo - scene 1

While Latin-jazz and mambo have played a powerful role in Hollywood films through the years, some of the genre’s most powerful moments have not been in movie musicals.  Entertaining as they were, the commercial imperatives of big budget Hollywood musicals of the 1940's usually caused any semblance of authenticity to fall by the wayside.  But in dramas and mystery films, some pretty solid mambo groves have often been used to highly dramatic effect.  The fact that the films themselves were not necessarily "Latin" in theme or focus speaks to how deeply embeded Latin-jazz and mambo had become in popular culture from the mid-1950's onward.  As part of our own Academy Awards Countdown, Mamb-O-phoniC will showcase some mambo and Latin-jazz high-points in film history.

Take for example actress Dorothy Malone’s Oscar-winning portrayal of spoiled rich nymphomaniac 'Marylee' in the 1956 Douglas Sirk melodrama Written on the Wind.  A huge hit in the '50's, it is today acknowleged as the prototype for 1980's prime- time TV soapers like Dallas, Dynasty, and Falcon Crest. (example: accused by brother Robert Stack of being "a filthy liar!", 'Marylee' responds emphatically, "I'm filthy. Period! ").  Mambo becomes a powerful musical analogy for Malone’s “party girl-gone-wild” persona in two key episodes.  The first is a party scene where she laughingly leaves a staid Rock Hudson on the dance floor in favor or a more ‘spirited’ mambo partner (underscoring 'Marylee's' propensity to frequently 'change partners' in every way possible...). 

In one of the highlights of the film, Malone's 'Marylee' is picked-up by the local cops during a tryst at a seedy motel, and returned to the family mansion.  Drunk and unrepentant Dorothy sashays up to her room and clicks on her RCA-Victor hi-fi.  As she engages in a torrid 'mambo-striptease’ to the tune "Temptation," the camera shifts back and forth to her oil-baron father who - shamed by his daughter's wanton behavior - collapses and careens down the curved staircase to a bongo beat (click here to view both scenes)!

Solid, tipico music and expert dancing?  Hardly.  Authentic?  Yes, in demonstrating the immersion of Mambo in '50's popular culture.  Delicious and cinematically effective?  You bet your boxers!  Dorothy Malone had been languishing around Hollywood in second-leads and 'B-pictures' for more than a decade.  But these memorable mambo scenes helped her win that year's Oscar for "Best Supporting Actress," and to become - albiet briefly - a very big star in late-1950's Hollywood.

In the days leading up to the Academy Awards, tune-in to Mamb-O-phoniC for more installments highlighting the role of films in the immersion of mambo and Latin-jazz into popular culture (...and please, bookmark us and share "Mamb-O-phoniC" with your friends)!