New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Fania / UMGD) - One of Latin music's most accomplished singers, Ismael Rivera, together with his compadre Rafael Cortijo & Sammy Ayala created a blended sound in salsa incorporating the native rhythms of Puerto Rico with the Caribbean sounds from Cuba, Dominican Republic and the West Indies. The first all-black band to be featured on television for more than five years daily starting in 1954, Cortijo y Su Combo broke down color barriers while playing to the pride of Afro-Caribbeans throughout the Americas and the U.S. At a time when musicians were imitating the commercial sounds that sold out dance clubs, Cortijo y Su Combo broke out with something completely new, danceable and with tremendous swing. Their engine was rhythmic, their singer was incomparable and their message was to bring their native sounds out of the streets and onto the stages.
On Friday, May 11 @ 8 pm, Coritjo's Tribe will rise again with a special performance by Zon del Barrio featuring Sammy Ayala, an original Cortijo alum joining this new septet in tribute to the Boricua forefathers of salsa: Rafael Coritjo & Ismael Rivera at SOBs, 204 Varick St. @ W. Houston, https://www.sobs.com/212.243.4940.
A true " Nuyorican Culture Club," this performance will recall the music of Ismael Rivera & Cortijo through one of their original members, singer/songwriter Sammy Ayala while also featuring the fresh, young vocals of "Papote" the only young Nuyorican following in the steps of the masters, improvising bilingually while singing the standards lyrically in his own particular style.
Watch while the torch of masters is handed down to the following generation in this historic evening of salsa and song.
Sammy Ayala: Deep from the belly of bomba's most popular exponent, Rafael Cortijo, Sammy Ayala brings an old school quality of Afro-Caribbean music capturing folkloric traditions within a danceable, Latin music content. Septegenarian Sammy Ayala expresses the music from Puerto Rico's golden age writing & interpreting bombas, plenas, salsa, merengues, danzas and guarachas, creating a danceable hybrid of Afro-Caribbean song. Sammy's signature falsetto "ah, ah, ah" remains an Afro-Caribbean trademark while many of his tunes have become standards of the industry.
He traveled with Cortijo y su Combo throughout Aruba and Curazao alternating with calypso bands at Caribbean festivals where Ismael Rivera would ocassionally sing in English. They went on to perform in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, California, Connecticut, Panama, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and many more until 1962 when the group disbanded. Sammy went on to front groups such as ABC before forming his own ensembles.
Zon del Barrio:
Zon del Barrio is a stand alone septet that brings the dance music from the streets of Latin New York to the stage. From the plena (popular during the turn of the last century) to the saucy strains of salsa amid the back beats of reggaeton, Zon del Barrio brings the beat of the streets to the hearts of dancers everywhere.
ZDB has performed at the Vic-Fezensac Festival in Toulouse, France last year opening for Bobby Valentin and Oscar D'Leon to a 60,000 strong crowd. Dubbed the "surprise" of the festival, Zon del Barrio performed to sold out audiences for their Tribute to Cortijo : Cortijo's Tribe featuring Cortijo Alum, Sammy Ayala and PARRANDA holiday show featuring Yomo Toro: the King of the Cuatro both productions featuring the theatrical Dance Troupe: Danza Fiesta where 20 dancers and numerous costume changes depicted the diversity, depth, reach and beauty of Latino song and dance.
Further, bandleader and founder Aurora Flores is a writer/musician/historian who conducts lectures, workshops, clinics and lecture/demonstrations and courses on the History of Latin Music.
For more information on Ismael Rivera, download the essay: Ecua Jei: Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor @: https://www.zondelbarrio.com/Press_Releases.html
Listen & watch Zon del Barrio perform with Sammy Ayala, Yomo Toro and more…
