Markolino Dimond con Frankie Dante Beethovens V Cotique Records (CSLP-1075) Wow, Mark Dimond just out-Eddied Eddie! Sand the former La Perfecta percussionist Manny Oquendo to bassist Andy Gonzalez after finishing a set @ Brooklyns St. George Hotel. Pianist Mark Markolino Dimond was performing with Oquendos band, Libre, who had played along with a full plate of acts including Eddie Palmieri, who had opened the evening. Markolino, who lived on Ninetieth and Third Avenue, is one of the greatest talents in the history of Latin music, and this album is his masterpiece. Dimond got his start with Willie Colon, and that is no surprise when you consider that Willie had an unbelievable ear for talent and a willingness to bring cats from every background into the fold. We owe W.A.C. A dept of gratitude for plucking this African-American keyboard wizard out of obscurity and letting his light shine. Markolino was an audacious soloist, and his playing is, to my ear, infused with a punishing montuno, courtesy Eddie Palmieri (his idol) and Cuban keyboard masters like Peruchin, and melded with an innovative chordal and chromatic solo approach coming in part from Coltrane alumnus and Philadelphian McCoy Tyner, who influenced countless pianists throughout the 60s and 70s. While the leap from Coltrane to Palmieri may seem like a big one, Markolino was one of the select few cats who effortlessly straddled both worlds. Marks partner on this album was another man who covered the waterfront, and his story is equally compelling. Frankie Dante was a security guard @ Macys, but he really wanted to be John Lennon, says Larry Harlow who produced this landmark recording and so many other seminal works in the history of Fania. He was the Dominican John Lennon, Harlow laughs, He wore those round rose colored glasses, just like Lennon. The Dominican John Lennon? That was something I never imagined in a million years, but I guess it kind of makes sense when you consider the incredible influence that Lennon exerted on popular culture as a whole, both as a musician and as a man. Not to mention that Dante, with his own group Orchestra Flamboyan, recorded the anti-Vietnam song Paz in 1969, then l8ter recorded the political burner Presidente Dante with Flamboyan and Larry Harlow. Frankie was definitely an eccentric, says Dantes peer Arturo Campa, sonero for Eddie Palmieri from 1969 to 1974, during one of Eddies most fertile and memorable periods. Arturo is a very bright and interesting cat who has rarely granted interviews, so I was particularly excited when he agreed to talk to me about his memories of Frankie Dante. I recall him wearing capes and sneakers onstage @ various gigs. He had one outfit that he called his Batman cape, and this black caped singer was something you couldnt easily miss or forget, he laughs. I dont think that Frankie was looked upon as a really great singer, Campa continues. He was somewhat limited in that regard, but he was heavily influenced by the phrasing of Ismael Quintana, which you can clearly hear in his recordings. I can tell you that both he and Markolino were very well liked and that the salsa scene @ that time felt like one large family. Andy Gonzalez echoed that statement, telling me, Frankie copied Quintana right down to his dance moves and the way he played maracas. Traveling from John Lennon to Ismael Quintana is a long and winding road, and Frankie Dante walked every funky mile. Backing Dante on the album is an all star coro, with Chivirico Davila credited as guest star. Chivirico is an interesting figure, because even though he made a handful of excellent albums as lead vocalist for the Cotique label, his career was largely marked by being one of the first call coristas of the golden age of New York salsa, alongside cats like Yayo El Indio, who shares coro duties on this album. Davilas greatest gift as a solo cantante was as a bolero singer, and he was wisely used largely in that capacity here as well. The most unexpected aspect of Davilas appearance as a guest artist is that while it is ostensibly a Frankie Dante and Markolino outing. Chivirico is actually singing the lead vocal on Sabroson, which has long been the favorite dance cut for many hard-core cocolos. As a corista, Chivirico was unstoppable, and the three voice team of Chivirico, Yayo and Pete El Conde Rodriguez on this album is pure magic. The blend these cats achieved is supple and grooving in the same instant. I am still struck by the degree that a well-executed coro added to the overall power of the album and indeed to the whole Fania experience. The album as a whole is arranged by Mark Dimond, with the exception of Yo No Tengo Amigos, by Marty Sheller, one of the greatest arrangers in the salsa field and an original member if the pioneering latinjazz ensemble led by Sabu Martinez. While the arranging by Mark is solid throughout, Martys lone chart displays a subtle sophistication that is not matched by Markolino, who made the stuff hard but did not possess the same deep harmonic insight that Marty long demonstrated. From a compositional standpoint, the album is mainly a Mark Dimond affair, with five of the eight tracks composed by him alone. The remainder are Cuban titles, and the final track, Por Que Adore, was written by the phenomenal Tite Curet Alonso, the shockingly prolific composer. When I was listening to this album with a critical ear, I was particularly struck by this song, as the poetry that Tite imbues his work with is pretty unmistakable. It was an astute choice to sequence this album with Tite having the last word. Likewise, starting the album with Markolino original Sabroson perfectly sets the stage for the loose and super funky vibe that permeates this album. The two Cuban songs included remind us of the dept everyone owes Cuba and capture the zeitgeist of the tipico movement in New York that honored that tradition. Its a shame that Markolino and Frankie didnt make more records, but it also makes albums like Beethovens V seem all the more magical because of their rarity. In style that was dominated by Puerto Ricans and Cubans, this pairing of a Dominican singer and an African-American pianist serves as a poignant reminder of the universal and timeless magnetism of salsa music and the dizzying complexity and richness of New York City as an incubator for its global flowering. Enjoy! Side A 1. Sabroson ** 2. Los Rumberos * 3. Ahora Si ** 4. El Quinto De Beethoven * Side B 1. Maraquero * 2. Yo No Tengo Amigos ** 3. Camarones * 4. Por Que Adore ** Personnel: Mark Dimond: Acoustic Grand Piano Nicky Marrero: Bongo, Cowbell * Pablito Rosario: Bongo, Cowbell ** Mike Collazo: Timbales * Nicky Marrero: Timbales ** Eddie Gua Gua Rivera: Ampeg Baby Bass Lewis Kahn: Trombone * Reinaldo Jorge: Trombone * Barry Rogers: Trombone ** Randy Breaker: Trumpet ** Lou Soloff: Trumpet * Junior Vazquez: Maracas Lead Vocals: Frankie Dante Chivirico Davila Coro: Yayo El Indio Ismael Quintana Pete El Conde Rodriguez Musical Arrangements by: Mark Dimond Marty Sheller (B2) Produced by: Larry Harlow for Passing Clouds, Inc. Executive Producers: Jerry Masucci & Johnny Pacheco Album Cover & Liner Photos: Lee Marshall Album Cover Design: Ron Levine Recording Engineer: Alan Manger Mixed by: Bernie Fox Recorded @: Good Vibrations Sound Studios, NYC COTIQUE RECORDS, 1975 A FANIA RECORDS PRODUCTION
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 21:53:18 +0000