El Sueño Del Maestro - Album

Rafael Cortijo DATE OF BIRTH December 11 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Parada 21 Santurce Puerto Rico
DEATH October 3 1982 In Santurce Puerto Rico Rafael Cortijo Was A Puerto Rican Percusionist Composer Director Musician And Orchestra Leader. In The Dictionary Of The Afroantillana Music The Name Of Rafael Cortijo Is Synonymous Of Legend. One Of Its Figures Summits And More Venerated. Leader Of One Of The Most Admired Rhythmic Organizations During The Second Half Of The 20th Century Cortijo And Su Combo. Master Of The Caribbean Drum. Inspired By Two Generations Of Rumba And Puerto Rican Cultists. This Unrepeatable Character Of Very Humble Origin Was The Son Of Juan Cortijo Clemente And Juan Verdejo Who Also Procreated Francisco Cecilia Rosa And Gilberto. It Counted 11 Years When The Trumpeter Paulino Flores Introduced It To The Fascinating Universe Of The Caribbean Music Teaching Him Elementary In The Execution Of The Bongo. From Now On Without A Master He Learned To Play The Timbal The Tumbadoras - Or Congas - And Some Guitar Chords. At 14 He Undertook Its Musical Race Joining Like Bongosero To The Joint Soustache Sisters 1943-1944 . Later 1944-1947 It Appeared In The Set Monterrey Of Monchito Muley And Juan Palm "Mentoquín". During The Period 1947-1953 He Worked Alternately With The Orchestras Of Frank Wood Armando Castro Augusto Coen And Miguelito Miranda As Well As Sonora Boricua By Daniel Santos And The Accompanying Ensembles Of Bobby Capó Myrta Silva Ruth Fernández And Miguelito Valdés Culminating That Stage With The One Directed By Pianist Mario Román At La Riviera Night Club In Old San Juan. In 1954 He Founded The Legendary Orchestral Ensemble Cortijo Y Su Combo Forming A Dumbbell With Singer Ismael Rivera Who Over Seven Years Caused A Sensation Throughout The Caribbean Basin And Hispanic Plazas Of The United States. So Brilliant Was The Trajectory Of This Collective That Of Course Deserves Separate Chapter. After Starring Alongside "El Sonero Mayor" That Important Chapter In The History Of Afro-Argentine Music Rafael Cortijo Continued His Artistic Activity In Front Of A New Grouping. In Several Stages Almost Always By Requirements - Or Acceding To Simple Suggestions - Of The Record Producers He Identified His Band With Different Names. During Its Passage Through Tico Records For Example It Was Promoted As Cortijo And Su Bonche Although When Making Two Reunions With The Great "Maelo" On The Albums "Welcome / Welcome!" SLP-1140 In 1966 And "With All Irons " LP-1158 In 1967 He Took Back The One That Made Him Famous Cortijo Y Su Combo. Vocalists Lysedia Sanjurjo Roberto Angleró Luis «Che» Delgado And Vitín Meléndez Appeared On Their Payroll During That Luster. "Sorongo" SLP-1170 - Recorded In 1967 SLP-1196 - With The Excellent Panamanian Sonero Camilo Azuquita And The Puerto Ricans Nacho Sanabria And Marvin Santiago 1969 - And "Pa 'los Caseríos" 1970 Would Never Lose Their Validity In The Preference De Los Salseros De La Mata. Immediately After He Added To The Catalog Of Ansonia Records Whose Catalog He Paid Two Productions Identifying With His Original Name "Noche De Temporal" SALP-1476 In 1970 And "Cortijo Y Su Combo Vol. In 1971. However In The Interim He Shared Star Credit With The No Less Prestigious Percussionist Francisco "Kako" Bastar In Another Album That Would Reach Classic Category "Rhythms And Street Songs" SALP-1477 Recorded In The Studio Bellone In Manhattan On May 7 1970. The Most Excellent Chivirico Dávila Was In Charge Of The Vocalizations. Joining The Label West Side Latino By Arturo Sáiz Began To Be Sold As Rafael Cortijo And Su Orquesta. To This Period Belongs The Album "Cortijo Con Las Siete Potencias" LP-2035 Published In 1974 In Which The Talented Sonero Junior Cordova Stands Out. The Same Year Marks His Debut Album Under The Cover Of The Newly Created Label Coco Records By Harvey Averne "Together Again" CLP-113 Which Marked His Third Reunion With Ismael Rivera And Was Recorded " Alive "during The Concert That Brought Together Members Of The Group That Became Famous - It Would Be Wrong To Call Them" The Originals "- At The Roberto Clemente Coliseum On June 25. Such A Disc Was Published In August. From Now On The Band Was Promoted Briefly As Cortijo And La Máquina Del Tiempo. They Were His Following Productions "Time Machine" 1974 "Campions" 1975 And "Iron Horse" 1977 Whose Musical Direction Fell To Charlie Palmieri. Already By Then Fe Cortijo Shone Like Its Star Singer. His Last Two Recordings Were Made In Puerto Rico For Although He Spent Extended Periods In His Homeland Until Then His Official Center Of Operations Was New York. The First Is Titled "El Sueño Del Maestro" Tierrazo TLP-008 Produced By Frank Ferrer In 1980. Fe Cortijo And Ismael Rivera Son Were The Vocalists Of This Album In Which The Group Is Presented As Rafael Cortijo And His Orchestra. It Included The Pieces "Elena Elena" And "Drops Of Venom" Which Meant His Last Successes. In The Second "Cortijo Bailable" Velvet / Golden Stereo 6012 Whose Direction Ray Santos And Louie García Shared Was Once Again Cortijo And Su Combo. It Was Published A Few Months Before His Death. A Victim Of Pancreatic Cancer Rafael Cortijo Verdejo Died In The Home He Shared With His Sister Rosa In Apartment 313 Of Building 15 In The Public Residential Luis Lloréns Torres In Santurce On October 3 1982. His Funeral Cementerio De Villa Palmeras On The 6th Was An Impressive Demonstration Of Popular Mourning Over 15 000 Fans Attended To Give The Last Goodbye. Inspired By Those Emotional Scenes The Novelist Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá Wrote His Acclaimed Work "El Funerro De Cortijo" 1983 . In Addition To Her Adopted Daughter And Singer Of Her Orchestra Fe Julia She Was Survived By Two Biologicals Rafael "Timbe" Born 1975 And Zoila Rosa Born 1976 . Partial And Chronological List Of The Interpreters Of His Compositions - Recorded By Cortijo And Su Combo In The Voice Of Ismael Rivera "The Goat Of The Bell" Seeco 1958 "Enter Woman" And "Sebastiana" Guarachas Mar-Vela 1959 The Full "Ramona" And The Bomb "I Am Of The Field" Gema 1960 And "Water That Is Going To Fall" Tico 1976 . In The Voice Of Roy Rosario "Tie The Chain" Seeco 1958 .
With Kako In The Voice Of Chivirico Dávila "Compay Sapo" Full Ansonia 1970 .
With His Orchestra In Voices By Fe Cortijo And Ismael Rivera Son "Cirilo Sánchez" And "Drops Of Poison" Tierrazo 1980 .
Carlos Montiel "La Bomba" Adria 1960 .
Super Combo Caracas "Sebastiana" And "Compay Sapo" Karibe 1974 .
Ismael Rivera & Los Cachimbos "To Dance My Bomb" Tico 1980 .
Marvin Santiago "To The Sound Of The Tin Dances The Chorizo" TH 1980 .
Ismael Rivera Son "Bambulé" Sony Music 1991 .
The Children Of The Sauce "I Am From The Countryside" LHS 1985 . Rev 12-Nov-07 read less