 "One of the greatest singers in the world regardless of genre." - The New York Times
Take a trip down memory lane with L-O-V-E, by Issac Delgado. An album that recreates Nat King Cole's repertoire and is poised to become a true lasting musical gem
Hailed as the Latin answer to Frank Sinatra, Issac Delgado is the most renowned Cuban singer of his generation
Album producer and Latin Jazz expert Nat Chediak describes Delgado as "the most relevant male voice Cuba has given us since the beginning of the Cuban revolution", as defines this artist
http://www.myspace.com/issacdelgado
Nothing could be better than taking a trip down memory lane to present an album poised to become a true lasting musical gem. We're talking about L-O-V-E, by Issac Delgado, a key artist in the current Latin music scene and "the most relevant male voice Cuba has given us since the beginning of the Cuban revolution", as album producer and Latin Jazz expert Nat Chediak defines this artist. Now, Issac Delgado delights us as he recreates Nat King Cole's repertoire.
Let's go back to this interesting story. Between 1958 and 1962, Nat King Cole released his three Latin albums. Performed in Spanish, a language he learned phonetically, and recorded in Cuba, Brazil and Mexico, they included such hit songs as Perfidia, Quizás, quizás, quizás, Ay cosita Linda, Piel canela, Aquellos ojos verdes and Yo vendo unos ojos negros. From Latin America, those songs reached Spain, Japan, the United States and many other countries, reaching the sweetest memory of several million people through Cole's addictive and smooth voice, his unique, personal versions of classic bolero hits (also some cha-cha-cha songs and Brazilian and ranchera hits). He was musically supported by several great musicians, such as pianist Bebo Valdés, and soft, romantic orchestra sounds, Latin percussions and sometimes even mandolin-driven songs such as his unique version of Yo vendo unos ojos negros.
In the sensual voice by Nat King Cole, these songs added a very special and festive atmosphere to dance halls, they became the perfect vehicle in melancholic times and spread throughout the world an unsurpassed repertoire that was offered by one of the greatest stars of all times. According to Fernando Trueba, "Nat King Cole's Latin albums promoted popular Latin American music at a global level. Issac Delgado, one of the most important voices that Cuban music has brought us recently, grew up while listening to these recordings, and he fully enjoyed Cole's repertoire, a selection of songs that brought Cuban bolero music closer to American romantic ballads".
With this story behind him as his source of inspiration, Issac Delgado's L-O-V-E, includes 12 songs, most of which are part of the traditional Latin repertoire that once recorded Nat King Cole. Now, these songs have been newly recorded by the great Cuban singer, supported by a selection of outstanding musicians and by a special contribution by Freddy Cole, Nat's brother.
The verb "recreate" means "newly create", but also implies fun, joy and pure delight. All these values totally fit with what Issac Delgado did in this album produced by Nat Chediak and Delgado himself, with Todd Barkan as associate producer and Fernando Trueba & Chediak working as executive producers. Recorded in New York in fall 2009 by Katherine Miller, this new album transform the songs Nat King Cole originally released for international audiences in a selection of essentially Latin hits that include a touch of Jazz. If that were not enough, in the case of the musicians who contributed to this recording, all of which are experts in Latin and Jazz music, these songs allowed some room for an inspired improvisation.
These songs originally performed by Nat King Cole, the king of romantic songs and also an excellent jazz pianist, are now developed in his own personal style by Issac Delgado. Among them we find such hits as Perfidia, Quizás, quizás, quizás, Tiernamente, Ay cosita Linda, Suas maos, A su mirar me acostumbré, Piel canela, Aquellos ojos verdes, L-O-V-E, Yo vendo unos ojos negros, Hojas muertas and No tengo lágrimas. As Will Friedwald, an expert in Cole's music, explains in the excellent text included in the album, "of these 12 songs, 8 of them can be found in Cole's three Latin albums, and the remaining four are Nat King Cole classics now performed by Issac in Spanish".
Without leaving aside his Cuban background, Issac Delgado transformed these songs, taking them to their deepest musical roots and adding a touch of jazz music. Some others include more continental traditions, as we find in the musical treatment Delgado adds to Yo vendo unos ojos negros and No tengo lágrimas. Issac Delgado's vocals may sound as more down-to-earth and more austere than Cole's, but both sound as suggestive, detailed and precise. A charismatic musician with an impeccable professional background, Delgado transforms these 20th century classics in 21th century essential masterpieces. In all cases, he shows the same ability to dream and places these songs in a unique, real atmosphere which is totally faithful to his Cuban musical roots.
Issac Delgado now remembers Nat King Cole with the invaluable help of a selection of musicians who know their job especially well. First of all, the album features a very special guest, no other than Freddy Cole, who had never participated before in any other tribute album to his brother Nat. "A good song can become the shortest way between two hearts, especially when the best singers and performers hold our hands to take us there", Freddy says. "Issac Delgado belongs to this generation of stars. He successfully and newly versioned, for a new generation of listeners, the essence and the spirit of the classic albums my brother recorded from the late fifties. It's been a great honor and a true pleasure to be part of this recording. This is the kind of music that always fills our hearts".
With Freddy Cole, whose voice can be found in two songs, the album includes a contribution by another guest star, more precisely John di Martino, born in Philadelphia in 1959, pianist and arranger of this new record. He previously worked with such artists as Ray Barreto, Paquito D'Rivera, Kenny Burrell, George Mraz, Pat Martino, James Moody, Freddy Cole, Patato Valdéz, Eddie Gomez, Diane Schuur and Jon Hendricks. His is an amazing résumé, as is also the musical experience of the rest of the musicians who participated in this project and who support Issac Delgado in L-O-V-E., most of which are Cuban.
The selection of musicians in the album include contrabass player Charles Flores, who collaborated with Issac Delgado (he recorded three albums with him), Afro Cuba, Arturo Sandoval, Giovanni Hidalgo, Steve Khan and Paquito D'Rivera. In 2003, as part of the Michel Camilo trio, D'Rivera won a Grammy award in the Best Latin Jazz Album category. After recording four albums as a solo artist, Dafnis Prieto's drum playing can be found in several records by Michel Camilo, Bebo Valdés, Yerba Buena, Martirio, Eddie Palmieri, Arturo O'Farrill and Kip Hanrahan.
Percussionist Pedro Martínez previously worked with Tata Güines, Cassandra Wilson, Bebo Valdés, Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Yerba Buena, Dave Murray, Merceditas Valdés and Giovanni Hidalgo. Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo, member of the Trio da Paz band, previously worked with Dianne Reeves, Michael Brecker, Yo-Yo Ma, Diana Krall, Astrud Gilberto, Dizzie Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Belafonte, Gato Barbieri, Kenny Barron and Grover Washington Jr. With 14 albums recorded as a solo artist, Brian Lynch's trumpet playing sounded in a number of records by Eddie Palmieri, Phil Woods, Art Blakey, Michel Camilo, Tito Puente, Yerba Buena and even Prince.
Clarinet player Ken Peplowski has played with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Sonny Stitt, Benny Goodman, Woody Allen, Mel Torme, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, Madonna, Rosemary Clooney, James Moody and Cedar Walton, and trombone player Conrad Herwig, with more than 10 albums recorded as a solo artist, has previously played with Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Mingus Big Band, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Marianne Faithfull, Michel Camilo, Jim Hall, Rickie Lee Jones, Quincy Jones and Elvis Costello, among many other artists. This stellar array of musicians also includes the great Cuban singer Xiomara Laugart "La Negra", main vocalist of Yerba Buena band, and Issac Delgado Jr. as backing vocalist.
These are the exceptional musicians who participated in L-O-V-E., an album that goes beyond any genres, tributes and memories to become a true masterpiece in contemporary Latin music. It also stands out as a fundamental reference in Issac Delgado's career, an album that brings to our memory those Latin songs Nat King Cole sang in a different, new and totally original style. Delgado, however, added the same spirit and loving kindness to these songs and compositions that now, in his own voice, sound new and updated as they bring us closer to such special music. This is the kind of music where each note has a meaning and becomes irreplaceable and invaluable at the same time, that is, a true musical gem.
Issac & Nat: L-O-V-E at first sight
by Nat Chediak
Issac (that's how he writes his artistic name) was born on April 11, 1962, son of dancer Lina Ramírez, who, during her youth, was part of the famous "Mulatas de Fuego" in the Tropicana cabaret. Lina's first husband is composer Ángel Díaz (Rosa mustia), in whose home was developed the so-called filin music movement, which added to Cuban bolero music the harmonic complexity typical previously found only in North American ballads. Nat King Cole was one of the artists who had the biggest influence in this new current. In fact, one of the most famous composers of that musical style was José Antonio Méndez (La gloria eres tú), a.k.a. "El King" in reference to his admiration to the famous American musician. Issac grew up listening to songs by Nat King Cole. As expected, once he established himself in the United States, he wanted to pay tribute to this figure that shaped Latin American music all around the world.
Issac's musical education was a formal one. At 10 he started his studies at Amadeo Roldán and Ignacio Cervantes music conservatories. He sang with Mariana de Gonish, a true master for the most important figures in Cuban music. At 18, he debuted with the Gonzalo Rubalcaba's Grupo Proyecto, to later start playing with the Pacho Alonso Orchestra and NG La Banda. This latter contribution helped him to become one of the most important representatives of timba, a new style created from Afro-Cuban music. In 1991, he debuted as a solo artist with Rubalcaba as artistic director. Since then, he recorded a dozen albums and traveled around the world as "El Chévere de la Salsa". In the review of his second-to-last album, New York Times' former music critic Peter Watrous defined him as "one of the great Caribbean singers, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century and the Frank Sinatra of Salsa music". His latest recordings were nominated for Grammy and Latin Grammy awards. Doubtless, Issac Delgado is the most relevant male artist Cuba has given us since the beginning of its revolution.
My first work as producer was to compile a current repertoire that would encompass Nat King Cole's three Latin albums and also his classic records. Then I had to put together a stellar group of musicians who would be able to update those international hits both with coherence and foundation. Finally, Freddy Cole's presence, who participated for the very first time in a tribute to his brother, was the real blessing of this project. The rest can be found inside these songs. I invite you to listen to them.
Article from Will Friedwald
There's a story about Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr., which like so many stories involving, or told by Sammy Davis, is quite possibly apocryphal. You never knew what you could believe as far as he was concerned, but this one goes like this: shortly after Cole's death in 1965, Sammy Davis told Life magazine that he always used to criticize Nat Cole about his diction whenever Cole sang in languages other than English; he offered "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" and "Vaya Con Dios" as examples. "Nat learned the songs phonetically, and they sure sounded like it," said Sammy, "but when I went to South America, everybody asked me, 'Why don't you speak Spanish like Nat?' I stopped teasing him."
The irony, needless to say, was that Davis did speak Spanish – his mother's parents were Cuban (even though Davis himself frequently claimed to be half Puerto Rican). Yet because Cole was the first major international musical star to go out of his way to make an ongoing series of recordings for Spanish-speaking audiences, he was beloved in that world like no other North American, before or since. In his three classic Latino albums, Cole Español (1958), A Mis Amigos (1959), and More Cole Español (1962) - Cole made the Good Neighbor Policy a reality.
Sammy was right that Nat sang these songs phonetically (he couldn't speak Portuguese either), but, as with everything else he ever did, he performed these songs with amazing musicianship and sincerity. The Spanish albums were made at the suggestion of the singer-pianist's longtime manager, the Honduras-born Carlos Gastel – and the Latin peoples of the world knew that he was making these albums specifically for them. The records were also sold in the USA and the rest of the world as well (they were especially popular in Japan), but that was a strictly secondary market. Cole also made it a point to actually record these sessions in the capitals of the Latin American cultural world – Havana, Rio de Janeiro, and Mexico City – and employ local musicians on all three projects. (The legendary Bebo Valdés not only played piano on the first one, Español, but also coached Cole in his phonetic vocals.)
Even though the contemporary Latin vocal superstar Issac Delgado wasn't even born when Cole made these recordings, he grew up with them – the same way that several generations of musicians and singers from the Pan Americas. On this unique celebration of this amazing aspect of King Cole's royal legacy, Delgado approaches Cole's Latin canon with the same combination of remarkable chops, musicianship, and overwhelming, loving warmth that Cole himself brought to the songs of Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, and elsewhere below the North American border.
Of the 12 songs, eight come directly from the three albums themselves, while the remaining four are classic Nat King Cole signatures that Issac sings in Spanish. Many of these also have international relevance: along with Louis Armstrong, Cole was the most worldly of pop music stars, and without even trying, he crafted American pop hits out of raw material from all over the globe. Cole did so without making a point of it: many Americans realized that "Autumn Leaves" was originally French ("Les Feuilles Mortes"), before Johnny Mercer and Nat Cole got a hold of it, but almost no one knew or cared that "Answer Me My Love" and "L-O-V-E," for instance, were actually German. The Spanish treatment of "Feuilles Mortes" is "Hojas Muertas" and has more in common with the original French lyric, which translates directly as "Dead Leaves"; it was Mercer who added the idea of Autumn to the tune. (Alas, Mercer neglected to write any English words to the verse, which is, however, included in the Spanish translation.)
"L-O-V-E," one of Cole's final hits, was composed by the Euro-pop demagogue Bert Kaempfert; the English words written by Milt Gabler (who, among other things, had been Cole's first recording producer) and became an intercontinental (and, subsequently, inter-generational) blockbuster. Cole also recorded "L-O-V-E" in five other languages (in addition to English), including Spanish. Delgado sings that Spanish translation here, and it's a text that (I have been told) is, more simply, a meditation on love and relationships bereft of a spelling lesson. The track opens with an insinuating bass vamp by Charles Flores and builds to a clave-driven trumpet solo by Brian Lynch.
The Cuban "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" is the first of two numbers to co-star the sublime Freddy Cole (more about whom later). The song was already well known in the 48 states as "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" by the time Nat Cole recorded it in 1958. Cole later included this canción in a famous televised concert in Japan, which added to its international status. Issac's reading features an intriguing, minor key clarinet solo by Ken Peplowski (Cleveland's own Polish king of salsa), and is overall, more subtle than the famous Cole Español reading – this is the kind of track that, like so many on this album, will inspire your body to start shaking to the beat without you even being conscious of it.
Jack Lawrence, who passed away a few months ago, shortly before his 97thbirthday, told me what a breakthrough it was to hear Cole sing his words to "Tenderly," especially since composer Walter Gross had kept the melody in the trunk for many years before finding the right lyric to go with it. One can only imagine how the late Messrs Gross and Lawrence would love the sound of Issac's beautiful baritone on this sublime reading of "Tiernamente (Tenderly)," which is graced by an especially romantic guitar solo from Romero Lubambo (of Trio da Paz fame).
Cole recorded the classic parade samba "Não Tenho Lagrimas" both in Portuguese (on A Mis Amigos) and English (using Ervin Drake's fine lyric) – one thing he never did, however, was sing it in Spanish, as Delgado does here. Issac's treatment, in which he interacts engagingly with a lively back-up vocal group (plus clarinet, trombone, and trombone, providing a hint of New Orleans backbeat), is more relaxed though no less energetic. The irresistible "Piel Canela," featuring Mr. Lynch (who squeezes his way to a high note "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" style), is another lively dance number accompanied by vocal chorus.
"Ay Cosita Linda" was apparently a favorite of Cole's – it was the only Spanish song that he included on his 1962 retrospective of his career, the three-LP The Nat King Cole Story. In this case and several others, I prefer Issac's arrangement (the charts here were done by the brilliant John di Martino, a longtime Latin jazz specialist and musical director of Ray Barretto's New World Spirit), which is considerably more Cuban and salsafied than Cole's 1959 treatment (recorded in Brazil). John's new orchestration of "Yo Vendo Unos Ojos Negros " is particularly outstanding. This traditional Chilean tonada which was first recorded in 1910, became an Inter-American hit in the fifties thanks to Chilean crooner Lucho Gatica, who probably inspired Cole to include it on A Mis Amigos.
One benefaction of the current set is the chance to hear classic North and South American love songs in the same context. "Suas Mãos" and "Perfidia" are two lovely ballads also from Cole's 1959 Rio sessions; while it's hard to beat Cole at this material (he was indeed the King of love songs), Issac's treatment of both is wistfully romantic, with more of a bossa feeling, reinforced by Señor Lynch on the latter and trombonist Conrad Herwig on the former. Compare those with Issac's masterful reading of "A Su Mirar Me Acostumbré," a compelling Spanish translation of the classic show tune "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" (the climactic song from My Fair Lady, which, famously transpires in London, but which Cole recorded in Philadelphia, of all places, as part of an album of the entire score).
Still, the most welcome opportunity to compare the great singers of the United States and Cuba are the two numbers, "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" and "Aquellos Ojos Verdes," in which Issac shares the microphone with Freddy Cole. At 78, Freddy is one of the great living interpreters of the American Songbook (in a class with Tony Bennett and precious few others), and has built a remarkable career, particularly in the last two decades, well outside of the rather formidable shadow of his late brother. On "Quizás," Freddy comes in a few choruses after Issac, but on "Green Eyes," Freddy assumes center stage, and starts the track with that song's rarely heard verse (a verse that's at least a rare as a pair of green eyes). It's one of the sweetest and most affecting vocals that the younger Cole has ever put on record, and Issac definitely enhances the atmosphere when he returns, following an especially mellow tenor saxophone solo by Ken Peplowski.
While working on this album, executive producers Nat Chediak and Fernando Trueba, associate producer Todd Barkan and I – independent of each other – each noticed a certain fact that took us all by surprise. As far as any of us can tell, Freddy Cole has never participated in a tribute album to his late brother before (even those very successful ones made by his niece and Nat's daughter, Natalie). The reason why he would choose Issac Delgado's project over any other offers he must have received over the years is abundantly clear; upon realizing what Issac, Nat, Fernando, Todd, and John and company were up to, Freddy obviously realized that Nat King Cole's amazing legacy of Latin American music was in the best possible hands.
Will Friedwald
Will Friedwald has written extensively on the music of Nat King Cole, including extended annotations for four major boxed set packages and many individual CDs and articles.
BIO:
"One of the greatest singers in the world regardless of genre." - The New York Times Hailed as the Latin answer to Frank Sinatra, Issac Delgado is the most renowned Cuban singer of his generation. Both a tireless innovator and an impeccable stylist, Delgado has transformed modern Cuban dance music while respecting its storied traditions. In his native Cuba, Delgado is a massive star, famed for his smooth delivery and innovative approach to music. Born into a musical family (his mother was a singer and dancer for Celia Cruz, among others), Delgado began his own career in a band with a fellow Cuban, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Stints in Pacho Alonso's Orquestra and the Galaxia Group were followed by a career-defining role as the lead singer for NG La Banda. Along with music director Jose Luis Cortez's, Delgado helped define a new genre of music, timba, a street-inspired mix of latin jazz, funk, hip hop, and son rhythms. The aggressive new sound stormed through Cuba.
To launch his solo career, Delgado reunited with old friend and musical collaborator, Gonzalo Rubalcaba for Dando la Hora, now considered a classic album. Delgado continued to break new musical ground on successive albums and his fame grew as he began to tour internationally, including a landmark performance at the New York Salsa Festival, alongside Celia Cruz, El Canario, and other salsa greats. Frustrated by he restrictions in Cuba, he walked across the Mexican/U.S. border with his family to launch a new phase of his career. "Being here doesn't give me any greater control over things, such as whether I can get the radio to play my songs or not, " Delgado told the Los Angeles Times. "The only thing I can control is myself and my willingness to work and expose my music a little more to the public, which will have the last word. That's the biggest censor an artist can have-the public that listens to your music."
His first release in the U.S., 2007's En Ultima Plana, earned Delgado global acclaim, including three Grammy nominations, and the hit single "La Mujer Que Mas Te Duele" (featuring Victor Manuelle) that rose to number three on the Billboard Charts. Of his latest 2008 release, Asi Soy Delgado says: "In sonority, this recording is still Cuban salsa, with Cuban color, but with a sound closer to-and for-the US Latino, in New York, L.A., and Puerto Rico." Produced again by multiple Grammy-winner Sergio George (Tito Puente, Marc Anthony, Jerry Rivera) and another giant from the Puerto Rican salsa sound, Jose Lugo, (Gilberto Santa Rosa's long-time musical director and producer), confirming his ongoing stature as "the future of tropical music (Los Angeles Times)s
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