Jesus Pagan Y Su Orquesta-Salsa De La Mata Written By Gury Gury
Storming out of Hartford Connecticut is this years salsa dura shocker Jesus Pagan y su Orquesta. Salsa de la Mata is one of the best debut discs I have heard from an artist in many years. Pagan shows a maturity well above his 37 years of age. He made the smart decision of surrounding himself with an all stars cast of muiscans and arrangers.
The artwork of Salsa de la Mata is one of the best of all time and includes Pagan sitting on his living room floor listening to classic salsa while reading liner notes from gatefold LP's. Brings me back to the day when LP art was just that. This disc starts off with a real smoker and the pace is set on high with "Ritmo Sabroso". "Ritmo Sabroso has a heavy old school feel. with a great horn section and mature original vocals Pagan carries this CD of salsa originals to heights unseen by his contemparies.
Pagan has assembled an all-star cast to preform on this disc witch includes Ray Castro, Luisito Quintero, Richie Viruet, Lucho Cueto and many more. The sound on this disc in classic Nuyorican salsa. Pagan has a warm and enchanting voice which lends well to the stong coros and horns of his band. Although some of the songs tend to a romantic side this is an aggresive disc with lots of dura sound.
The highlight of this recording is Pagan's tribute to the salsa of yesterday "Tributo de la Salsa de Ayer" is what this disc is about. Jesus sings about his love of listening to the greats of our music giving shouts of to our heros of the past. This track is sure to get dancers young and old out of the seats and on to the dance floor. One of my other favourites on this one is "Salsa de la Mata", the title track. This is a pure dance floor smoker from the opening beat to the closing piano and horms. Pagan's voice is clear in strong in his delivery and has brought many an audience to tears. For me the weakest track on this disc is the Maximo Rodriguez's arranged "Te Amo Tanto" it one of the most romantic of the tracks. This track is remenisent of the early era of the salsa romantica movement. Lots of romantic lyrics but it still retains a certain amount of swing. The strength of the track is in it strong hook in the coros. Ray Castro and Hector Rodriguez really help this song along.
Overall "Salsa de la Mata" is easly the strongest CD of 2008 in a very stong early part of the year. I look forward to many more recordings from Jesus PAgan and his various outfits. I strongly reommend this disc not only for the music and great arrangements but also for the original cover art.
Storming out of Hartford Connecticut is this years salsa dura shocker Jesus Pagan y su Orquesta. Salsa de la Mata is one of the best debut discs I have heard from an artist in many years. Pagan shows a maturity well above his 37 years of age. He made the smart decision of surrounding himself with an all stars cast of muiscans and arrangers.
Que Viva la Salsa Dura Nueva