Sabor (Remastered) Angel Canales

• 1 Sabor los Rumberos Nuevos 04:21
• 2 Sol de Mi Vida 06:29
• 3 La Hiedra 04:56
• 4 Perico Macona 03:29
• 5 Hace Tiempo 04:43
• 6 Lejos de Ti 04:15
• 7 No Te Acostumbre 03:21
• 8 El Cantante y la Orquesta 03:40
• Total Runtime 35:14

Info for Sabor (Remastered)

Craft Latino, the Latin repertoire arm of Craft Recordings, proudly announces the release of an all-analog remastered HiRes version of Sabor, the electrifying salsa album that established Angel Canales as “El Diferente” – one of the most idiosyncratic and charismatic singer/songwriters in the annals of tropical music. So memorable and unique was Canales’ artistic style, that he gained a rabid following among salsa aficionados throughout the Americas.

Born 1950 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Angel Luis Canales moved with his family to New York when he was only eight years old, and grew up listening to the albums that Ismael Rivera recorded with Rafael Cortijo’s orchestra – a paradigm of Afro-Caribbean singing with personality and flavor. After working as a jeweler and a stint in the army, Canales devoted himself to music. Lacking any formal training, he used the limitations of his voice to maximum effect, perfecting a style that is instantly recognizable: stressing vowels in unusual places, emphasizing lyrics in theatrical fashion and creating a particular groove and emotional connection to the music that draws from previous masters but remains inimitable to this day.

Canales’ recording debut couldn’t have been more auspicious. He was lead vocalist on Markolino Dimond’s 1971 Brujería – one of the most transcendental and atmospheric albums in salsa history. Produced by Joe Cain and released in 1975 by Alegre Records (Alegre was acquired by Fania Records in 1975), Sabor introduced Canales as songwriter, bandleader and star vocalist, featuring a provocative cover with a naked female torso and the bald-headed singer flaunting his love of jewelry. Arranged by Colombian pianist Edy Martínez, the eight songs inside are hugely flavorful. Canales introduces his players one by one on opening cut “Sabor los rumberos nuevos,” waxes poetic about his nostalgia for Puerto Rico – the mega-hit “Lejos de ti” – and in Ruben Blades fashion, sings about a colorful Nuyorican character on the simmering “Perico Macona.” The LP also includes two boleros – earthy and velvety – showcasing Canales’ natural flair for melodramatic narratives.

Even though Canales’ stage persona was decidedly eccentric, salsa fans of the ’70s were quick to embrace a performer so eager to rewrite the rules of the game. Sabor established him as a tropical icon and the few concerts he offered in South America were wildly successful. He continued recording at a feverish pace throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and later retired due to health issues. Disappearing from the public spotlight, he is now considered one of salsa’s most intriguing figures. His mercurial legacy remains.

Angel Canales, vocals
Jose Madrid, piano
Emerito Benitez, baritone saxophone, flute
Eddie Testo, bass
Aldemaro Luis Rivera, bongos
Antonio Tapia, congas
Juan Torres, trombone, musical director
Gadier Quinones, timbales
Ricardo Montanez, trombone
Tom Malone, trumpet

Digitally remastered

Angel Canales
has been on the cutting edge of Latin music for more than three decades. A native of Puerto Rico who grew up in Brooklyn, NY, from the age of ten, Canales has consistently added an explosive punch to his music. With his gutsy vocals accompanied by such top Latin musicians as trombonists John Toerres and Ricardo Martinez, conga player Antonio Tapia, and bongo player Louie Rivera, Canales and his band, Sabor con Angel Canales, delivered some of the hardest-edged Latin jazz in New York during the 1970s and '80s. One reviewer described their music as "heavy metal Latin Bronx style." Canales, whose debut solo album, El Sentimento del Latino en Nueva York, was released in 1979, has had a love-hate relationship with music. Frustrated by a lack of radio airplay, and struggling against the romantica trend that dominated salsa in the 1980s, he disbanded his group in 1990, and tossed the arrangements of his music into the ocean. Moving to Miami, he opened a successful diamond-cutting business. He couldn't keep away from music for long. Reuniting with his former timbale player, Victor Perez, in 1993, he resumed touring two years later.

Canales' love of music was sparked, as a youngster, when he heard the singing of Ismael Rivera with Rafael Cortiyo's Combo. A timbale player for a series of bands led by guitarist Luis Torres, he made his singing debut with the Ray Jay Orchestra. Canales recorded for the first time, in 1971, as lead singer of Sabor, a group led by ex-Willie Colón pianist Mark "Markolino" Dimond. The album, initially released as Brujeria '71, was reissued as Mas Sabor under Canales' name in 1977. With Dimond's departure from the band in 1975, Canales assumed leadership of the group. (Craig Harris, AMG)

This album contains no booklet.