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Rene Lopez | |
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| Born | August 6, 1969 The Bronx, New York City |
| Genres | Disco, funk, latin soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer songwriter, musician |
| Instrument(s) | vocals, timbales, guitar, drums, bass |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels | Liberation Label |
| Website | renelopez |
Rene Lopez (born August 6, 1969) [1] is a disco, funk, and electric latin soul musician and singer-songwriter.
Rene Lopez was born August 6, 1969, in the Bronx, the son of an Italian mother and Puerto Rican salsa musician, Rene Lopez Sr., who played trumpet during the heyday of Fania Records with the Ray Barretto Orchestra and Típica 73, bands beloved by New York's Latin community. [1]
When a kid, Rene Lopez was heavily into Led Zeppelin and Prince. Especially Prince influenced his music style, to bring different types of music together. [2]
Rene Lopez's earliest memories are of standing in the wings of so many stages, while watching his father—renowned salsa musician Rene Lopez Sr.—perform. Sr. played on all kinds of them – from small cramped club stages in the Bronx, to Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Madison Square Garden. Rene can still recall the club circuit's heady mix of cigarettes, sweat, and perfume enveloping his senses, and how the music connected the musicians to the audience, and he can still recall wanting to also be onstage.
Rene inherited a rich modern Latin music tradition from his father, but over the past 20 years he has built a legacy on his own terms, blurring lines between funk, hip-hop, rock, jazz, EDM, and pop while, along the way, working with a diverse roster of icons. Today, he embraces a new era of his creativity with his Jam Of The Month Club song series.
“I went back to the studio, locked the door, and got back to what I loved,” the New York-based singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist recalls. “I still feel like a kid, new ideas keep pouring out and I feel like I have an open palette to work with.”
Throughout his career Rene has worked with Joseph Arthur as well as with members of Wilco, Blind Melon, The Meters, and Spin Doctors, and so many more. He's garnered acclaim from such publications as NPR, Vibe, Magnetic Mag, Joy Of Movement, Earmilk, Pop Shifter, Relix, Pancakes and Whiskey, Paste, Seen It Heard It, Mix Tape Maestro, The Aquarian, and The Washington Post, among countless others.
Rene's groundbreaking band in the 1990s, The Authority, blazed through the boundaries of hip-hop, Latin, and funk, playing gigs alongside P-Funk, The Meters, and Fishbone, earning accolades from jam band fanatics and hip-hop heads, who used to pack like sardines into The Wetlands Preserve and Nightingales to see them. Later, Rene started the band Wasabi with the John Popper of Blues Traveler.
As a solo artist, he's released four albums and EPs that defy category, traversing intimate singer songwriter, traditional Latin, soul, funk, and pop rock. He began his career as a gifted drummer, and was part of the first wave students at the New School jazz program that also included John Popper, Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors), along with modern jazz innovators Jesse Davis and Brad Mehldau. During this formative time, he studied with drummer Bernard Purdie (The Beatles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones) who gave Rene his first opportunity to step forward from behind the kit as a singer and songwriter.
At the most basic level, what struck Rene as a kid standing stage side at his father's shows was how those slinky salsa rhythms made people's body's move. That musician to audience relationship was about rhythm. Throughout his musical journey, first through exploring metal drumming, then funk, jazz, and a myriad of Latin styles, that rhythm connection would be central. Rene's artistry has matured into an aesthetic he's come to refer to as E.L.S. (Electric Latin Soul).
“New York is a melting pot of cultures and musical sensibilities—Brazilian music, Latin clave rhythms, 1980s electro-funk, and classic soul—and they all meld together in my head. I don’t label it, and I have no fear exploring these as an artist.”
Other disciples of groove compose vamps, but Rene has always been attentive to songcraft, putting that discipline on equal footing with his rhythms. While at the New School, Bernard Purdie conducted a songwriting contest. The winner would have his songs recorded at the famed New York studio The Record Plant. Rene submitted the first songs he ever wrote, and soon found himself making his debut with Bernard Purdie producing. That fateful turn of events changed his life as a musician, shifting his focus to composition and singing, and sending him on a profoundly winding and rewarding musical journey.
All roads led to the Jam of the Month Club. “It’s so gratifying the creativity is so wide open, and every month I get to put a smiles on faces with free music. This is what music should be about,” Rene shares. The first track debuted in September with “Heavy Baby Heavy” an invigorating homage to intelligent women bursting with sleek stanky funk that recalls the electro grooves of 1980s Prince and The Time. Rene has consistently offered a broad array of funky gems since. A recent highlight has been the deep swampy-soul of “Watch Me Turn It Up” recorded in New Orleans and featuring some of the Crescent City's finest, including George Porter Jr. from The Meters on bass and Ivan Neville on Hammond B-3 organ and piano. Watching those masters perform Rene's music was a career highlight. “It was so special, it made me feel like my funk was true.” Other spotlight jams are the psych-funk freak out “U Can Bet On Me,” featuring iconic bluesy vocalist Irving Louis Lattin, and a true 1980s feel.
Rene's father put down his horn many years ago in favor of a steadier living, and to this day Rene remains inspired by his father's legacy. “My father is so proud of me that I’ve stuck to it. He always says he’s blown away by my creativity. It means so much to me. I’m so excited to share my latest jams with him.”
NPR's Alt.Latino referred to Rene Lopez's music as one of Alt.Latino's favorites of 2014. [3]
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Salsa music is a style of Caribbean music, combining elements of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and American influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on son montuno and son Cubano, with elements of cha-cha-chá, bolero, rumba, mambo, jazz, R&B, rock, bomba, and plena. All of these elements are adapted to fit the basic Son montuno template when performed within the context of salsa.
Chicano rock, also called chicano fusion, is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specific Latin instruments or sounds. The subgenre is defined by the ethnicity of its performers, and as a result covers a wide range of approaches.
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which includes samba and bossa nova.
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly by stateside Puerto Ricans with African American music influences. The style was a fusion of popular African American rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music with mambo and son montuno, with songs in both English and Spanish. The American Bandstand television program introduced the dance and the music to the mainstream American audience. Pete Rodríguez's "I Like It like That" was a famous boogaloo song.
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban son with salsa, American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass drum, which is not used in salsa bands. Timba and salsa use the same tempo range and they both use the standard conga marcha. Almost all timba bands have a trap drummer. Timbas also often break the basic tenets of arranging the music in-clave. Timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Associated with timba is a radically sexual and provocative dance style known as despelote. It is a dynamic evolution of salsa, full of improvisation and Afro Cuban heritage, based on son, Rumba and mambo, taking inspiration from Latin jazz, and is highly percussive with complex sections. Timba is more flexible than salsa and includes a more diverse range of styles. Timba incorporates heavy percussion and rhythms which originally came from the barrios of Cuba.
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. His biggest hit was his rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man", which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s.
Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz. His first hit, "El Watusi", was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States. In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa. Nonetheless, many of Barretto's recordings would remain rooted in more traditional genres such as son cubano. A master of the descarga, Barretto was a long-time member of the Fania All-Stars. His success continued into the 1970s with songs such as "Cocinando" and "Indestructible". His last album for Fania Records, Soy dichoso, was released in 1990. He then formed the New World Spirit jazz ensemble and continued to tour and record until his death in 2006. He is the father of American vocalist and saxophonist Chris Barretto, best known for his work with Periphery and Monuments.
Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm. The genre emerged in the early 1940s with the Cuban musicians Mario Bauzá and Frank Grillo "Machito" in the band Machito and his Afro-Cubans in New York City. In 1947, the collaborations of bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and percussionist Chano Pozo brought Afro-Cuban rhythms and instruments, such as the tumbadora and the bongo, into the East Coast jazz scene. Early combinations of jazz with Cuban music, such as "Manteca" and "Mangó Mangüé", were commonly referred to as "Cubop" for Cuban bebop.
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Salvador "Sal" Cuevas was an American salsa bassist known for his association with the Fania All-Stars from 1978 to 1985. Although he played the upright bass, he was one of the most popular electric bassists in the New York salsa scene, often playing in a funk style. "He was the first to bring the slaps and funk style that he learned from R&B, Funk, and Jazz music, into Salsa music."according to Billy Idol, Sal Cuevas came up with the base for “ Eyes without a face” Billy was looking for a sound that was powerful enough that would compliment the dark unromantic lyrics.
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Larry Harlow was an American salsa music pianist, performer, composer, band leader and producer. He was born into a musical American family of Jewish descent.
Israel López Valdés, better known as Cachao, was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga. Throughout his career he also performed and recorded in a variety of music styles ranging from classical music to salsa. An exile in the United States since the 1960s, he only achieved international fame following a career revival in the 1990s.
Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco, known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New York salsa scene in the 1960s and 1970s as the founder and musical director of Fania Records.
Barron W. "Barry" Rogers was an American jazz and salsa trombonist.
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Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín, was a Cuban pianist specializing in jazz-influenced Cuban popular music. He was an important figure in the 1950s descarga scene in Havana, and one of the most influential Cuban pianists of the 20th century.
Bobby Espinosa was an influential and important part of the Latin rock scene in Los Angeles from the late 1960s to the 2000s. He was a founding member of El Chicano.
Nicky Marrero is an American Latin jazz percussionist, of Puerto Rican descent best known as the timbale player in The Fania Allstars and as a recording artist during the 1970s salsa boom in New York.
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