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Tipica 73

The long-running salsa/Latin jazz outfit Tipica '73 originally formed in New York during 1972, drawing inspiration by the likes of Tito Puente, Arsenio Rodriguez, and Machito. The group formed out of local jam sessions that were organized and led by session percussionist Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez Jr. (whose father, John "La Vaca" Rodriguez Sr., was a percussionist for Ray Barretto). Rodriguez Jr. invited several friends to join him on-stage for a weekly spot at the N.Y.C. club And Vinny's, as several members of Barretto's band soon signed on as well: Rene Lopez (trumpet), Orestes Vilato (bongo, timbales), Dave Perez (bass), Adalberto Santiago (vocalist), Larry Harlow's trombonist Leopoldo Pineda, Jose Fajardo's pianist Elio Osacar, and Frankie Dante's pianist/trumpeter Joe Manozzi. Throughout the years, however, Tipica '73's lineup reflected a game of musical chairs, with members constantly being rotated.

Tipica '73 soon signed a deal with the Inca label, resulting in the release of their self-titled debut only a year after they originally formed. The group hit upon a fresh and intoxicating sound, as they combined the conjunto percussive style (congas, timbales, and bongos) with a horn section, and, in the process, became one of the salsa movement's leading outfits to hail from New York. A sophomore effort quickly appeared (like their debut, it was also titled Tipica '73), which spawned the hit single "Amalia Batista," a cover tune that was originally made famous by Rolando La Serie. But more importantly, the album signaled the debut of a new member, tres player Nelson Gonzalez, who would become an integral member of the outfit.

The group's third release, 1975's La Candela, further helped to establish Tipica '73 as one of the world's top Latin outfits, and is often singled out as the most important (and best) of the group's long career. Soon after, original leader Rodriguez Jr. handed the reins over to Sonny Bravo, as he decided to focus on collaborating with musicians living in Cuba. 1976 saw the release of Rumba Caliente, an album produced by the renowned Latin percussionist/arranger Louie Ramirez, and spawned such hits as "Pare Cochero," "Sonaremos el Tambor," and "Guaguanco de los Violentos." The group's fifth release overall, The Two Sides of Tipica '73, is widely considered to be their most musically experimental, as such styles as salsa, charanga, bolero (merged with an orchestra, nonetheless), songo a la Ritmo Oriental, and Latin jazz can be detected throughout.

Salsa Encendida was issued in 1978, which saw the group follow in the same direction as their previous release, but it would be Tipica '73's next release that proved to be a major step forward. Since a few years prior, Rodriquez Jr. had regularly come in contact with some of Cuba's finest musicians during his musical expeditions there, scouting local talent. And on Tipica '73's final release of the '70s, 1979's Tipica '73 en Cuba, Intercambio Cultural, Rodriguez put his findings to use, as he recorded the album entirely in Cuba with his newfound talent from the country (which was no easy feat at the time, due to the U.S. and Cuba's tense political relationship). The move was met with some resistance from certain members of Tipica '73, but Rodriguez pushed forward with his plan nonetheless. Although commendable, the group was subsequently given a hard time by club owners in the U.S., who subsequently refused to book the band, fearing ticket loss due to boycotts.

The '80s began on a less controversial note, with a tribute to the charanga style, 1980's Charangueando con la Tipica '73, which included standout versions of Tito Puente's "A Donde Vas" and Cachao's "Chanchullo," among others. Tipica '73 issued another album the same year, Into the 80's, which featured a plethora of special guests, including appearances by Latin jazz pioneer Mario Bauza, Puerto Rican percussion greats Rafael Cortijo and Kako, singers Roberto Torres and Nestor Sanchez, cuatro player Yomo Toro, and percussionist Roger Squitero, among others. But the strain of 1979's controversy had worn the group out, as bandleaders Bravo and Rodriguez Jr. decided to end Tipica '73 in 1982. Not much was heard from the group afterward, as most of the group's members focused on session work and appearances on other artist's recordings. But in 1995, Tipica '73 reunited for a successful concert in Puerto Rico, which led to a series of shows four years later. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
 

Albums

- Tipica '73 (1973)
- Tipica '73 (1974)
- La Candela (1975)
- Rumba Caliente (1976)
- The Two Sides of Tipica (1977)
- Salsa Encendida (1978)
- Tipicá 73 En Cuba Intercambio Cultural (1979)
- Charangueando con la Tipica '73 (1980)
- Into the Eighties (1981)

Adventurous salsa band formed late '72, its history epitomises the fragmentation of bands that occurred during '70s salsa boom. Five of original lineup split from Ray Barretto band at height of its popularity: Adalberto Santiago, lead singer; Orestes Vilató (b c '45, Camagüey, Cuba) on timbales, doubling on bongo; bongo player Johnny 'Dandy' Rodríguez, now moving to congas (he'd previously done stints with Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez, and co-led a late '60s band with conguero Angel René, who later became a promoter; Dandy acted as president of the Típica 73 co-operative); trumpeter René López, bassist Dave Pérez, joined by pianist/arranger Sonny Bravo (b 7 Oct. '36, NYC of Cuban parentage; previously with José Fajardo, Tito Puente, Vicentico Valdés, Willie Bobo, Raúl Marrero, Rafael Cortijo, Angel René & Johnny Rodríguez Orchestra and Louie Ramírez/Pete Bonet Orchestra, amongst others; Bravo held the post of Típica's musical director), trombonist Leopoldo Pineda (from Larry Harlow), trumpeter/pianist/arranger Joe Mannozzi (from Orquesta Flamboyán).

They began as a two trumpet/trombone-led conjunto playing típico (typical) Latin music in contemporary style on Típica 73 '73 on Fania sister label Inca, prod. by Johnny Pacheco; joined by Puerto Rican tres player Nelson González (from Ismael Miranda's Orquesta Revelación) for self-prod. Típica 73 '74, La Candela '75 (title track cover of Cuban hit by its composer Juan Formell with his band Los Van Van). Vilató started his pro career at age twelve with Belisario López's charanga, followed by stints with José Fajardo ('62-5), Johnny Pacheco (eight months) and Ray Barretto ('65-72); he also performed with Machito, Tito Puente, Fania All Stars, Mike Martínez's Latin Dimensions and others. Musical differences about 'stretching out' or staying típico split the band: Vilató, Santiago, Mannozzi, González left '76 to form Los Kimbos; Vilató later revealed that he and the other defectors had became dissatisfied with Dandy's financial management and Típica's failure to match the highly paid incomes of other mid-'70s salsa acts. Los Kimbos was a gutsy club band on eponymous LP '76 on Fania sister label Cotique, Mannozzi switching to piano and with trumpeter, mus. dir. Roberto Rodríguez (d '88) from Barretto's band; on second LP they were The Big Kimbos with Adalberto Santiago '77, whereupon Santiago went solo and the band split into Nelson González And His Band (debuting on eponymous LP '77 on TR) and Vilató y Los Kimbos, which released two further albums: Hoy y Mañana '78 and Aquacero Ne Me Moja '79. Disenchanted with Cotique, Vilató relocated to San Francisco '80 to work with Carlos Santana for eight years, thereafter he organised a gigging band called Los Kimbos 90 in '90.

Típica 73 continued with Rumba Caliente '76, joined by young Cuban violinist Alfredo de la Fé (from Eddie Palmieri's band), lead vocalist Tito Allen (from Barretto's band), Don Gonzalo Fernández (flute/tenor sax), José Grajales (timbales/conga) and Lionel Sánchez (trumpet); the LP ushered in a "new sound" utilising their reformed lineup to alternate between and fuse horns-led conjunto and flute/violin-led charanga elements. The Two Sides Of Típica '73 '77 referred to dance and concert sides, with its experimentation and fusion one of salsa's most interesting LPs, with Camilo Azuquita (b Camilo Luis Argumédez, '45, Colón, Panamá; an alumnus of Roberto Roena, Cortijo, Kako and others) replacing Allen, Mexican Dick "Taco" Meza replacing Fernández, plus addition of timbalero Nicky Marrero (b 17 June '50, Bronx, NYC); Azuquita departed to continue his solo career after singing lead on half of Salsa Encendida '78, young Dominican José Alberto sang on the rest. Most of the band appeared on Dandy's Dandy, a Latin Affair '79 on Latin Percussion Ventures Inc. label (maker of Latin percussion instruments; LP's title based on Johnny Rodríguez's nickname). They switched to Fania; Típica 73 en Cuba: Intercambio Cultural '79 was made in Havana, adding Mario Rivera on soprano and baritone sax; Charangueando con la Típica 73 '80 was followed by Into The 80's '81 with guests Mario Bauzá (on alto sax), Rafael Cortijo on congas and Yomo Toro on cuatro. Work dwindled, allegedly because Típica appeared in Cuba, and they disbanded: de la Fé emigrated to Colombia after doing a brief stint with Tito Puente's Latin Ensemble; after recording the notable El Encuentro '82 on Lo Mejor, Dandy joined Puente's Ensemble '82; Rivera and Bravo joined Puente in '82 and '84 respectively; Alberto began a successful solo career '84; Marrero freelanced, then moved to Europe for 10 years (where he taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory and performed on Nueva Manteca's Afrodisia '91 on Timeless and Conexión Latina's Mambo 2000 '93 on Enja); Pineda freelances; Pérez, Sánchez, López, Grajales and Meza retired from salsa's forefront.

Reunion at the Convention Centre, San Juan, P.R. Sept. '95 featured Santiago, Allen, Bravo, Dandy, Marrero, Pineda, González, Sánchez, Angel 'Cachete' Maldonado (percussion), Johnny Torres (bass), Mitch Frohman (reeds), Ite Jerez (trumpet). Series of 25th anniversary reunion gigs during '99 featured Santiago, Allen and Azuquita at NYC dates (Bronx's Lehman College and Manhattan's S.O.B.'s; latter had sonero Nestor Sánchez also joining in); Alberto completed the line-up of original lead vocalists for their concert at P.R.'s Luis Muñoz Marín Amphitheatre on 16 April. Típica's other '99 personnel incl. Bravo, Dandy, Marrero, Pineda, González, George Delgado (conga), Cachete (bata, quinto, bongo), Jerry Madera (bass), Ricardo Pons (flute, tenor sax), Pete Miranda (baritone sax), Héctor 'Bomberito' Zarzuela, Jorge Luis 'Ito' Torres (trumpets). Charanga! '94 on Charly is a recommended UK compilation of Típica's '79 to '80 work.

-This is a revised version of one of over 130 Latin music entries written by John Child (John_Child@descarga.com) for The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 2nd Edition, edit. Donald Clarke; Penguin Books; 1998; 1524 pages; US$22.95, UK£16.99.