CHINO Y SU CONJUNTO MELAO: TR#122(1976 )Rare,Great HEAR

$

31

REMARKS: Great Finding on the late Tito Rodriguez label...He did not live enough (died of Leukemia in 1973)  to see some great recordings made under the label he created.

WEB REVIEW: "HOW DANCEABLE THIS ALBUM COULD BE ? FROM THE OPENING TRACK "EL BODEGUERO AND UPTO "EL BUEN BORINCANO" THIS ALBUM WOULD NOT LET YOU STOP DANCING.

"TOO BAD THAT ITS NOT RELEASED YET AND WE HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR TO HAVE IT IN OUR HANDS ."

CRUZ "CHINO" DE JESUS: On December 1, 1998, The Salsa Museum, located at 2127 3rd Avenue, off the corner of 116th Street, New York, opened at 1 p.m. Greeting the people was Cruz "Chino Melao" DeJesus, a popular percussionist-bandleader during the late '70s in New York City.

The idea for the museum was born in March, 1998, while Chino Melao, Joe Hernández and Efrain Suarez were eating dinner at La Casita Restaurant at 106th Street on Broadway. Mr. Hernández suggested the museum be situated in the heart of Spanish Harlem (116th Street & 3rd Avenue), where Salsa and Latin jazz was created by musicians born in Spanish Harlem like Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, Hector Rivera, Willie Bobo, Eddie Palmieri and Charlie Palmieri. Chino, who directed El Conjunto Melao, contacted his musician friends and they all came through with their rare and priceless memorabilia which is on display. Chino, whose TV show SALSA NA MA, seen on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. on cable TV's Channel 57, will videotape all of the museum's memorabilia for posterity.

01.- Buen Borincano
02.- Jazmín
03.- El Chino, El gallo y El Melao
04.- A La Buena De Dios

PERSONNEL:
TRUMPETS: Hector Zarzuela & Larry Spencer
TROMBONE: Alex Cruz
BASS: Willie Cintron
PIANO: Sergio "Poppy" Rivera
CONGAS: Orlando Osorio, Papo "Conga" Rivera, Chino Cruz De Jesus
BONGO: Ruben "Bongo" Figueroa
TIMBALES: Johnny Almendras
VOCALS: Pablo Canti, Roy Amante & Jose Febles
CHORUS: Of course! Yayo El Indio & Adalberto Santiago
TAMBORA & GUIRO: Ramon Emilio Filion
MARACAS & GUIRO: Ray Hernandez
GUITAR & TRES: Harry Viggiano

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE GREAT RALPH LEW!

WEB REMARKS: AN INTERVIEW WITH SERGIO (POPPY) RIVERA (GREAT PIANIST:

JIC: Was the eponymous album, Conjunto Melao (1975 on TR), your recording debut?

SR: I did a couple of recordings before Conjunto Melao, one on Fonseca Records.

JIC: You went on to make a further couple of albums with Chino y su Conjunto Melao, 100% Bailable (1976 on TR) and En Mi Casa Latina (late '70s on Latina Records), on which you arranged the 1950s tribute "La Bamba." En Mi Casa Latina featured Libre alumnus Tony "Pupy Cantor" Torres on lead vocals, Ray Cruz on timbales and David Chamberlain on trombone and flute. Please could you share your reminiscences about your period with "Chino" Cruz De Jesús and Melao?

SR: Let's not forget Victor Venegas on bass! Conjunto Melao was a swinging dance band. Many people described our sound as a "Puerto Rico sound." I think that had a lot to do with Febles' arrangements. However, we also had other great arrangers such as Gil López, Oscar Hernández and Willie Mullings, who performed with Conjunto Libre before expanding his career as an arranger and pianist in Los Angeles, California. In addition to José Febles, who would perform with us at times, we had excellent musicians, including Larry Spencer, Bomberito Zarzuela. Ralph Irrizary, Jimmy Delgado and Ray Anderson, who has gone on to be a notable trombonist and bandleader in the jazz field. The vocal responsibilities were left to two wonderful singers Ray de la Paz and Eddie Temporal. At one point we had three singers, including Pablo Canti, who also composed quite a few of the songs we performed and recorded. We had a no. 1 record on commercial radio in 1975 with "Que Bien Te Vez" (from Conjunto Melao); and in 1976 "El Bodeguero" (from 100% Bailable) also made the top 10 on commercial radio stations. Conjunto Melao was a great experience for me. I am very proud of the work that I did with Chino and the band.

JIC: That question again: can you remember which songs from the trio of Melao albums were mainly featured at the gigs?

SR: We always played "El Bodeguero" and "Que Bien Te Vez." Chino would either open or close on most nights with "Bongo." "Cositas Como Tu," arranged by Louie Ramírez on the first album, was also featured as well as José Madera's arrangement "Fijate Que Natural" and Gil López's arrangements, "Buen Borincano" and "A La Buena De Dios." My favorites also included "Jazmin" and "Varón," both arranged by Willie Mullings.

JIC: What became of Chino?

SR: I last saw Chino at the Boys Harbor School. He was looking for a singer to record some new ideas that he was putting together. I am appreciating his genius again, after listening to Chino's three albums during the last two days. All three of the albums had great dance music and a unique sound that stills sounds fresh today. This is due to the arrangers he contracted and also the fact that all the compositions, except for "Tu Me Acostumbrastes," were written by Chino and Pablo Canti Gautreau.

( NOTE: "Cositas Como Tu" and " Varón" are from Conjunto Melao ; "Bongo", "Buen Borincano", "Jazmin" and "A La Buena De Dios" are all from 100% Bailable ; and "Fijate Que Natural" comes from En Mi Casa Latina.)

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Carlos A. Flores 25830 Crippen Dr. Land O' Lakes, FL  34639