Papaito - De Buenavista El Otro Sonero (2001)

«Papaíto (b Mario Muñoz Salazar, 5 Dec. '23, Buena Vista, Cuba, 4 June '00, New York City) Afro Cuban singer/ percussionist/ composer with engagingly poignant voice; worked with cha cha chá creator Enrique Jorrín, others; made films in Mexico and joined Sonora Matancera there, continuing as a member into the '90s; left Cuba for good '60. Sessioned on many recordings, among them Mark Weinstein's avant-garde Cuban Roots (1968) and Mongo Santamaría's Up From The Roots (1972). Papaíto's solo debut was Robert Torres presenta a su amigo: Papaíto (1979) the first of four hugely successful LPs on SAR: Papaíto (1980) incl. memorable version of Cuban classic "Aprietala En El Rincon," both these with trumpet-led conjunto occasionally augmented by violin and flute; Papaíto Rinde Homenaje A Abelardo Barroso (1980) used a charanga augmented by tres, was tribute to Cuban vocalist Barroso (1905-1972), and it is regarded as one of his best. He the switched back to conjunto for Papaíto (1982) and Para Mis Amigos (1984). […]

Feeling betrayed by Torres, who had wound-down SAR at its peak and relocated the company from NYC to Miami, he refused to record for nearly 16 years, with the exception of providing lead vocals to two tracks on Valdésa Records Presenta Vol. 1: Salsa Sudada (1990). Sang lead on one track of the Caimán All Stars' Descarga Brava 2000! (1999) as a prelude to making a major comeback with his own solo album on Caimán in 2000.

This is a historically important release, as it was Papaito's final recording before he passed away on June 4th of 2000. This veteran sonero, who hailed from Buena Vista, Cuba, has left us on a strong note. With a relaxed, laid-back feel, he sounds great. And just look at this band... all heavy-hitters befitting such a vocalist. With Alfredo Valdes Jr., José Mangual Jr., Nelson Gonzalez, Milton Cardona, Hector "Bomberito" Zarzuela, Russell "Skee" Fansworth, and Junior Vega. Recommended.» (Descarga)

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