Ismael Quintana (June 3, 1937 – April 16, 2016)
was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
music.
Early years
Quintana was born in
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.
Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...
.
His family moved to
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
sector of New York when he was only two weeks old;
there he went to school and while he was still in high school he formed a band with his neighborhood friends.
Conjunto La Perfecta
In 1961,
bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
Early life
Pal ...
heard Quintana sing in an audition and invited him to join his newly organized
conjunto
The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...
(small band), La Perfecta.
Quintana accepted and became the lead singer of the band between 1961 and 1973.
During this time he co-wrote some of Palmieri's major hit songs.
With Palmieri, Quintana was awarded the 1966 Trophy for the "Most Popular Latin Singer of the Year", awarded at the
Palladium Ballroom
The Palladium Ballroom was a New York City night club. The US mambo craze that started in 1948 began at the Palladium Ballroom. On March 15, 1946, it opened at the northeast corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.''New York Post'', March 14, 1946; p ...
in New York.
Quintana left Palmieri for a solo career and signed with Vaya Records (subsidiary of
Fania Records
Fania Records is a New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his Brooklyn-born Italian-American ex-New York City Police Officer turned lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964. The label took its nam ...
).
Between 1974 and 1983, he recorded five albums as a solo artist, scoring his first major hit with "Mi Debilidad" ("My Weakness").
Tours
In addition to a solo career, Quintana also participated with the
Fania All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time.
History
Beginnings
In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...
and went on tour with them to Africa, Japan, France, Central and South America and the United States.
In 1976, he made an appearance in the movie ''Salsa'', with
Celia Cruz
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
and the
Fania All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time.
History
Beginnings
In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...
.
During the 1980s, he recorded "Vamos, Háblame Ahora" ("Come On, Talk to Me Now") with
Papo Lucca
Enrique Arsenio Lucca Quiñones (born April 10, 1946) better known as Papo Lucca, is a Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist best known for his pianist skills. His main musical genres are Salsa and Latin Jazz. He ranks with the late Charlie Palm ...
.
Later years
Quintana semi-retired from the world of music because of health issues and lived with his family in New York. He moved with his family to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
where, on April 16, 2016, he died of heart failure, at the age of 78.
Quintana was buried in Ponce, the city where he was born, at Cementerio La Piedad. He was survived by his wife Yolanda and three children: Ismael, David, and Jessica.
Recordings
Among Quintana's recordings are:
Soloist
*"Punto y Aparte" (1971);
*"Dos Imágenes" (1972);
*"Ismael Quintana" (1974);
*"Lo Que Estoy Viviendo" ("What I'm Living Through") (1976);
*"Amor, Vida y Sentimiento" ("Love, Life and Feelings") (1977);
*"Jessica" (1979) (with Ricardo Marrero and The Group);
*"Mucho Talento" (1980) (with
Papo Lucca
Enrique Arsenio Lucca Quiñones (born April 10, 1946) better known as Papo Lucca, is a Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist best known for his pianist skills. His main musical genres are Salsa and Latin Jazz. He ranks with the late Charlie Palm ...
).
With Eddie Palmieri
*"Eddie Palmieri y La Perfecta" (1961);
*"El Molestoso" (1962);
*"Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso" (1963);
*"Echando Pa’ Lante" ("Straight Ahead") (1964);
*"Azúcar Pa' Ti" ("Sugar for You") 1965);
*"Mozambique" (1966);
*"Molasses" (1967);
*"Champagne" (1968);
*"Justicia" (1969);
*"
Superimposition
Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident.
Graphics
In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to t ...
" (1970);
*"Vamonos Pa'l Monte" (1971);
*"Recorded Live at
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...
, Vol. 1" (1972);
*"Recorded Live at Sing Sing, Vol. 2" (1974);
*"Sentido" (1973);
*"Timeless". Live recording;
*"Eddie Palmieri Live At The
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...
" 1974);
*"Eddie Palmieri" (1981).
With Cal Tjader and Eddie Palmieri
*''
El Sonido Nuevo
''El Sonido Nuevo'', subtitled/translated ''The New Soul Sound'', is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri recorded in 1966 and released on the Verve label. '' (Verve, 1967)
*"Bamboléate": Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader" (Tico, 1968)
With The Fania All-Stars
*"Live at Yankee Stadium, Vol. 2";
*"Fania All Stars in Japan";
*"Live in Africa";
*"Salsa: Original Motion Picture Sound Track Recording";
*"Tribute To
Tito Rodríguez
Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...
";
*"Habana Jam";
*"Commitment";
*"Lo Que Pide La Gente";
*"Live In Puerto Rico 1994";
*"Bravo 97";
*"Viva Colombia".
With Tito Puente
*"Homenaje a Beny Moré", Vol. 1;
*"Homenaje a Beny Moré", Vol. 2.
With Vladimir Vassilief
*"Vladimir and His Orchestra: New Sound in Latin Jazz".
With Jimmy Delgado
*"Salsa con Dulzura".
With Joe Cuba Sextet
*"Songs Mama Never Taught Me".
See also
*
List of Puerto Ricans
*
List of people from Ponce, Puerto Rico
This is a list of notable ''Ponceños'', people from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Listed here are people who were either born in Ponce or who were not born in Ponce, but who are or were longtime residents of the city – the so-called adopted sons and da ...
References
External links
Popular Culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quintana, Ismael
1937 births
2016 deaths
Burials at Cementerio La Piedad
Maracas players
Singers from New York City
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
American male composers
People from the Bronx
Fania Records artists
Salsa musicians