Obsesión (Marmara House Projects, 2014)
Puerto Rican musicians Danny Rivera and Nelson Gonzalez celebrate the timeless bolero with a passionate album titled Obsesión. Millions of Spanish-speakers have enjoyed boleros for decades. They are the songs of love, emotion and desire, and come in many versions. Obsesión treats bolero classics with respect, with seemingly simple, but carefully constructed arrangements that highlight the vocals and the Puerto Rican tres tradition. Rivera and Gonzalez add a tango and less common instruments to the mix, such as the requinto and Argentine bandoneón.
Obsesión‘s sessions were recorded during a whole decade and features a long list of musical collaborations by Latin American luminaries such as Cuban pianists Chucho Valdés and Arturo O’Farrill, bassist Andy González, the late Manny Oquendo, Cuban guitarist Martín Rojas, Raymond Torres, Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos, requinto virtuoso Rafael Scharon, Uruguayan bandoneon master Sergio Eduardo, Carlos Abadiel and Ricardo Pons.
“This record is minimalist. The moment I entered the studio with Nelson, I knew I had to be completely different from all the singers who have performed these works over the past sixty to eighty years,” explains Rivera. “I was brought together with just one or two instruments, to just sing.”
“We wanted and needed to bring it back to its purest sound, always maintaining the harmonic melody of the song,” González reflects. “There’s a lot of wisdom in the record. I feel that when you record you make history, and as we were recording we knew this was history in the making.”
Danny Rivera has earned Latin music star status thanks to the passion of his live performances, numerous recordings, and his courage as an engaged activist.
Nelson González has performed with Rivera for over 25 years, after the two met when Rivera needed a tresero and discovered González. González currently tours with Eddie Palmieri, has long been closely involved with the New York Salsa scene, playing in bands like Típica 73, as well as backing big names from Cachao, Paul Simon to Marc Anthony.
“This project gave us the chance to get together to give homage to great music,” Rivera contemplates. “Like children, we were playing and having fun, making pure art, not just some song.”
“We are the songs,” adds González. “The whole idea is to honor and bring back tradition and hopefully inspire people to be proud of their heritage. This is the best way we know to make a statement, through music. This is our way of saying, this is why it matters.”
Obsesión is a splendid album filled with boleros, timeless and profound Latin American love songs.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
