Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino Reunion Show!!

[tocandorumba]

Thanks to Ned Sublette for the heads up!

Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino Reunion Show
Nov 1 2008
Hostos Community College
500 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10451
Phone: (718) 518-4444

From http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/10/08/2008-10-08_salsa_lovers_relish_grupo_folklrico_come-1.html

Salsa lovers relish Grupo Folklórico comeback
By María Vega

Wednesday, October 8th 2008, 9:31 AM

The life of Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino was as brief as
its name was long.

Before disbanding in the late ’70s, Grupo recorded only two albums. Since
then, it has become one of those names that separates the casual listener
from the devoted rumbero.

Three decades later, all but two of the surviving members of Grupo will be
playing at a reunion concert at Hostos College on Nov. 1.

“It’s more than just a gig. It’s an event; it’s history,” says bassist Andy
González, Grupo’s musical director.

Even in the ’70s, not many people got to see Grupo Folklórico y Experimental
Nuevayorquino in concert.

The group had no more than a handful of live shows, and only about three in
New York City.

“We were like the underground,” González says.

Most of Grupo’s musicians had worked for the major Latin bands in New York,
from Machito’s to Cortijo’s to Barretto’s.

But in Grupo, they broke away from the rules of the orchestra, says René
López, one of the producers, starting by doing away with using band
uniforms, which were still common at the time.

At one of Grupo’s first recording sessions, López says the studio
technicians were shocked when he took the music stands away so the members
would not rely on written music.

“I like to say that Grupo Folklórico doesn’t have arrangements; it has
agreements,” López says. “Spontaneity is the main thing in everything we
do.”

However improvised the music was, the players were fervently serious about
it.

Many were veterans of the toques de santo or tambor, the Santería ceremony
that uses batá drums, says López, adding that Grupo was the first to use
such drums in a nonreligious recording.

They would meet at López’s house until 3 or 4 a.m., listening to rare Cuban
recordings.

“It was like going to school,” recalls another of Grupo’s founders, producer
Andy Kaufman.

“There’s nothing mediocre on any of these records. There’s no filler,” he
says. “I was an agent. I wasn’t depending on this to make money. I wanted
this to be art.”

The variety of Latin rhythms recorded by Grupo is still a source of pride
for the founders. “We played guajira, abacuá; there’s rumba, son montuno,
ritmo güiro,” counts López.

A handful of the original members, including sonero Virgilio Martí, have
died. Grupo — minus trumpeter Chocolate Armenteros and percussionist Milton
Cardona — reunited in Berlin last year and played this summer at the
Smithsonian Institution.

But vows Smithsonian’s José Suero, who lobbied López to put Grupo together
again, “The Hostos concert is gotta be the best one.”

Extra salsa

The reunion of Grupo Folklórico is the highlight of a busy tropical music lineup this fall. These are other not-to-be-missed concerts:

Saturday: Revered salsa maestro Eddie Palmieri is joined by conguero Giovanni Hidalgo and the Latin Giants of Jazz in a perfect kickoff for the season at Lehman Center.

Oct. 17: Trombonist and composer William Cepeda’s Puerto Rican Explosion will bring bomba and jazz to Symphony Space.

Oct. 25: Bassist John Benítez, who has played with everyone from Roberto Roena to Batacumbele, performs at Flushing Town Hall.

Nov. 1: The truly legendary Graciela, Sammy Ayala and many other singers will pay homage to the bolero at the fifth Latin-Tropical Music Collectors Festival, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Manhattan.

Nov. 7: The creators of Cali Pachanguero, the Colombian salseros from Grupo Niche, will perform at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza.

[afrocubarico]

tocandorumba,
Very much appreciated news, thank you. I have both of the only two albums this group recorded and they are indeed must-have, classics. I will more than likely attend this reunion.

afrocubarico

[Jongo]

I have the two CD's they put out and I love them both. I really wish I could go see that show, like they said it is not just a gig it is a historical event. Have a great time Afrocubarico.

[afrocubarico]

Thanks Jongo,
I'll take pictures and post them here on the forum.

afrocubarico