La Gloria

La Gloria

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1. CHEVERE
(Rudy Regalado, Harry Kim and Michito Sanchez) 3:44

2. LO QUO FUE MACHITO (Mi Amigo Machito)
(Oscar Meza) 4:52

3. FANTASIAS
(Thania Sanchez) 5:40

4. NEGRA LINDA
(Oscar Meza) 6:25

5. CHAMBE
(Oscar Meza) 5:57

6. LA BATIDORA
(Harry Kim) 4:58

7. CONFIA EN MI
(Daniel Indar - Indar Music) 6:20

8. MESCALITO
(Oscar Meza) 5:40

9. SOLITO
(Thania Sanchez) 4:33

10. DESTINY (Todah)
(Oscar Meza) 7:17

11. LA GLORIA
(Rudy Regalado) 2:21

12. BALAM
(Oscar Meza) 2:54

RUDY REGALADO: Drums, Timbales and Lead Vocals

OSCAR MEZA: Musical Director and Bass

MICHITO SANCHEZ ("Guapachar"): Congas and Bata

JOE ROTUNDI: "Two-handed" Piano

KEVIN RICARD: Bongo, Bata and Toy Percussion, Timbales on Chevere

HARRY KIM: Trumpet and Flugelhorn

JOHN FUMO: Trumpet

DAN FORNERO: Trumpet

SENOR RAMON FLORES: Trumpet on Chevere and La Batidora

LOU GONZALES: Trumpet on Chevere and La Batidora

MIKE TURRE: Baritone Sax and Flute

TIM MISICA: Tenor Sax and Flute

GENE BURKERT: Tenor Sax

FRED SIMMONS: Trombone

ERIC JORGENSEN: Trombone

DAVID STOUT: Trombone on Chevere and Mescalito

THANIA SANCHEZ: Lead Vocals and Chorus

LUCHO AVELLANEDA: Lead Vocals and Chorus

KENNY O'BRIEN: Chorus

ROBERTO SAVALA ("Beto"): Chorus

La Gloria

Produced by Hector "Rudy" Regalado

Engineered by Bill Lazerus

Musical Director, Composer and Arranger:
Oscar Meza

Co-Producer, Composer and Arranger:
Oscar Meza

Executive Producer: Bill Lazerus

Assistant Recording Engineer: Teresa Caffin

Recorded at
Entourage, North Hollywood, CA

Mixed at Two Crowns International
"The Sound Department"

Mixing Engineer: Bill Lazerus

Mixed by Bill Lazerus, Harry Kim, Rudy Regalado, Oscar Meza and Michito Sanchez

Front cover photo:
Carlos Bustamonte/Eric Edwards Studios

Back cover photo:
Joe Troconi (live at the Hollywood Palace)

Graphic Design:
Alana Coghlan/Random, Los Angeles, CA

� 1994 Discos Dos Coronas, Inc.
16350 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 312
Encino, CA 91436

I guess it's about time to attempt to explain the meaning of the word "Chevere" to our North American friends since it is unlikely that they will find it in the Velazquez Spanish/English Dictionary. According to your particular generational strata, "Chevere" could be translated at cool, fresh, rad, far-out, groovy, swell, etc., and that is precisely the essence of he eponymous number, a grass roots theme song which injects a tinge of songeo into our daily staple of salsa.

Lo Que Fue Machito, as arranged by Oscar Mesa, is a tribute to one of the founding fathers of Cuban Jazz - Havana-born Francisco Perez Gutierrez, better known as Frank "Machito"Grillo (1910-1988). The vocals, meticulously compiled by Rudy, constitute a collage of quotations which evoke the significant roles played by his closer musical allies - Mario Bauza, Rene Hernandez and Graciela Perez.

Due to its association with the so-called salsa romantica, Fantasias may become a hit in Cali, Columbia. What amazes this writer is the way in which vocalist Thania Sanchez approaches the material, effectively avoiding certain shortcomings and trademarks of the above-mentioned sub-style.

Interpreted by Peruvian singer Lucho Avellaneda, Negra Linda showcases Meza's arranging skills. It should be noted that he is the author of at least half of the tunes included in this recording debut.

Chambe is allegedly a mixture of two Cuban elements: chachacha (a rhythm derived from the danzon-mambo and invented by violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early fifties) and bembe (a percussive festivity, usually of profane character, designed to amuse the orishas or lucumi divinities).

La Batidora (The Blender) is a Cuban rap inspired by the sensual and graceful showgirls of Havana's Tropicana nightclub, aptly called once 'a paradise under the stars'. Unlike other famous nightclubs of the world, Tropicana resembles a large, multicolored fruit surrounded by palms and other tropical trees and iron gangways - a harmonious blend of human and natural elements in which the tropical sky serves as the roof for a fabulous show characterized by the predominance of a wide variety of Cuban rhythms. The rapper assigned to blend the papaya shake is none other than Ismael Carlo, a Nuyorican actor who has played more gangster roles than anyone else in the history of Hollywood.

Confia En Mi (Trust Me) is a composition of Daniel Indar, a Venezuelan resident of the City of Angels. This tune presents conclusive evidence as to why Thania Sanchez should be regarded as one of the best Latin singers north of Key West.

Mescalito (Little Mescal) serves as a vehicle to expose the compositional skills of Oscar Meza, who worked with Frank Sinatra and the New York Symphony and later came out of retirement to join Chevere as Musical Director.

Thania Sanchez's Solito demonstrates the composer's weakness for the chachacha idiom, an affinity shared by the greatest female singers of Cuba (Elena Burke, Omara Portonuodo and Moraima Secada).

Meza's Destiny (Todah) reflects the author's desire to thank the Supreme Being for our daily blessings, embellished by Thania Sanchez's vocal harmonies (a la Return to Forever). Destiny is spiritually connected to the odd lucumi-gospel convergence of La Gloria (The Glory), inspired by Rudy's determination to place his entire faith in the above mentioned Supreme Being, instead of relying upon what he describes as "secondary powers".

Balam means wild tiger in the language of Moses and such title probably refers to the way in which the soloists approach their material. To be graceful in a sleek way, to acquire feline agility is not an easy task in the musical jungle of L.A.

In summary, Rudy's band meets the basic criteria required to keep alive the big band tradition popularized by Mario Bauza, Machito, Chico O'Farill, Bebo Valdes, Damaso Perez Prado, et al. Said criteria is based on three fundamental factors: sizzling Cuban rhythms, soaring vocals and harmonic excitement.

- Luis Tamargo

Luis Tamargo is an exiled anarchist writer whose sardonic musical reviews have appeared in Latin Beat, La Opinion, etc. He has also written numerous liner notes for recordings by Paquito D'Rivera, Chucho Valdes, Arturo Sandoval, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Irakere, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mario Bauza and Bongo Logic.