Henry Fiol - La Juma de Hoy (2006)

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Henry Fiol - La Juma de Hoy (2006)

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Born 16 January 1947, Manhattan, New York City, USA. Of Puerto Rican and Italian American parentage, Fiol is a painter of sound and colour. From his rich musical palette emerged some of the most engaging Latin albums to come out of New York in the late 70s and 80s. Originally a doo-wop fan, he became a Latin music convert in the early 60s after seeing the band of Rafael Cortijo with Ismael Rivera while visiting his family in Puerto Rico. The craze for charangas (flute and violins bands) in the first half of the 60s inspired Fiol to teach himself the flute. With the mid-60s swing to brass, Fiol was so drawn to Johnny Pacheco's pure Cuban trumpet conjunto (group/band) sound that he sought out the original conjunto recordings by Cuban names like Sonora Matancera, F‚lix Chapott¡n, Arsenio Rodr¡guez and others. Fiol acquired his skills as a singer and conga player by joining in with voices and percussion jam sessions called rumbones, which often occurred in the streets of Latin neighbourhoods, on beaches, or in parks.
Fiol's research into Cuban roots led to a fascination with the Afro-Cuban form called son, and he started creating his own New York version. In the development of his own smooth and entrancing vocal style, he soaked up the influence of the great Cuban soneros (singers of son) Abelardo Barroso, Cheo Marquetti, Beny Mor‚, Joseito Fern ndez and Miguelito Cun¡. "Nostalgia, however," wrote Fiol in 1990, "has never been my objective. I've tried to stay close to the rhythmic roots, while at the same time adding a contemporary touch to the lyrics and the arrangements. If I had to label or categorize my sound, I wouldn't really call it 'Salsa". I'd probably call it "Montuno", "T¡pico", "Son Moderno", or as some have called it, "Corazon Music' (literally: Heart Music)" - from the liner notes to the compilation Sonero.