Spanglish Fly: New York Boogaloo

Even down to its very sound, "boogaloo" is a curious word that represents a curiously Latin American music, born during the 1960s immigration wave that spread from Puerto Rico into New York City and simultaneously growing like a friendly weed in and around the pop, soul, rock, and jazz musical cultures that were blooming throughout the city at that time.

Spanglish Fly brings together musicians from Canada, Cuba, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and of course Manhattan, led by founder, brass player and native New Yorker Jonathan Goldman. "So many elements can be brought into boogaloo because the musical platform gives you plenty of room to do things. The spirit of the music is intensely inviting," Goldman explains. "I felt when I first got into the music that I was invited to a party. Boogaloo welcomes everyone, whatever degree of familiarity you have with Latin music and culture. It's a wide open door that says, 'Come on in here and dance with us. Have fun.'"

The fun never stops on New York Boogaloo. It opens just about perfectly with "Esta Tierra," a Spanish take on Woody Guthrie's iconic "This Land is Your Land" rendered in thick and tasty boogaloo, with funky bass, soulful organ, flame-throwing horns, a drumbeat so loose that it's tight, and Erica Ramos' sumptuous, sensuous lead vocal.

In "Love Graffiti Me," Ramos' lead and the harmonizing background vocals honor the 1960s girl-group hits (by The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes, The Shirelles, and so on) that blossomed from New York's famous downtown Brill Building. Its loping rhythm dances with classic '60s rock, too. Heading north to the Bronx, "42 (El Cuarenta y Dos)" pays tribute to retired New York Yankees relief pitcher and Panama native Mariano Rivera, the last major leaguer to wear Jackie Robinson's number 42. (Major League Baseball officially retired number 42 on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of the game in which Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.) Lyrics such as "Smooth like butter/ All he needs is his cutter" prove that someone in this band knows their baseball lingo.

"Bump (and Let It Slide)" bumps and grinds with the eternal primal rhythm of a woman's hip-hugger jeans wriggling down the block, and its last verse embodies the Dionysian frenzy and release that characterizes some of the best music, in Latin or any other style: "Last night, I left my home up on the West Side/ This morning found me wake up on the East Side/ How this happened ain't so very clear/ But I'm glad tonight you and me are here/ To bump, and let it slide..."

The closing "Brooklyn Boogaloo" brings New York Boogaloo full circle. Recorded with boogaloo legend Harvey Averne, a kindred Jewish spirit in Manhattan's Latin music scene, it simultaneously delivers dance and musical history lessons. Ramos' triumphant shout out, "Just like we did back in the day/ Just put your hands together and say/ Beep beep, bang bang/ Brooklyn, do your thang..." honors Joe Cuba's seminal 1966 boogaloo hit "Bang Bang"; "Bang Bang" inspired Johnny Colon to compose his 1967 smash "Boogaloo Blues"; "Boogaloo Blues" lit such a fire under the fledgling Goldman that he spun records under the name "DJ Jonny Semi-Colon."

"Whatever boogaloo tune you listen to, you'll hear lots of really intense musicianship, but it all works together as something that sounds fun," Goldman concludes. "It doesn't make you shake your head and say, 'These guys are geniuses.' It makes you want to move your body."

Comments