AL CASTELLANOS & LA PLAYA SEXTET: MARDI-GRAS#5005 "TAKE OUR THREE FOR CHA CHA

$

34

ARTIST : SEXTETO LA PLAYA, AL CASTELLANOS & ORQUESTA & EMILIO REYES ORQUESTA

TITLE:   TAKE OUR THREE FOR CHA- CHA-CHA

REMARKS:....Besides The Major Labels Doing The Mambo/Cha Cha Cha in the 1950s were three or four tiny but great New York based labels doing great competition to TICO, RCA, etc....Mardi-Gras, Fiesta, Rainbow, SMC, Coda etc....Look for the prices for those early SALSA but hard to find recordings...in fact most of their masters were acquired by the FANIA monopoly when they bought Tico, Alegre, etc.!

If You Are Collector You Will Recognized the Mardi-Gras top 3 bands that appear here!!!!

Mardi-Gras

Review by Tony Wilds

"Bilongo" is a great La Playa Sextet number, recorded with the proper echoey conga that distinguishes Tico, Mardi-Gras, and Fiesta productions. "Choo Choo Cha Cha" makes great use of a train-like whistle and a beat that is closer to rock (actually boogie-woogie) than cha cha cha. "5 O'Clock Cha Cha" is another stunt vocal by Castellanos, while "Atlantic Beach Mambo" also is fine, sung in English à la Desi Arnaz. The Emilio Reyes tracks are, as usual, exceptional. 

LA PLAYA SEXTET:

The La Playas (not to be confused with the La Plata Sextet, a knockoff on Seeco) were the most popular group on New York's small, beloved Mardi Gras label. Although in later years numbering as high as a dozen players, the group originally was a spare sextet distinguished by a strong, rhythm-guitar sound. The distinctive guitar and lively tempos made their sound as much Latin rock as progressive Latin, which meant their appeal could range beyond "New Yorican" to pan-mundo-Latino. In their association with Tito Rodriguez key members were shared with what would become Eddie Palmieri's group.

AL CASTELLANOS:  "The Speak up Mambo" was his big hit...(I do not remember but either Larry Harlow or Orlando Marin began their career with Al ) or it was with the Randy Carlos Orquesta who recorded on the label?)

Saxofonista y director de orquesta nacido en Cuba, cuyo grupo tocó mayormente en la parte baja de Nueva York, en la década del 50?.

EMILIO REYES & ORQUESTA: I can not find the LP "An Ocassional Cha Cha Cha" that Emilio Recorded On Mardi Gras in 1954 (Prices of the few ones I found are excessive!) 4 of the tracks in this LP came from that recording!!

  1  Bombon Cha (La Playa Sextet) 

  2  Bilongo (La Playa Sextet)  

  3  Running Running Cha Cha Cha (La Playa Sextet)  

  4  Choo Choo Cha Cha (La Playa Sextet)  

  5  Cha Chareando (Emilio Reyes & Orquesta) 

  1  5 O'Clock Cha Cha (Al Castellanos)  

  2  Atlantic Beach Mambo  (Al Castellanos) 

  3  Guess Who Does the Cha Cha (Emilio Reyes & Orquesta)  

  4  Dansero Cha Cha  (Emilio Reyes & Orquesta)

  5  Marguerita's Mambo (Emilio Reyes & Orquesta)

WEB & BLOG REMARKS: 

From an Al Santiago's Interview:

As founder, president and producer of Alegre Records, staff producer for Tico, staff producer for Musicor and founder and producer for Montuno, I have mucho information on record companies. I also founded Mucho Music in 1993.

Yes, RCA did record the biggies -- the two Titos, Macho, Beny, Prado, Aragon, Noro, etc. and Columbia did record Macho, Quijano and others. They were not however, consistently the lifeblood of the New York City Latin bands. Some minor companies that made contributions were: Mardigras, Fonseca, Rainbow, Fiesta and Coco. Fonseca recorded Ricardo Ray, Chíhua-hua and Bobby Valentin (when he was still playing trumpet). Rainbow had that great Johnny Conquet hit "Piano Merenque." Fiesta recorded some excellent Jose Curbelo conjunto sides. Mardigras recorded Joe Cuba and La Playa Sextette among others. (Tico/Roulette purchased Mardigras in the early '60s) Coco was owned by Harvey Averne who released various Eddie Palmieri's, one Machito and two Cesta All Stars, (actually the Alegre All Stars). Harvey purchased the Cesta All Stars tapes from Joe Quijano who had purchased the original tapes from me in 1967.

Gabriel Oller owned SMC (Spanish Music Center) and Coda Records. He recorded virtually every major artist and band of the late '30s and '40s. His record store was on 6th Ave., around the corner from the Musicians Union Local 802 on West 48th St. Down the block on 7th Ave. was La Salle's Restaurant where the musicians hung out. SMG and Coda artists included el Duo los Panchos, (before they were a trio) Chano Pozo, Machito (under the name of his pianist and arranger Rene Hernandez), Marcelino Guerra (under the name of Rapidney), Tito Puente, Olga Guillot, Miguelito Valdes (excellent CD released in early 1994 by Caribe Music) and Arsenio Rodriguez.

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RECORD OR COVER GRADED VG or LESS WILL BE "SOLD AS IS"

MINT: Unplayed, still sealed.
 

NM RECORDS: are shiny, with no visible defects, they might have one or 2 minor superficial scuff and they should play without any noise. Writing, stickers or other markings cannot appear on the label, nor can any “spindle marks” from someone trying to blindly put the record on the turntable. Major factory defects also must not be present; a record and label obviously pressed off center is not Near Mint. If played, it will do so with no surface noise. (NM records don’t have to be “never played”; a record used on an excellent turntable can remain NM after many plays if the disc is properly cared for.)

NM COVERS:

have no creases, ring wear or seam splits of any kind.

Picture Sleeves: should look as if they never housed a record. This is a great reason to remove your 45s from their picture sleeves and keep them separate. Just keeping the 45 inside the sleeve will cause damage than can reduce the grade of the sleeve.  

VG++ (Excellent) RECORDS: 
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VG++ COVERS:
Artwork is still as close to perfect as can be. Some impression to the cover (minor outer ring wear) but no ink wear! Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. The corners can show white (where the artwork pasted slick was) meaning, slight wear. No seam splits or writing on the cover or taped repairs can make this grade.  

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may show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK, too, such as telltale marks around the center hole, but repeated playing has not misshapen the hole. There may be some very light ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable.

VG+ COVERS:
should have only minor wear. A VG+ cover might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the most vulnerable location. Also, a VG+ cover may have some defacing, such as a cut-out marking. Covers with cut-out markings can never be considered Near Mint.

VG+ PICTURE SLEEVES:
might show some very light creasing where it is obvious that a record once resided (or still does reside). A VG+ picture sleeve might have some very minor seam wear or a split (less than one inch long) at the bottom, the sleeve’s most vulnerable location. 

VG RECORDS:

They have more obvious flaws than their counterparts in better shape. They lack most of the original gloss found on factory-fresh records. Groove wear is evident on sight, as are light scratches deep enough to feel with a fingernail. When played, a VG record has surface noise, and some scratches  may be audible, especially in soft passages and during a song’s intro and ending. But the noise will not overpower the music otherwise. Minor writing, tape, or a sticker can detract from the label. Many collectors who have jukeboxes   will use VG records in them and not think twice. They remain a fine listening experience, just not the same as if it were in better shape.

VG COVERS and PICTURE SLEEVES:
will have many signs of human handling. Ring wear  in the middle or along the edges of the cover where the edge of a record would  reside, is obvious, though not overwhelming. Some more creases might be  visible. Seam splitting will be more obvious; it may appear on all three sides,  though it won’t be obvious upon looking. Someone might have written or stamped  a price tag on it, too.

RECORDS GRADED VG OR BELOW WILL BE "SOLD AS IS"

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Carlos A. Flores 25830 Crippen Dr. Land O' Lakes, FL  34639