1.
Salsa Music (CDs)
Some good compilations (CDs) for dancing
are:
- Salsa Fresca Various artists(15
tracks) - hard to get (sometimes on amazon.uk)
- Salsa Fever Various artists(22
tracks - hard to get
- 22
Ultimate Salsa Hits 2002 Grupo Niche (22 tracks)
- The Best Grupo
Niche (14 tracks)
Here is a list of salsa songs which are particularly suited for dancing:
Africando Yay Boy
Beny Moré y Perez Prado Orchestra
Babarabatiri
Celia Cruz Bembelequa
Celia Cruz y Johnny Pacheco
Quiembara
Eddie Palmieri Muneca
Eddie Palmieri Palo Pa
Rumba
Eddie Palmieri Vamonos
Pal Monte
El Gran Combo El Menu
Fania All Stars Aqui El
Que Baila Gana
Grupo Niche Etnia
Hector Lavoe El Cantante
Isidro Infante Asi Se
Goza
Isidro Infante Santo Militar
y Montuno
Ismael Rivera y Cortijo Maquina
Landera
Joe Arroyo La Rebelión
Johnny Pacheco Aqua De
Clavelito
Johnny Pacheco El Escencia
Del Guaguancó
Johnny Polanco y Conjunto Amistad
La Receta
Jose Alberto "El Canario"
Tributo Al Bravo
Jose Alberto "El Canario"La
Paella
La Sonora Poncena Prende
El Fogon
Larry Harlow Arsenio
Los Adolescentes Persona
Ideal
Los Van Van Azucar
Machito Como Quiera
Mario Bauzá Tanga
Melcochita Tributo Al
Jeffe
Oscar D’Leon Lloraras
Oscar D’Leon Que Bueno
Baila Usted
Ray Baretto Bandolera
Rey Ruiz No Me Acostumbro
Tito Puente Dejame Sonar
Tito Puente Hong Kong
Mambo
Tito Puente Ran Kan Kan
Tito Puente Timbalero
Tony Vega Esa Mujer
Vicentico Valdez with Tito Puente
Cao Cao Mani Picao
Willie Chirino Medias
Negras
Willie Colón Idilio
Willie Villegas Descarga
My favourites for listening are:
La India
Marc Antony (e.g. The Concert
from Madison Square Garden also on DVD)
Ibrahim Ferrer & Ruben Gonzales
(Buena Vista Social Club and Compay Segundo, Omara Portuondo)
A good resource for Salsa music is Amazon (usually delivers within 24hrs
nationwide). Good Salsa music is still hard to find - since it is
not exactly mainstream music.
I
usually get my Latin CDs from online shops like Amazon - which I can
honestly recommend (you can also listen to some tracks there). However,
you may be lucky and find a good CD in the World music section
of your local store.
Type salsa to search for salsa CDs in the popular music
sections or copy and paste the group names or titles from the list above
to find good CDs.
I
recommend to sort the results after "rating" and to read a few
reviews. Both branches of Amazon do international shipping for
a small charge.
| |
Amazon UK ships worldwide! 
|
| |
Amazon USA ships worldwide!
|
There
are numerous Salsa CDs available on the market. However, I have seen
very few CDs that contain more than one or two tracks that are both
danceable and great to listen to - particular for a beginner/intermediate
dancer. My personal criteria for "danceablity" are the following three:
tempo (speed): Most tracks
that are played in UK salsa clubs have between 180 and 220 beats/minute.
In SalsaPassion classes we play music with 145-180 beats/minute
in the beginners/improvers classes and 165-220 beats/minute in intermediate/advanced
classes.
clear beat: Many beginners
and even more advanced dancers have problems to hear the beats -
in particular to identify the first beat - in the 8 beat pattern
of Salsa music. This is because the Salsa rhythm is usually created
by a complex blend of different rhythm instruments such as the congas
(hand drums), the cowbell and the claves (wooden sticks).
The congas usually dominate and
can occur on any beat (or even in between beats) while the cowbell
occurs on beats 1,3,5,7 which is what the majority of people all
over the world dance to. Only by dancing "Mambo on two" it is possible
to dance to the clave sounds which occur on 1,2.5,4,6,7 - if they
occur at all. Hence, in order to hear clear beats it is desirable
to get tracks with lots of cowbell (or something equivalent) in
it - like many listed above.
sound: Obviously it is more
fun and easier to dance to music that sounds great. This is usually
up beat music with good clear voices and a colourful rhythm &
melody. However, great sound is something very subjective - so there
is no guarantee in that department..
Our advice for dancers is: Listen to the tracks while you are doing
the basic step before yo buy a unknown CD. That way you avoid buying
tons of music that sounds good but often quite hard to dance to (look
out for the cowbell). If you find more than 3 tracks that pass this
test - get the CD and let me know about it...
Faster music tends to sound better but for practising new moves you
might prefer slower tracks - which are even harder to find.
2. Salsa Videos
Most videos listed here can be ordered at Amazon - use the search
box above. You may also want to check if you can download one onto your
computer by clicking
here
Dance with me (Starring:
Vanessa L. Williams, Chayanne)
You get to see some great Cuban
Salsa dancing including La Rueda - the Cuban "wheel" where partners
are swapt in a circle.
The storyline resembles the one
of "Dirty dancing" or "Flashdance". It is a very enjoyable film
for everybody who loves Salsa music/dance.
Although there could have been more
dance scenes - it is the best entertainment video featuring Salsa
dancing I have seen so far. Soundtrack available on CD.
Buena Vista Social Club-Video
(Starring: Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzales, Compay Segundo)
If you love Cuba and authentic Cuban Salsa and Son music you will
love this film. It is an excellent documentary about a bunch of
forgotten Cuban musicians (aged between 40 and 90) who were assembled
by Ry Cooder to what became known to be (the now world famous) Buena
Vista Social Club, named after a 50’s musician’s haunt in Havana.
The success of the CD was followed by the creation of this amazing
film directed by Wim Wenders. Great music and images of Cuba but
virtually no dancing. Also available on DVD.
Compay Segundo - Live At L'Olympia-Video
(Starring: Compay Segundo, Omara Portundo)
Filmed at the Olympia in Paris in 1998, this concert features the
92-year-old master of Cuba's hottest export - the rhythm of 'son'
music. Compay Segundo is the amazing guitarist of the Buena Vista
Social Club. Not quite as impressive as with the original Buena
Vista Social Club crew but still a pleasure to watch and listen
to. To keep the guitar dominating there is not much conga playing
- which I found pretty surprising but it works. There is even some
lovely Son/Salsa dancing - very Cuban..
Born Romantic-Video (Starring:
Paddy Considine, Kenneth Cranham, Craig Ferguson, Ian Hart)
The hypnotic beat of salsa provides the backdrop to this urban drama
about a group of lonely Londoners trying to find love and each other.
I didn't get a chance to see this film yet but I know some of the
Salsa dancers featured in the film (who are among the best in the
UK) - so you should get to see some impressive London/New York style
Salsa. The film was released in March 2001.
|
