Latin star Beavers celebrates salsa legend
San Jose Jazz Fest concert presents tribute to singer Cheo Feliciano
Salsa fans need no introduction to vocalist Cheo Feliciano, the great sonero who rivaled Fania labelmates Ruben Blades, Héctor Lavoe and Adalberto Santiago as the genre’s definitive voice of the 1970s. But East Bay-reared trombonist, arranger and producer Doug Beavers wants to introduce his music to the uninitiated as well as celebrate his legacy among fellow Feliciano aficionados, and he figured there was no better place than San Jose Jazz’s Summer Fest.
“They are the largest presenter of salsa and supporters of Latin music in the country,” said Beavers, who brings the Feliciano tribute to Summer Fest’s Salsa Stage on Saturday afternoon. “I haven’t been to another festival that has a stage dedicated to a dozen salsa bands. I haven’t seen that anywhere.”
A Latin music heavyweight who has earned Grammy Awards for his work with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Latin music legend Eddie Palmieri, Beavers first presented the tribute to Feliciano last May in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, “and it was a smash,” he said from his home in New York City.
“People loved the music. Thinking about my Bay Area roots, I figured there are not a lot of shows like this out there, tributes to a legend of the music. Rather than just presenting my band at Summer Fest, I wanted to step it up a level.”
Born in Puerto Rico, Feliciano was in his late teens when his family moved to the Spanish Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in 1952. Trained as a percussionist, he got early exposure playing congas with popular Latin orchestra leader Tito Rodriguez but came into his own as a vocalist when Rodriguez recommended him for conguero Joe Cuba’s sextet.
With his suave baritone and exceptional skills as an improviser, Feliciano quickly gained a large
popular following, recording prolifically with Cuba from 1957-67. A two-year stint with Palmieri produced some memorable recordings, but drug addiction sidelined his career for several years. After getting clean, Feliciano dedicated himself to helping other musicians maintain sobriety.
With his health restored, Feliciano started recording for Fania as
a solo artist, kicking off a run of classic albums with the massive 1971 hit “Cheo.” Whether singing hard-charging salsa dura or sweeping boleros, he maintained his signature sound almost until his death in 2014 at the age of 78.
“He’s got that range, no one sounds like Cheo,” Beavers said. “It really hits you in your soul. In terms of being a sonero, the pure art of that, improvising on a melody and then being able to crush you with a beautiful bolero, he was among the very best.”
For Saturday’s concert, Beavers is focusing on music from three Feliciano Fania albums, 1979’s “Estampas,” 1980’s “Sentimiento, tú” and 1982’s “Profundo.” He’s assembled a top-shelf nine-piece ensemble with Bay Area stalwarts like trombonist Mike Rinta and percussionist-vocalist Edgardo Cambon. Most importantly, he’s featuring Carlos Rosario on lead vocals.
“Carlos came up in New York listening to Lavoe, Blades and Feliciano, and he really gets it in terms of the style,” Beavers said. “Bay Area salsa has been influenced a lot by the Cuban side of things, timba. When I came out here, I realized there’s a much different slant. They have their own identity that mixes a lot with Puerto Rican music, and I think he’s one of the few guys with that East Coast style and phrasing.”
Beavers returns to California next month to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, which is premiering a new work commissioned by the festival, “Monterey Encounter (A Latin Jazz Suite for Flute),” with special guest Hubert Laws. It’s no coincidence that Beavers first connected with Spanish Harlem bandleader Oscar Hernandez at Summer Fest.
Beavers was already a rising star via his Concord Jazz work
with Latin music icon Palmieri, transcribing classic compositions for his celebrated 2002 album “La Perfecta II” and arranging and recording with him on “Listen Here!” which won a Grammy for best Latin jazz recording in 2007. Two years later, after playing a San Jose Jazz Fest set with Pete Escovedo, Beavers headed over to hear the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
“I stood on the side of the stage playing claves the whole concert right by Oscar Hernandez’s piano,” Beavers recalled. “By the end of the show, he invited me up, and I took a trombone solo. The next time they played Yoshi’s, he invited me, and I told him I’m moving to New York, and I’d love to do this more. I’ve been a member of the band since 2010 and co-produced the last two records.”