Alfredo De La Fe - Latitudes (2000)

With Latitudes, Cuban-born, New York-bred electric violinist and classical strings wizard Alfredo de la Fé unleashes an uncompromising musical statement rooted in New York's venerable salsa tradition. De la Fé heads a first-class ensemble featuring the searing vocals of Armando Miranda, Rodrigo Rodriguez and chorus, with strings, tres, and a robust array of trombones, trumpets, flugelhorn, reeds, keyboards and Afro-Latin percussion. De la Fé presents six of his own compositions, including the celebratory "Latin New York," "Somos el Nuevo Milenio" (an appeal to pan-Latin cultural identity), "Descarga Melao," a charanga-flavored blowout, and "Batusalsa," a seamless essay of Latin America's intersecting African percussive traditions. De la Fé also draws on Chucho Valdés ("Xiomara") and Eddie Palmieri ("Muñeca"), plus an unconventional approach to the traditional repertoire, as in the compelling salsa-rap arrangement of "Sandra Mora." - Michael Stone

Alfredo De La Fé has been gone a long time. The nostalgia which he feels for New York is palpable in the first track, "Latin New York" on his CD, "Latitudes", and we've missed him, too!
There are very few violinists who are renowned in the Charanga style, but without a doubt, Alfredo De La Fé is one of them. Throughout his long career (he began studying at the Conservatory of Music in Havana at age 8), his creativity has manifested itself in several reincarnations. When he was still a child of 12 he was contracted by the famous flautist, José Fajardo, in New York.

A few years later at age 18, he went to work for Eddie Palmieri. With a strong background in Charanga style, he learned to explore new spaces and create innovative sounds. This is what he is best known for, and he doesn't disappoint!

Alfredo De La Fé has become the master of mixing his Charanga roots with non-traditional elements. You hear the jazz influence in the track entitled, "Xiomara" with magnificent vocals by Armando Miranda and a 'guaguancó' chorus, or a revisit to his Típica 73 past, but with a thoroughly modern violin solo on "Qué manera". He weaves the cha-cha-chá, son montuno, violin rifts to die for, afro-cuban roots and modern timba sounds together in a masterful 'quilt' that covers the entire gamut of the past. But you'd better pack this one in your CD case, and get ready for the ride into the next millennium ... because Alfredo is just getting started!