José Fajardo

b. José Antonio Fajardo, 18 Oct 1919, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, d. 11 Dec 2001, Jersey Town, NJ, USA. Band innovator, arranger, composer and maker Fajardo was one of the biggest Cuban flute players. He structured a flute, strings, tempo section and voices charanga music group which he known as his All-Stars. Throughout his long profession, he performed a prominent part within the 50s’ cha cha chá trend, early 60s’ charanga/pachanga trend and 70s’ charanga revival. Ahead of forming his personal music group, Fajardo do stints with feminine singer/music group head Paulina Alvarez (b. 1912, d. 1965) and Arcaño Y Sus Maravillas. In 1956, Fajardo released Cuba (aka Cuban Cha Cha Chá) in the Tico Information label, which highlighted revered conga participant Tata Güines (b. Federico Arístides Soto, 1926, Güines, Cuba). He agreed upon with Panart Information and released a string of albums in the label through the past due 50s and early 60s. His early Panart produces emphasized the favorite cha cha chá tempo, which was produced by violinist-composer-arranger-band head Enrique Jorrín while he was an associate of Orquesta América. Fajardo and his music group appeared on the esteemed Tropicana nightclub in Havana. In 1959 he was asked by the united states Democratic Party to play at New York’s Waldorf Astoria resort for John Kennedy’s presidential advertising campaign. His All-Stars triggered more commotion using the Latino community than with the Democrats and an engagement at New York’s well-known Palladium Ballroom quickly implemented. Following the Cuban trend, Fajardo still left Cuba in 1960 to stay in Miami, USA. Violinist/composer/arranger Félix Reina inherited his music group, that was renamed the Estrellas Cubanas, as well as the flautist’s placement was loaded by Eddy Zervigón, who continued to co-found Orquesta Broadway in 1962. On the other hand in 1960, the substantial reputation of Charlie Palmieri’s Charanga ‘La Duboney’, offering Johnny Pacheco on flute, sparked off a charanga increase that was dominated with the fast pachanga tempo developed by Cuban composer Eduardo Davidson. Pachanga fever were only available in New York using the achievement of Afro-Cuban vocalist Rolando La Serie’s edition of Davidson’s ‘La Pachanga’ from his Sabor A Mi, which he was associated with the brass and saxophone-led big music group of Bebo Valdés. The tune topped the Considerablyándula chart for two a few months in 1960. In its wake, a string of various other pachanga compositions made an appearance over the following couple of years. Fajardo quickly taken care of immediately this new craze by including an interpretation from the very much protected ‘La Pachanga’ and Davidson’s pachanga ‘Pancho Calma’ on his 1961 Panart launch Fajardo & His All-Stars Vol. 6. The main label Columbia Information eventually picked-up around the trend and authorized him for Mister Pachanga in 1962. He also documented Sabor Guajiro to them. Nevertheless, by 1964 the charanga/pachanga trend had go out of vapor. A Fajardo accompanist for quite some time, Osvaldo ‘Chi Hua Hua’ Martínez (b. c.1920, Cuba, d. early 80s, NY, USA; güiro/timbales) continued to utilize Mongo Santamaría, Félix ‘Pupi’ Legarreta, Sonny Stitt, Ray Barretto, Kako, the Alegre All-Stars, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Bobo, Don Gonzalo Fernández, Mike Pérez, Israel ‘Cachao’ López, Julito Collazo, Lou Pérez, Javier Vázquez, amongst others; he documented the vintage Latin jam units Descarga Cubana Vol. 1 (1966) and Latin Cuban Program Vol. 2 (c.1967) on Fonseca Records (that have been both collected around the Compact disc Descarga Cubana in 1991); and co-led Orquesta Metropolitana on New Horizons (1980). Fajardo managed two charangas in 1963, one in NY and the additional in Miami. He ultimately sick and tired of commuting and disbanded his Miami music group, but maintained Sonny Bravo (b. Elio Osacar Jnr., 7 Oct 1936, NY, USA, of Cuban parentage; pianist/arranger) for his NY clothing. In 1964, he released the 5th and final quantity in Panart’s famous Cuban Jam Program series. In 1965, Fajardo made a decision to relocate to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bravo remaining at this time and later on became a creator person in Típica 73. In 1966, Fajardo employed the youthful classically qualified Cuban violinist Alfredo De La Fé and in 1974 recruited Afro-Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez towards the quintet he was leading in Miami. Fajardo authorized with Harvey Averne’s Coco Information and released some four albums around the label between 1975 and 1978. Although his quintet was pictured in the sleeve from the initial, Fajardo Y Sus Estrellas Del 75, the Miami documented album highlighted a 14-piece charanga with five violins, including sibling Alberto. Fajardo discovered himself amid a resurgence from the charanga audio which happened in the next half of the 70s. Rodríguez departed and Sonny Bravo came back to program on 1977’s Selecciones Clasicas, which included remakes of previously strikes. Ray Barretto co-produced this record and handled the complete production of Un Talento Total in 1978. Fajardo turned to Fania Information for four produces between 1980 and 1984, including two collaborations with Johnny Pacheco. Rodríguez relation the partnership between Fajardo and Pacheco to be akin to instructor and pupil: ‘Everybody understands Pacheco due to the offering of albums, and due to the Fania point, but Fajardo may be the expert and Pacheco may be the college student’. De La Fé sessioned on most of Fajardo’s produces between 1977 and 1980, and Chi Hua Hua made an appearance on Todas las Tres Flautas and Pacheco Y Fajardo. Furthermore to recording like a music group innovator, Fajardo sessioned with an extraordinary set of Latin titles, including Israel ‘Cachao’ López, Louie Ram memoryírez, Fania All Celebrities, Alfredo Valdés Jnr. and José Mangual Jnr.