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LP
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VAMPI 287LP
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The 1973 album El Violento was the fifth full-length salsa LP led by Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincón, aka Fruko, and the second credited to Fruko Y Sus Tesos. It features Fruko's two main vocalists that took over from the first pair of Humberto "Huango" Muriel and "Píper Pimienta" Díaz, namely the beloved duo of Álvaro "Joe" Arroyo and Wilson "Saoko" Manyoma. Los Tesos were a talented "wild bunch," with Fruko holding down the bottom end on electric bass, Hernán Gutiérrez in the piano chair, the Villegas brothers on hand percussion (Jesús tickling the bongos and Fernando slapping the congas), augmented by Rafael Benítez on timbales and an ace horn section of Freddy Ferrer and Gonzálo Gómez (trombones) and Jorge Gaviria and Salvador Pasos (trumpets). The super aggressive sound comes directly from the South Bronx playbook of Willie Colón. Sonically lightening the mood somewhat, "Nadando" ("Swimming") is a bouncy tune in the "Mercy" genre (basically a hybrid of pop, funky soul, cumbia and salsa, in the style of Nelson y Sus Estrellas), gleefully sung by Joe Arroyo. The beats are complex and ever changing, with a little bit of mozambique, conga, bomba, jala jala and of course salsa thrown in for good measure. The side closes out with a brilliant, up-tempo salsa reworking of the venerable ranchera chestnut, "Tú, sólo tú." Side two explodes with the frenetic descarga jam session "Salsa na' ma," which is exactly that: nothing more than the hottest "sauce" to make the dancers go crazy. Fruko's tune is dedicated to the Latin community in New York that listens to salsa from everywhere and dances to it so fervently on the weekend. The relentless percussion propels the listener along at breakneck speed as if hurtling down the Bronx Expressway, demonstrating that Fruko y Sus Tesos have mastered the "violent" form of urban salsa that was having its transnational moment in the early 1970s. While El Violento may not be as well-known as some Fruko records, it certainly deserves a new look and should be assessed on its own merits as a very powerful, confident entry in the historical evolution of Colombian salsa dura.
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2LP
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VAMPI 281LP
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The two-volume collection Fruko Power is not an homage, career overview, greatest hits or "best of" collection showcasing the evolution of Fruko (Julio Ernesto Estrada Rincón), the Renaissance man of Colombian tropical music. Instead, this compilation series shines a light on a lesser-known side of the bassist and band leader's work during the early 1970s with Fruko y Sus Tesos, reissuing in physical form many of his rare or hard to find salsa 45s as well as a few deep album cuts from the first half decade of his career, assembled in chronological order. There are interesting cover versions as well as originals, some of which never appeared on an LP. All of Fruko's classic vocalists are represented, from early collaborators Humberto "Huango" Muriel and Edulfamid "Píper Pimienta" Díaz to golden-era stars Joe Arroyo and Wilson "Saoko" Manyoma. Fruko Power is less for the newcomer and more for the serious salsa collector, DJ, and dancer who may have a few of the maestro's albums or hits but wants to dig deeper and have all these obscure rarities in one place. However, it also serves as an excellent compendium of powerful Latin dance tracks by Fruko y Sus Tesos that have stood the test of time, so even those who do not know much of his work will be sure to feel the power of Fruko. Includes insert with photos and liner notes by DJ Bongohead (of Peace & Rhythm).
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LP
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VAMPI 173LP
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"Though the modern style of New York Latin music known as salsa penetrated South America during the mid to late 1960s, and Colombia had its share of bands and recordings influenced by this new strain of Cuban-influenced urban Latin dance music, it wasn't until Medellín's Fruko Y Sus Tesos first hit the scene in the early 1970s that the genre began to really take off in a home-grown, domestic form. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, band-leader/bassist/producer Julio Ernesto Estrada (aka Fruko) would develop and tweak his own take on this sound, the arrangements becoming more complex and original over time. In 1968, Fruko personally experienced the burgeoning salsa scene on a tour with Los Corraleros de Majagual when they went to Caracas and New York, inspiring him to form the Tesos (local slang for tough guys who know it all and are on top of their game, bestowed upon the band by Fruko's lead trumpeter, Jorge Gaviria) in 1969. Tesura (from 1970) is Fruko Y Sus Tesos' debut record. It displays a diamond-in-the-rough simplicity born of the street, flaunting an uncompromising macho menace that is compelling in its focus and elemental integrity, heavily influenced by Willie Colón's gangster posturing in New York. As Fruko has said, when Tesura was first released Colombians were convinced it was in fact recorded by a Nuyorican group, so thoroughly did it break with previous Colombian tastes, which until then had been mostly for bambuco, tango, ranchera or cumbia. . . . From the severely separated audio channeling to the uncompromising rhythmic approach and ubiquitous sharp trumpet stabs in the style of Ricardo Ray and Ray Barretto, Tesura more than lives up to its title (slang for 'toughness'). Fruko is right out front, his giant electric bass positioned in the center. The emphasis is on allowing the musicians to flex their muscles and strut their stuff, with many purely instrumental sections in a descarga (jam session) style echoing the freedoms being explored by the previously mentioned New York heavyweights Ray, Colón and Barretto, as well as Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Louie Ramírez and Johnny Pacheco. . . . The vocalist for this record is Humberto 'Huango' Muriel (shown on the cover with the cigar and attack dog), who had been in Sexteto Miramar." --Pablo Yglesias, aka DJ Bongohead This first ever reissue is presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
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