Papo's Philly Connection
Philadelphia City of Brotherly Love!!!
Over the years Philly has been a Big Papo Vazquez Supporter!!!
People like Jesse Bermudez from The AMLA organisation and Painted Bride Art Center have always been there for
Papo!!!
Philadelphia has always been very famous for the amount of jazz masters that have lived there for Ex: John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, The Brecker Brothers, Philly Joe Jones amongts many others, have all been part of "Philadelphia's rich Jazz Community" and now the Latino community can say that they have their own Papo Vazquez join the list of musical master's from Philly.
Born in Philly and raised in The Badlands & Vega Baja, Puerto Rico!!!
A little piece of info about Painted Bride Art Center & AMLA
Since 1970, the Painted Bride Art Center has distinguished itself as one of the foremost presenters of jazz, bringing a broad range of jazz-based musical styles to audiences. The Bride is highly committed to further development of jazz music as an authentic, highly creative art form as we continue to represent new approaches to the music as well as a new relevance across cultural lines. Painted Bride Art Center collaborates with emerging and established artists to create, produce and resent innovative work that affirms the intrinsic value of all cultures and celebrates the Tran formative power of the arts. Through performances and exhibitions, education and outreach, the Bride creates a forum for engagement centered on contemporary social issues.
Since 1982 the Asociación de Músico Latino Americanos (AMLA) has been in involved in the promotion, development, dissemination, understanding and education of Latin Music and culture with a strong emphasis on youth.
Arts & Entertainment
Posted on Mon, Mar. 19, 2007
Big-band set is rousing success
By Kevin L. Carter
For The Philadelphia Inquirer
When Philly-raised Puerto Rican trombonist Papo Vazquez unveiled some newly commissioned music for big band Saturday night at the Painted Bride, he noted that history was being made.
He called the band the Mighty Pirate Orquestra, and he used military metaphors throughout the night. But he may or may not have known just how powerful his war-related themes were.
During a gorgeous aguinaldo (folk song), Vazquez padded the reed section with two flutes and three clarinets, and the song's motion was filtered through the clarinet section. Did he know that the Harlem Hellfighters Band (369th New York) during World War I specifically sought out Puerto Rican clarinet players because they were the best?
When he unveiled "El Batallón," a plena dedicated to contemporary American soldiers in combat, the panderetas (hand drums) crackled like tracer fire. But did Vazquez know that one of the first recorded plenas was a topical song about a German U-boat?
Latin jazz ensembles usually build on a base of Afro-Cuban rhythms. But Vazquez, with an impish smile, said he wanted people to remember that the Pirates are an Afro-Puerto Rican ensemble, and the music bore that out.
Most of the time, the trio of percussionists (Anthony Carrillo, Juan Gutierrez, Camilito Molina) used an ensemble of drums from the bomba tradition (seguidor, buleador, cuá), and their approach was assertively Puerto Rican. And, by including musicians such as trombonist Reinaldo Jorge, who fueled so many of those Latin big-bone ensembles from the 1960s on, he again made a gesture to the music of his heritage.
The night was full of such gestures. "Blue Ray," dedicated to the late master drummer Ray Barretto, was one of the more innovative charts that mixed blues and Latin music. Lead saxophonist Willie Williams and trumpeter Freddie Hendrix blasted holes in the music with their assertive, voicelike solos. And on "Julia," Jorge, trumpeter Nelson Jaime and bassist John Benitez infused the song with Iberian gentility.
Vazquez, from Vega Baja and North Philly, is quite short and rather wide, but he is one of the most graceful big-band conductors this side of Cab Calloway. Watching the rump-shaking Vazquez lead the band was just as enjoyable as hearing the music.
Papo Vazquez Mighty Pirate Orchestra at Painted Bride Art Center
Live Recording of Marooned/Aislado March 17 2007
