LA Jazz Scene - Louie Cruz Beltran

L . A . 'S O N LY JAZZ P A PER -
APRIL 2013
Issue No. 307
'
LOUIE CRUZ BELTRAN
APRIL2013
Page 3
L.A. JAZZ SCENE
UE VIVA LA MUSICAl
Nataue Cole and Louie Cruz Beltran at The Society of Singers
"Ella Awards" show in Beverly llills
L.A. Jazz: Tell me abo ut your cady
years. Wl1ere and wben were you
born'? Tell me about your family and
the kind of music yo u were listening
to at home.
Cruz Beltran: l grew up in the San
Joaquin Va lley, in Bakersfield. We had a
lot of activity in our home. I grew up
with 8 brothers and 2 sisters. And two
very strong & loving parents.
We
always had music in the house, the TV
blaring and cooking in the kitchen, and
the never~e nding task of completing
chores. The conflicts between my
parents eventually ended in divorce. But
my father remained a presence in my
life until he passed away in 1984. My
mother is still alive and vibrant today at
94 years old!
My mother still si ngs beautifully.
She was the vocal inspiration to us all,
singing while she cooked, making
tortillas and hot chil i from scratch. We
had a radio in the kitchen that was on all
the time, playing a variety of music, as
my mother 's tastes were quite eclectic!
We heard everything from Louis
Annstrong & the Mills Brothers to
Elvis Presley & James Brown to Perez
Prado & Tito Puente to Mexican and
Caribbean music. My mother would
have us aU sing in hann ony while she
accompanied us a cappella as we ll as
on piano or guitar. My mother was also
very good at composing songs. Her
lyrics and melodies were beautiful.
We watc hed all the great old TV
shows, including FelL'.: the Cat, Leave it
to Beaver, I Love Lucy, 77 Sunset Strip,
Peter Gunn (Wow, what a sound track!),
Fury, My Friend Flicka and Mickey
Mouse Club. My TV heroes were Zo rro
and Speedy Gonza les! We also had fun
watching Cantinflas and the bull fights
that \Vere aire d regU larly. Raise yo ur
hand if you rem ember that???!!!
My ftrst musical "experience"
instrumentally was gening kicked out of
class for pound ing on my desk. I was in
elementary
school
and
subconscientiously, the rhythm s of mambo
and cwnbia we re imprinted into my
soul. While sitting in the hallway (being
punished) Mr. Timberlake came by. He
was our physical educati on instmctor.
He asked me why I was out in the
ha llway "again"? He took a negati ve
and mmed it into a positive by
recognizing my "behav ior" as an
inclination towards music and he
introduced me to the school Drum
Co rps for our Marching Band! Thus
begun my Jove affair with percussion!
Not long afterwards, l got· my first set of
bongos from my neighbor, Reggie
Morales, who brought them back from
Mexico. Actually, he loaned them to
me, but after I pounded holes into them,
be let me keep them (after a good
scolding and having to mow both his
front and back yards!) . ...
L.A. Jazz: What did you listen to as a
teenager, then as you ma tured? Did
you know what direction you wanted
to go in?
C ruz Beltran: I listened to my parents!
1 didn't want to get slapped upside my
head!
Seriously, though, social peer
pressure
influenced
my
musical
variations, in those days. Rock and Roll
and R&B were mainly what we all
listened to as teenagers in an English
speaking worl d. However I was still
very much cap tivated by the tropical
sounds of Latin Jazz and Caribbean
rhythms.
During thi s period of rime, my
school had issued an official noti ce that
no one was allowed to speak Spanish in
class or on the school grounds. 1 was
second generation American-born . My
mother was born in Mesa, Arizona and
my father was a native Califomian.
Both their sets of parents had emigrated
from ·Mexico, moti vated to leave due to
the Revolution in Mexico. While we al l
a part of our upbringing as a second
actually,
"Spang/ish"
language..
probably more accurately describes it.
In High School I was delving into
guitar and continuing to play dmms ...
in those days a Trap Set.
As a
sophomore, the first band T joined to
apply my drumm ing skills was a
Psychedelic Hippy Band called "The
Sadistic Velvet Blues."
We played
Cove r Tunes by Cream, Iron Butterny,
Jimmy Hendrix, James Brmvn, The
Birds, Jim Morrison and the Doors,
Jefferson Airplane. etc.
As l matured, I gravilated away fro m
mninstream Pop music and the Drum
Set to Congas and Timbales due to the
infl uenc e of Carlos Santana, fina ll y
fulfilling my true love of Caribbean
rh ythms which had been longsuppressed. At last a genre of music had
hit mainstream America tha t gave mean impressionistic young man-- a
fee ling of acceptance as it embraced the
sounds of my childhood and upbringing
in a positi ve way. It he lped to erase the
negative feelings from the "antiSpanish" notice back in my school days
that attempted to subdue my Hispanic
relevance. Hearing my peers now
singing "Oye Como Va" (originally
done by Tito Puente but not
mainstream) and "Vamonos Guajira" ...
What a great feeling having white and
black kids asking me what the words
meant, with enthusiasm, as they wou ld
sing along! If I had sung Tito Puente's
version of"Oye Como Va " when 1 first
heard it --way before Santana 's
rendition - in school back then, 1 would
have been kicked out.
Here agaill, the arts provided the
inspiration to re lease the creativity and
freedom of expression that had been
bottled up inside me for so long.
Now the Oood gates to my musical
expression were open and r began to
pursue the sounds of Lati n Jazz using
the styles and rhythms of American Jazz
and
Latin
American
&
AfroCuban/Brazilian music.
L .A. Jazz: Did you have family
support with lessons, instruments,
etc.?
Cruz Beltran: Yes, 1 did. Si Senora!
Whi le we were a "working class"
fami ly, I was blessed to have everyone
recognize that my goal was to be a
serious musician. However, because of
financial lim itations and the tremendous
expense of buying rea l percussion
instruments (congas, timbales, etc.) I
worked odd j obs during the school year,
and during tbe summers would work in
the agriculture fields as a fa m1 laborer
in the San Joaquin Valley, in and around
1
Bakersfield, Delano and Fresno.
picked grapes, pi tched watem1e lons and
can taJoupes and picked canon, etc.
This experience allowed me to meet
Cesar Chavez and to understand the
plight .of the fanll labore rs. Al l of my
family members shared this hum bling
experi ence. [ became sensitive to the
fact that 1 had the abi lity to leave the
fields and go home and go to school,
while many others bad to '·fol lo w the
crops" and move on.
During this period, [ was fo rtunate to
meet Jorge Claudio, a master conga
player from Puerto H.jco (via New
York). 1 met hin1 on the picket lines
during the Cesar Chavez "cause" out in
the tie lds as we ll as City Halls of Kern
& K ings Counties. We both shared the
love of w.hat was th en being ca lled
"Salsa Music", a new craze. He gave
me an album of "EI Gran Combo", a
famous Puerto Rican gro up, we l.lin
Hispanic communi ties
known
throughout the world.
T hi s master
percussionist gave me my first lessons
in execuling Afro-Cuban and Puerto
Rican rhythm s on the Congas, Bongos
and
Timbales.
He
refi ned
my
understand ing of "Clave", a gift that 1
treas ure to thi s day.
L .A. Jazz: Latin Music wa s very hot
for a good whil e here in LA and other
places. I am not seeing it get a lot of
attention here in LA. 1 ~"llow that
some segments of Latin music are
popular, like Banda music, some
more traditional music, but I am
thinking more about dance mu sic,
voc alists, and groups. Am J wron g
about that? I s Latin music still viable,
especially for young audiences? Are
you satisfied with the career you 've
had ?
Cruz Beltran: True and not so true .. ..
Let's· start with the term "'Latin Music".
Litera lly, Latin Music wo uld be the
songs and styles of any Latin American
country..
M'exico, Argentina, Peru,
Braz il, etc. Also the Caribbean and let's
include Spain, and techni cally others.
T raditional Hispanic music, such as
Mariachi,
Regional
and
Banda.
Tropical, are very popular within
predominately
Spanish-speaking
communi ties in the southwest and of
course, Mexico. What we refer to as
"Latin Jazz" stems from American Jazz
chords,
progressions
and
modes
arranged with primarily Afro ~ Cuban,
Bn)zilian, Puerto Rican and Dominican
Republic rhythms. Think Cha Cha Cha,
Mambo, Samba, Merengue and Bomba.
Now even the music of Peru and the
tangos of Argentina are being blended
with the· American Jazz sound to create
new concepts of"Latin Jazz".
Ln rea lity, the Latin Jazz scene in Los
Ange les today is ve1y hot. Back in the
40s and 50s there was the big Mambo
craze here. Sprouting from that period
were great art ists such as Eddi e Cano,
Cal Tjader, Will ie Bobo and others. In
th ose days there were clubs specifically
LA JAZZ SCENE
Page 4
dedicated to the Latin sound. This
opened doors for New York artists to
relocate to th e West Coast. Today,
almost every Club and public music
venue has ·' Latin Nights" that feature
\vhat \ le are referring
1
to
as "Latin Jazz"
and, as in the past, the music is geared
toward an American audience. primarily
Engl ish speaking whil e in most cases
nowadays
inc luding
bi-lingual/bicu ltural fans. Also the Salsa crowd has
many venues dedicated to dancing. At
these venues the spirit reflects Salsa
rhythm s and in many cases they are not
concerned about who is perfonning, but
how they are dancing, which is the
opposite with Larin Jazz performances.
Lat in Jazz shows encompass the
opponuni ty to listen as we ll as dance.
Regarding vocals ... in typical Latin
Jazz shows, the vocals are more often
than not limited to "chorus-like"
background singing. My performances
have evo lved to inc lude more serious
singing of ballads and American
Songbook Standards with Latin Jazz
rhythm s. I still do my classic
instrumentals. incfud ing some of the
"greats" as we ll as my original music.
However, I have been singing more
often now, songs like "Summertime",
"Dindi", "Once I Loved", "fly Me to
the Moon" etc. To be able to play my
congas and sing has allowed me to
exercise diffe rem skill sets, inc lud ing
some of my comical reparree.
Many of my musical mentors had the
gift of comedy accompanying their
music skills: Dizzy Gill espie, Willi e
Bobo, Tito Puente and Poncho Sanchez
to name a few.
Traditionally, most of my audiences
are from the baby boomer ge neration.
But l am proud to say that my fan base
includes both older and yo unger
generations.
The older generati ons
remember this music from the Big Band
days and the great American films with
Fred Astaire, etc.
But w hat's
encouraging is how the younger folks
are being drawn to this music and
rhythm once exposed!
Am l satisfied with my career thus
far? I am grateful that I have not had to
resort to any other job to make a li ving.
I have a degree in Social Sciences, but
for the last 30 years I
have not had to use it. Nonetheless, it
has been very helpful in my ability to
work with troubled and "at risk" kids
using musi c as a motivational tool.
You will recall the time frame when
the music business became fragmented
and chaotic, when pirating . due to new
ill~gal
techno logies
allowed
for
downloading literally letting anyone
steal our music. I loose ly compare this
period to the Great Depression, when
Wall Street crashed and financ ial
markets were in turmoil.
The c lass ic "record industry" as we
knew it then took a big hit. Just prior to
"the fall" I was in negotiation with
Virgin Records about releasing my CD
its My Time.
My philosophical
ratio nale: C 'esr la vie.
Yes, my path was altered; however
my pass ion fo r music too k me beyond
the di sappointment and kept me moving
forward to new oppon unities. You didn't
see any of us mus icians jumping ou t of
windows.
[n this field, l don't know if you can
ever obtain total satisfaction . 1 feet it is
_very spiritual and the spiri t goes on and
on. We pass it on to others. f wi ll be
satisfied, like "the Little Drummer Boy"
when l sing and play my congas before
tl1eLord.
L.A. Jazz: If Latin music is not as
viable today, what does it need to
survive and thrive?
C ruz Beltran: If you mean Latin
Jazz, it is viable and it is once again
becoming popu lar.
lt's grow ing as
,significantly as the Latino popul ation is.
-Anglo, Latino. B lack and As ian fans are
following this music. My CDs are
selling very well all over the wo rld . My
new CD, Paint the Rhy thm is being
played throughout the US, Cari bbean,
·South America AND Europe as well as
As ia.
But is that enough? No, it's not.
MaiJJStream radio stations owned by
corporations are all beginning to sound
alike, play ing the same music. Eve n the
once "Smooth Jazz" station, T he Wave
94.7 FM, has dropped its jazz format
and switched to R&B and Pop. We are
fortunate to have a few stations that
upho ld the tradi tion for Latin Jazz and
the best, of course, is KKJZ 88. 1 FM,
with Jose Rizo and his "Jazz on the
Latin Sid e" shows on Friday and
Saturday ni ghts.
Other California
stations including San Diego's KSDS
and M;ssion Vall ey's KSBR play Latin
Jazz frequently, as does KP FK ri ght here
in Hollywood. But you' ll be hard
pressed to find a Clear Channel statio n
anywhere in the country playing it.
They claim to be responding to the rapid
growth of the US Hispanic popu lation,
but to them that means Spanish language
fonnats, and Mariachi, Ranchero and
RegionaJ Cwnbia music, not Latin Jazz.
What is encouraging are tl1e multiple
genres of music availab le on the
Satellite Stations like DMX (Direct TV)
and Sirius XM (Time Warner). Also the
streaming options like Pandora are
making our music accessible. But we
have a long way to go.
Let's talk about televis ion. Look at
Dancing with the Stars! The Tango and
Salsa are the most ·popular and
demanding dances of the show. If we
could expand this exposure to include
Latin Jazz performances during shows
like Jay Leno, Jinuny Kimmel , Dav id
Letterman, etc., we would reach a whole
new audience. Come on folks, when is
the last time you saw an actual Latin
Jazz band on any one of these shows?
Never. [n my opinion, Latin Jazz and
American Jazz need each other so that
we can reach a wider audience and still
encompass the two gemes and their
significant identities which comp lement
each other so wel l.
When peop le hear this music for the
first time, they don't necessarily know
what to call it, but they "recognize" it in
the core of their souls. The beauty of
th ese rhythms is that they can lift
recognizable classics li ke "Aurumn
Leaves," and "Killer Joe," also HGreen
Dolphin Street," "Caravan," etc. on and
on, to the platform of "popular'' mus ic.
Sometimes when you say ·'Latin Jazz''
people expect so mething foreign . lt's
not fo reign at alL It is the ep itome of the
American cu lture, bJessed with the
fragrant, uplitling tempo of the Lati n
beat and the infectio us piano guajeo.
I don' t mean to sound preachy, but,
when you describe anything that 's Latin,
musically or otherw ise, the psyche of
tl1e American public will equate it with
speaking Spanish, so people tend to be
intimidated. The actual language is
M usic! What can l say ... If you hear it
in Spanish, just pretend that they are
scatting. Whil e I am being facetious
about the scatting, at the same time, in
good spirit, T am trying to express a
justifiable rationale.
L.A, Jazz: I und erstand you have a
professional management team. How
does this help your career? Pros and
cons?
Cruz Beltran: .Prior to having a
manager, 1 did all the "managing" which
includes dealing with venues, contracts,
hotels, payro ll, public relations, and
promotions. Mosr of my gray ha ir came
fro m balancing the managerial duties
with my musicianship . There is an old
say in g that it is difficult to please two
masters at the same time.
Having a personal manager has
all owed me to spend more tim e o n what
I love the most, my music, my writing,
my creativity. My team has helped guide
the advances in my career. My manager
has encouraged me to sing more,
broadened the vision for new venues fo r
me and opened doors for new
opportunities. Another great saying, "A
wise man see kth counse l, when in
doubt. And believe me; thi s career sets
up a lot of situations where you may fee l
in doubt.
As far as the "cons", my manager
deals with those who try to co n!
L.A, Jazz: What future projects do
you have? Are you · working on a new
CD now? How about your band
members, do you have .a regular
team?
Cruz Beltran: My manager and I have
completed a pilot for a TV Series based
on the concept of a TV Talk Show
hosted by the bandleader. It includes
some unique and hysterical characters,
their mishaps and peculi ar situations.
along with providing the opportunity to
introduce great musicians and music to
the public.
I currently have three CDs that are
still in the marketplace. They are It~
My Time, Live at the Ford and my lates t,
Paint the Rhythm.
My origi nal
composition "Esperando" hit #4 in the
Nationa l S mooth Jazz Charts and is
being played regul arly on stations across
the nation and internat io nally. I am
presently wri ting new materia l to
APRIL 2013
include in a new CD. Hope to have this
released before the New Yea r.
l have various band members I work
with, depending upon the venue. But
yes, I do have some regulars. For many
gigs on piano l use a very talented,
young pianist, Jay Liu, who Tdiscovered
at the Musicians [nstitute in Ho llywood.
A1so, working w ith me freq uently now
on piano are Carlos Vivas, fo nnall y w ith
Grupo Niche and the superb Joe
Rotondi. My bass players have included
Ralph Guzman, Pat Senatore, Eddie
Resto, Tomas Gargano and Hussai n
Jifrry. Sharing the percussion stage with
me on a regular basis is Chalo Eduardo.
Hom players include Justin Janer
(Sax/flu te), Jose Gomez (Sax/F lute),
Jimmy Loya (trumpetltluge lhom), Eric
Jorgenson (trombone), Jav ier Gonzalez
(trumpet/Ouge lhom) and Michael Parlen
(sax/flute). Drummers include Mi guel
Luis Barrera, Walter Rodriguez, Tony
Moore and Ramon Banda.
On my last CD, Paint rhe Rhythm,
guest artists included Hubert Laws on
flute ; Abraham Laboriel; Hussain Ji ffry;
Rene Camacho and Oscar Cartaya on
Bass; Bill Cantos, Joe Rotondi , Otmaro
Ruiz, Carlos Vi vas on piano.
On
Saxophone, Justo Almario. Albert Wing
and Justin Janer; Ramon Flores on
trumpet; Eric Jorgensen on trombone;
Nic k Manc ini and Onaje Murray on
Vibes. On percussion, Poncho Sanchez,
Giovanni
Hidalgo, Peter Michael
Escovedo (trap set) and Chalo Eduardo.
Ass isting on chorus, Robert Beltran and
Otro Guy.
·L.A. Jazz: I though t your appea rance
at last year 's Playboy Jazz Festi"al
was
ten·ific.
How
was
that
expe rience? Tell me a little about the
backstage part. Did you meet some
long time heroes? Did anything
surprise
you
about
the
Playboy
experience?
Cruz Beltran : Performing at the
Hollywood Bowl for the Playboy Jazz
Festival was a very special experience
fo r me and my fellow mu sicians. How
can a musician not be proud to perform
at the iconic Hollywood Bowl and for
such a pres tigious jazz festival? For me
it's like the musicians Supe r Bowl!
Backstage was pretry cool. What
stands ou t the most for me was how
wonderful the backstage crew was how they made me and my band
members
feel
comfortab le
and
appreciated. A class act. Spending time
with host Bill Cosby was a treat for me.
We shared time and told jokes before
and after my performance. We talked
about the days of Will ie Bobo, Miles
Davis and Tito Puente. In many ways it
was a bitter sweet experi ence for me
because it was his last year serving as
bost. Also 1 met Bill Henderson, the
legendary jazz singer. He was very
gracious. I also met WiUie Bobo's son,
Gil Correa, who was handling sec urity
backstage. I enjoyed seeing my friend ,
Pete Escovedo who appeared that
evening wi th hi s daughter, Sheila E, as a
,
fathe r's day surprise.
The Playboy Jazz Festival! Caramha 1
The big surprise was that
·I
APRIL 2013
L.A. JAZZ SCENE
Page 5
An eve ning with
Medeski Martin & Wood
Acoustic and Electric
Allen Ginsberg's Kaddish:
A Hal Willner Project ·
Fri , Apr 26
For Naomi Ginsberg (1894-1956)
featuring a live score by Bill Frisell
Royce Hall
Brad Mehldau Trio and
The Bad Plus with special guest
Joshua Redman
Tbe auaiencii was full the "who's who"
Poncho Sa nch ez and Louie Cruz Beltran at NAMM
tht:r~
was no nuuuy
Oi:IL'KSLagt::~ ~
tta-
ha ....
L. A. Jazz: What are you most happy
about today? How fa r a head do yo u
plan ?
Cruz Beltra n: I feel very happy about a
number of wonderful and uniq ue
opporrunities I hav·e had in my career
over the last few years. A truly
remarkable experience for me was
singing the National Anthem at Dodger
Stadium during a sold-out game. \Vith
over 55,000 people, it was the second
largest artendance ever at the Stadium.
1i 'W11S truly a breathtaking .moment in
my life. And the Dodgers won!
Also I was honored by Mayor
Anton io Vi llargarosa, who declared
Cinco de MCryo '"Louie Cruz Beltran
Conga Day" and formally recognized
my contributions to the Arts in
Hollywood
with
proclamation
prese nted by the City CounciL
1 had appearances at the last thtee
Society of Singers ""Ella Awards" shows
at the Beverly Hilton Internationa l
Bal lroom. The first year, Herb Alpert
and Lani Hall were the honorees and I
was an impromptu guest emcee. The
following year Natalie Cole was the
honoree and I performed alongside
Gladys Knight, James Ingram, Dave
Koz and Patti Austin. I did a guest solo
on congas and timbal es and was
hum bled to receive a standing ovati on.
of the mus ic world from Los Angeles
and New York. It was a great honor for
me. The most recent "Ella" honored
Smokey Robinso n and I was invited
play on stage with Smokey, Stevie
Wond er, Natalie Cole and Carrie
Und erwood, among others.
For the last four years I have been the
headliner at the Ford Amphi theatre in
the Ho llywood Hills fo r LA Vida Music
·Festiva l. Guest artists. appearing with
my band include Poncho Sanchez, Pete
Escovedo and Hubert Laws.
I have been busy with appearances at
many
music festival s thro ughout
California as well as my reg"ular gigs at·
venerable clubs including jazz hot spot,
Steamers in Fullerton, Catalina's in
Holl ywood and Herb Alpert's Vibrato
Supper Club in Bel Air. Vibrato, by the
way, was where I was very honored to
perfonn fo r D ionne Warwick - at her
request - for her bitthday and 50 111
Anniversary in show business.
And while I' m thinking about the
experiences that have brought joy to my
life. [ am so glad that l was able to trave l
the world du ring my early career. I
throughout
Europe.
performed
Scandinavia, the Caribbean, Africa and
the Middle East. The closest I have
gotten to As ia, however, is Chinatown_
Los Angeles.
ln December of 1999, l was asked to
perform for Cu ban dignitary Dr. Arie l
Aguilar Reyes from the University of
Havana. Dr. Reyes' wann reception of
my music, as well as the in vitatio n he
subseqt,~ently extended to me to perform
an instructional/cultural tour of Cuba,
gave me great pride in the music that has
been such an important part of my life.
My CDs are selli ng well. The Latin
Jazz aud iences are
vibrant and
supportive and growing. Also one of my
origina l so ngs, Cu Rumba, from my fi rst
CD, It's My Time, is being featured in
the new Richard Montoya film whic li is
just about to be released, called "Water
and Power".
And I an1 a very proud endorse r of
REMO Percussion.
But most of all, lam grateful for my
health .
Regarding planning ahead , our
ca lendar is looki ng good for thi s year
and well into the New Year.
Que Viva Ia musica !
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