Quisqueya en el Hudson: Dominican Music in New York

by Quisqueya En El Hudson

Overview

The Dominican community in the New York area is the biggest outside the Caribbean, and its musical traditions are a big part of its vibrancy. Its annual festival in Washington Heights features Dominican music, and some of the artists who perform at the festival appear here, covering not only the native high-energy meringue, but every aspect of Dominican music, be it the palos of Conjunto Folklorico de Alianza Dominicana or the son of Coco Merenson. A lot of this music is folkloric, as befits the Smithsonian Folkways label, but it's never less than marvelously entertaining, like the salve of Francia Reyes, where the vocals rise effortlessly above the drums. "La Multona," from Neri Olivares, features a scintillating, delicate play of melody, showing how Dominicans have developed the Cuban son into their own art form. But don't be misled by the techno-bachata tag on Luis Dias' "La Manguera"; it has nothing to do with electronic music (although Dias does also play bachata-rock in addition to this slower, gentler sound). There's no doubting the dance appeal of the accordion-led meringue tracks. Franklyn Hernandez is masterful on them, leading an ensemble (with a terrific sax player) through the adrenalized workouts. This album doesn't claim to be a complete representation of the Dominican musical experience in New York, by any means -- but it'll do for a start. ~ Chris Nickson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/23/2004
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074049525
Rank:	196644

Tracks

1. Homenaje  -  Hernandez
2. Ya Lleg¿¿ la Virgen  -  Chicha
3. Baile de los Palos  -  Conjunto Folklorico De Alianza Dominicana
4. Cibae¿¿a  -  Fortunato  -  Traditional
5. San Miguel  -  Reyes
6. La Dolorita  -  Chica
7. Suite Folkl¿¿rica Dominicana  - Luis Dias
8. La Mulatona  -  Olivares
9. La Manguera  - Luis Dias
10. El Molde  -  Lapache  - Joe Veras
11. ¿¿Ay, Mami, Eh!  - Boni Raposo
12. Baile del Canguro  -  Lapache
13. Tierra Dominicana  -  Hernandez  - Domingo Ramos
14. Juanita  - Coco Merenson

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Quisqueya En El Hudson   Primary Artist
Coco Merenson   Primary Artist
Neri Olivares y Grupo Sonnice   Primary Artist
Conjunto Folklorico De Alianza Dominicana   Primary Artist
Francia Reyes   Primary Artist,Vocals
Claudio Fortunato y Su Guedeses   Primary Artist
Luis Dias   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Dona Chicha   Primary Artist
Franklyn Hernandez y Su Tipican Brothers   Primary Artist
Dona Chica   Primary Artist
Boni Raposo   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus,Palo de Lluvia,Guira,Atabal,Djembe,Vocals,Pandereta,Percussion
Willie Lapache   Primary Artist
Paco Reyes   Congas,Maracas
Diego Aquino   Bass
Dawin Lapache   Guitar
Enrique Guira   Guira
Juan Carlos De La Cruz   Vocals
Willie Lapche   Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals
Gregory Ney   Bass,Guira
Juan Compres   Saxophone
DeLa Cruz, Francisca   Vocals (Background)
Canca   Tamboura
Maria Terrero   Choir/Chorus
Domingo Pena   Guira,Maracas
Claudio Fortunato   Drums,Vocals,Palo de Lluvia
Daiana Castillo   Choir/Chorus
Nelson Catros   Guira
Andrea Nolasco "Dona Chicha" Brand   Vocals,Percussion
Victor Sanchez   Bass
Francisco Meza   Bass
Juan Ramon "Monchy" Alvarez   Vocals (Background)
Los Mora   Guira,Choir/Chorus
Luis Polanco   Tres
Victor Perdomo   Trumpet
Cinthya Feliu   Choir/Chorus
Pedro Sosa   Choir/Chorus
Ramon Ortiz   Drums
Viviane Louro Martinez   Choir/Chorus
Pedro Fuentes   Bongos
Jonathan Troncoso   Choir/Chorus,Palo de Lluvia
Adriano Fortunado   Congas
Joe Pena   Bass,Tres
Niurka Reynoso   Choir/Chorus
Chi Chi Espinal   Accordion
Miguel Duran   Bongos
Juan "Coco" DeJesus   Guitar,Vocals
Neri Oilvares   Guitar,Vocals
Nina Paulino   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Cinthya Feliu   Group Member
Douglas Rice   Mixing
Leonardo Ivan Dominguez   Arranger,Annotation,Liner Notes,Translation
Paco Reyes   Group Member
Norman van der Sluys   Engineer
Diego Aquino   Group Member
Willian Aleman   Engineer,Mastering
Boni Raposo   Group Member,Arranger
Dawin Lapache   Group Member
Enrique Guira   Group Member
Dan Sheehy   Supervisor
D.A. Sonneborn   Supervisor
Jeff Place   Archivist
Richard James Burgess   Marketing
Gregory Ney   Group Member
Maria Terrero   Group Member
Tom Van Buren   Engineer,Annotation,Liner Notes,Photography,Project Director
Claudio Fortunato   Arranger,Group Member
Pedro Fuentes   Group Member
Daiana Castillo   Group Member
Andrea Nolasco "Dona Chicha" Brand   Group Member
Margot Nassau   Licensing,Financial Director
Francisco Meza   Group Member
Juan Ramon "Monchy" Alvarez   Group Member
Los Mora   Group Member
Luis Polanco   Group Member
Willie Lapache   Composer
Peter Ford   Engineer
John "BJ John" Smith   Marketing,Promotions Director
Traditional   Composer
Joe Veras   Composer
Domingo Ramos   Composer
Pete Reiniger   Supervisor
Ramon Ortiz   Group Member
Ronnie Simpkins   Audio Supervisor
Juan Carlos De La Cruz   Group Member
Viviane Louro Martinez   Group Member
Judy Barlas   Coordination
Jonathan Troncoso   Group Member
Joe Pena   Group Member
Jacob Love   Editorial Assistant
Rafael de los Santos   Cover Photo
Niurka Reynoso   Group Member
Chi Chi Espinal   Group Member
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Carla Borden   Editing
Willie Lapche   Engineer,Group Member
Helen Lindsay   Public Relations
Neri Oilvares   Engineer,Group Member
Sonya Cohen Cramer   Design,Layout Design
Carolina Santamaria   Translation
Betty Derbyshire   Financial Director
Mark Gustafson   Marketing
Stephanie Smith   Archivist