Release Date: September, 2002

This is a new release in the tradition of old-school salsa dura. Billed as "Harlem's answer to Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club," Oscar Hernandez and his crew of seasoned New York salsa veterans pay tribute to the best salsa that this city has produced.

Here's an awesome review by another DJ from Salsa-UK:
I was seriously considering giving this CD a rating of 11, but as 10 is my maximum, I didn't want to set a precedent. However, here are 10 reasons why you should buy this CD as soon as you can:
1) It's the best CD I have heard all year if not longer and I doubt a better one will come out before a long while
2) Every DJ in the land will be playing this within a few weeks
3) It captures the beautiful brassy sounds of New York's Spanish Harlem
4) All 10 tracks (even the bolero) are absolute gems, including killer versions of 'Mama Guela', 'La Banda' and 'Pueblo Latino'
5) Includes a dream ticket quartet of vocalists: RAY DE LA PAZ (Louie Ramirez, Johnny Polanco, Ray Barretto), HERMAN OLIVERA (Eddie Palmieri, Jimmy Bosch, Johnny Polanco, Libre), FRANKIE VAZQUEZ (Soneros del Barrio, Libre, Wayne Gorbea), JIMMY SABATER (Son Boricua, Joe Cuba and many more)
6) Bandleader, pianist and arranger Oscar Hernandez who directs this production majestically
7) Bobby Allende and George Delgado on Bongo and Conga respectively. Wow!
8) This is the real deal and won't get anywhere near the Latin Grammys, which is good enough for me
9) If you don't buy it then why the hell are you reading this?
10) If you did and don't like it then I suggest you contact SalsaDoc immediately for a very unpleasant diagnosis.
I could go on but I think you get my drift… (28/09/2002)


Click here to listen to soundclips of this awesome album!

Mama Guela 3:33 Obsesion 5:32 Tambori 3:32 Aprende A Querer 4:18 La Musica Es Mi Vida 3:53 Llego La Banda 4:49 Pa Gozar 5:48 Somos Iguales 3:44 Guaguanco 4:09 Pueblo Latino 4:20

Oscar Hernandez Piano/Musical director Ruben Rodriguez Bas Ray Vega Trumpet Raul Agraz Trumpet Jose Davila Trombone Ozzie Melendez Trombone Mitch Frohman Baritone sax Chino Nunez Timbales Bobby Allende Bongo George Delgado Conga Ray De La Paz Vocals Frankie Vasquez Vocals Herman Olivera Vocals

Anonymous Review from the Net (a must read):

Pianist-arranger Oscar Hernandez is one of those names that you know very well if you follow Latin music closely, but for the most part, he's an unheralded star of salsa. Best known for his work as musical director for Ruben Blades' 1980s backup group Seis del Solar, Hernandez is probably making his biggest impact these days as the composer of the theme song for HBO's "Sex and the City."

But maybe this week, all that will change. With the release of "Un
Gran Día en el Barrio" (Rope a Dope/Atlantic) by his new project, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Hernandez has finally provided old- school salsa fans with the kind of record they've been demanding for years. Featuring two of the greatest New York-school session musicians of the past 20 years (bassist Ruben Rodriguez and percussionist Bobby Allende), fresh talents such as trumpeter Ray Vega and singers such as Ray de la Paz, Frankie Vasquez and Herman Olivera, the record is an instant classic.

"The idea was to do a fresh approach to some of the older stuff that was popular when salsa music became known as salsa in the '70s," Hernandez says. "A lot of this stuff people haven't heard - it's like Lauryn Hill recording 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' by Roberta Flack. All the kids go, 'Wow, this is great!' - but they
don't know it's a Roberta Flack song."

Together with producer Aaron Luis Levinson, Hernandez concocted a brew of songs that would bring the listener back to the bad old days of Spanish Harlem, the neighborhood that incubated Latin music from mambo to salsa. "Central Harlem is identified with African-American culture, but Spanish Harlem has that kind of relationship with Latin culture," Hernandez says. "We wanted to do a record that brings to mind a certain idea, a certain feeling. I have a personal connection to all the songs, either because I played on the original versions or I listened to them constantly in those days."

"Llego la Banda" was a Hector Lavoe/Willie Colón standard in the mid-'70s, and "Aprenda a Querer" is an obscure gem originally sung by Orlando Marín. Two classics from the period preceding salsa, "Mama Guela," Tito Rodríguez's signature song, and the Pedro Flores bolero "Obsesión," also appear. But the songs on "Un Gran Día en el Barrio" that really capture the spirit and energy of the '70s salsa era are "Somos Iguales," originally done by Conjunto Clásico, and "Pueblo Latino," which appeared on Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez's first solo album, featuring a very young Hernandez on piano. Both songs reflect the experience of the Latino immigrant in New York trying to make sense of difficult surroundings, encountering obstacles and finally deciding that unity is strength. It was the same feeling present in Ray Barretto's "Al Ver Sus Campos" (originally sung by Ray de la Paz) and the roll call of Latin
American nations that climaxes Blades and Colón's "Plástico."
Hernandez started his career at age 18 on Ismael Miranda's 1973
classic, "Así se Compone un Son" (Fania). After many years of dues-paying appearances on some of the classic records of the last 30 years, he has managed to record two albums with Seis del Solar without Blades, and has been involved in producing a wide variety of Latin and jazz albums. His work as the musical director for Paul Simon's Broadway musical, "The Capeman," has earned him consideration for a similar role in an upcoming stage production of "The Mambo Kings."

"Un Gran Día en El Barrio" is a response to what Hernandez
characterizes as the "garbage" you hear on Latin-music radio. "I love hearing Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marc Anthony and some of the younger singers like Domingo Quiñones and Michael Stuart. But why can't we hear Ray Barretto, Los Van Van, Eddie Palmieri, Machito, Típica 73?" Hernandez is fulfilled by playing the role of preserver of musicianship, something difficult to do in an industry driven by star vocalists. "This recording was all done live, except for the vocals. Nobody records like that anymore. They record the conga first, then the bass, then the piano, and there's something so sterile about it. There's something organic, an essential interaction that's not happening anymore. We're trying to bring some of that old feeling back."

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra will appear at El Flamingo (NYC)
(212-243-2121) on Oct. 7.