Alfredo Manuel De La Fé (born February 6, 1954) is a
Cuban
Cuban or Cubans may refer to:
Related to Cuba
* of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban Americ ...
-born and New York–based violinist who lived in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
for more than 16 years and is responsible for adapting the
violin
The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
to Colombian traditional dance music creating innovative Salsa and Latin American music. The first solo violinist to perform with a Salsa orchestra, De La Fé has toured the world more than thirty times, appearing in concert and participating in over 100 albums by top Latin artists, including
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
...
,
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...
,
Celia Cruz
Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...
,
José Alberto "El Canario"
José Alberto Justiniano (born December 22, 1958, in Villa Consuelo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), better known by his stage name José Alberto "El Canario", is a salsa singer from the Dominican Republic. José Alberto moved to Puerto Ri ...
,
Cheo Feliciano
Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira ...
, The Fania All-Stars,
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
* Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp
** Santana 20
** Santan ...
and Larry Harlow. His second solo album entitled Alfredo released in 1979 was a Grammy nominee for "Best Latin album".
A child prodigy, Alfredo's father who was a singer (a tenor of opera) in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. to a family of musicians. De La Fé began studying violin at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana in 1962. In 1964, he received a scholarship to attend the
Warsaw Conservatory
The Chopin University of Music (, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe. In 1965, he performed compositions by
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...
and
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
with the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred to colloquially as the Met, the company i ...
in
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
. A scholarship to
Juilliard
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...
Arts enabled him to further his studies. De La Fé launched his professional career, at the age of 12, when he switched from classical music to salsa and accepted an invitation to join charanga musician José Fajardo's orchestra in 1966.
Career
In 1972, he joined
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
...
's orchestra. He remained with the group for five years, moving temporarily to San Francisco where he joined Santana in 1976. Returning to New York, De La Fé joined Típica 73 in 1977. Two years later, he released his debut solo album, ''Alfredo'', and was nominated for three
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s. His song, "Hot to Trot", appeared in the top 50 in the US.
In 1980, De La Fé signed with Sars All Stars, and produced thirty-two albums for the Latin record label. His second solo album, ''Charanga '80'', was released the same year. In 1981, De La Fé became musical director of
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...
's Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble. In 1981 he resumed his solo career, signing with Taboga, for whom he recorded the album ''Triunfo''. Relocating to Colombia in 1983, De La Fé signed with
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
and released three albums – ''Made in Colombia'', ''Dancing in the Tropics'' and ''Alfredo De La Fé Vallenato'' – by the end of the 1980s. In 1989, De La Fé switched to the Fuentes label. In 1991 he toured Europe playing in Geneva, Paris and Rome and met Eddie Palmieri. In 1991, he also participated in a Colombian soap opera ''Azucar''. Although he joined the Fania All-Stars in 1995, De La Fé continued to pursue a solo career. He signed with
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
in 1997. Two years later, he toured with his own band, appearing at festivals in Denmark, Holland, France, Turkey and Belgium, and reunited with Eddie Palmieri's Orchestra for a European tour.
In 2002, after several years in Europe, he moved back to New York and toured the US with his New York band, led by pianist
Israel Tanenbaum
Israel Tanenbaum-Rivera is an American pianist, music producer, composer, arranger and audio engineer who has produced more than 50 albums and participated in over 100 recordings.
Salsa
Tanenbaum has performed with many of the classic salsa art ...
. Other musicians included bass player Maximo Rodriguez, percussionists Tony Escapa and Little Johnny Rivero, flute player Andrea Brachfeld.
Discography
Solo albums
*1979: "Alfredo"
*1980: "Alfredo De La Fé y la charanga 1980"
*1981: "Para África con amor"
*1982: "Triunfo"
*1984: "Made in Colombia"
*1985: "Alfredo De La Fé Vallenato"
*1990: "Salsa"
*1990: "Los violines de Alfredo De La Fé"
*1992: "Los violines de Alfredo De La Fé vol. 2: Sentir de Cuba".
*1993: "Con toda la salsa Alfredo De La Fé"
*1995: "La Salsa de Los Dioses"
*2000: "Latitudes"
*2006: "Alfredo De La Fé y Fruko (La Llave de Oro)"
*2013 : "Alfredo De La Fe y Rodry Go(Sin Límites)"
*2017 : "Alfredo De La Fe y Poncho Zuleta, Iván Villazón, Silvio Brito, Ivo Díaz y Jorge Luís Montaño.(Homenaje al Vallenato)"
*2017 : "Alfredo De La Fe y Rodry Go & B-Clip(Melao, Salsa electrónica)"
*2019 : "Alfredo De La Fe y B-Clip(Jazz Eléctronico)"
*2020 : "Alfredo De La Fe y Checo Acosta, Fausto Chatella e Iván Villazón(Barranquilla tiene Fé)"
*2022 : "Alfredo De La Fe y Gilberto SantaRosa,Alexander Abreu, Jose Alberto"El canario", etc(Legado)"
Guest artist on other productions
*1973: "The Sun Of Latin Music" by Eddie Palmieri & Friends Con Lalo Rodriguez
*1976: " De Ti Depende" by Hector Lavoe
*1977: "Selecciones Clásicas" by José Fajardo
*1977: "El Baquine de Angelitos Negros" by Willie Colon
*1978: " Comedia" by Hector Lavoe
*1979: "Típica 73 en Cuba - Intercambio Cultural" by Típica 73
*1979: "I Need You" by
Sylvester
Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
*1980: "Charangueando con la Típica 73" by Típica 73
*1980: "Señor Charanga" by José Fajardo
*1982: "On Broadway" by Tito Puento
*1997: "Bravo" by Fania All-Stars
*2001: "Diferente" by Jose Alberto (El Canario)
*2003: "El Gran Combo Remix"
*2003: "Celia Cruz Telemundo Special"
*2011: "El Ultimo Mambo, Israel Lopes Cachao"
*2017: "Sabiduría"
*2020: "Grupo Niche 40"
''Sountracks for movies and TV series''
* 1980: "The Shining" Song with Lalo Schifrin.
* 1996: "Oro". All episodes.
* 1997: "Otra en Mí". All episodes.
* 2014: "La Muerte del Gato". Vilaplana Films.
* 2015: "Celia Cruz T.V series. All episodes. FOX TELECOLOMBIA
* 2016: "Dancing with the Stars - Colombia". All episodes.
* 2017: "Paquita La Del Barrio". All episodes. Grupo Imagen Producciones.
* 2018: "Nadie me quita lo Bailao". All episodes. FOX TELECOLOMBIA.
* 2018: "Jose Jose: El Principe de la Canción". Nine episodes. TELEMUNDO
* 2018: "Ponedores". Vilaplana Films.
* 2019: "La Gloria de Lucho" All episodes. CARACOL INTERNACIONAL.
* 2021: "Queen of the South". S5, E5, Más dinero mas problemas. Song: "Asómate a la Ventana". USA Network.
* 2022: "Snowpiercer". S3, E7, Ouroboros. Song: "Hilda". NETFLIX.
* 2023: "Plantadas". Shango Productions.