The Lebron Brothers

re:Discovery
The Lebron Brothers
Salsa y Control
COTIQUE, 1970
Salsa already existed in the lexicon of Latin musicology when
the Lebron Brothers released their sixth LP, Salsa y Control.
Ignacio Piñero of Cuba’s Sexteto Nacional introduced it in
his 1929 song “Echale Salsita” at the World’s Fair in Spain
when he demanded the sextet add some spice to their set.
Probably fresher in audiences’ minds was Charlie Palmieri’s
culinary invocation of the word in “Salsa Na’ Ma’.” But when
vocalist José Lebron redressed the son montuno with his cool,
Brooklyn swagger on the LP’s title track, “salsa” became the
name for the younger Latino generation’s new sounds and
attitude.
As a whole, Salsa y Control was a masterwork showcasing the elegant repertoire of seasoned Latin players. Smooth,
soulful baladas like “Tu Llegaste a Mi Vida” and “Estoy
Loco” kept the brothers rooted in tradition, while the subtle
changes and solos in cha-chas like “Piensa lo Bien” and “Sabor Tipico” revealed their jazz sensibilities. But the essence
of the album lay in the perfectly timed “Salsa y Control.”
The track opens with a deep and buoyant bass line that rolls
steadily; it guides swinging horns to a transitioning clave
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drop, signaling the timbales and transforming the steadypaced son montuno into a dance-floor anthem.
Much to Tito Puente’s dismay—he never liked the use
of the word salsa—both song and word struck a deep chord
within the younger generation of NewYork’s Latin musicians
who were eager to etch out their own identity. The Lebron
Brothers’ flip of the culinary reference was a fitting universal
symbol for all Latinos and would become the catchphrase
for the new musical movement. And if the lyrical imagery
escaped the rhythmically inclined, Izzy Sanabria was sure to
make the point stick with a brilliant cover photo: an arrow
shot through a can of salsa marked the spot and foreshadowed things to come.
It’s still unclear who gets the credit (or the blame) for
definitively deciding that “salsa” would name the hot, uptempo, musical style that erupted out of the Latin music
scene in the 1970s, but it’s certain that the Lebron Brothers get at least partial thanks for giving us the words to
describe nuestra cosa latina. .
–Kristofer Ríos