Alberto Naranjo
Encyclopedia
Alberto Naranjo [nah-rahn'-ho] (born September 14, 1941) is a music
ian. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. His mother, the singer Graciela Naranjo
, was a radio
, film
and television
pioneer in her homeland. Largely self-taught, Alberto embarked on a similar musical course, becoming – like his mother – one of Venezuela's icons of contemporary popular music
.
s such as jazz
and classical
, from Louis Armstrong
to Duke Ellington
; from Bud Powell
to Thad Jones
and Mel Lewis
; from Béla Bartók
to Claude Debussy
, and specially, the music created by Tito Puente
, one of the greatest all-time Latin jazz
leaders. It is well know the fact that Puente revolucioned the role of the drums
in stage performance, when he moved the drum kit and timbales
from the back to the front of stage, highlighted it as a solo instrument, and demonstrated that a drummer can also be a gifted composer
and arranger
.
(1963–64), Los Melódicos
(1965–66) and Porfi Jiménez
(1966–67). A valuable sideman
as well, he was adaptable to many different styles, being able to fit smoothly into the group in which he were playing. Later in the 1960s, he was focused exclusively in studio sessions
becoming one of the sought after musicians in his country.
, Vikki Carr
, Eddie Fisher
, Engelbert Humperdinck
, Julio Iglesias
, Tom Jones
, the Nicholas Brothers
, Eliana Pittman
, The Platters
, Tito Rodríguez
, Ornella Vanoni
and Pedro Vargas
.
In 1977 Naranjo founded El Trabuco Venezolano, an orchestra in which he quickly achieved notable success as arranger and leader. The term trabuco comes from Venezuelan baseball slang, where it means an all-stars selection of players coming from different clubs, or bands
, if is the case, in musical terms. The orchestra was created by Naranjo in response to the emergence of a plethora of salsa amateur
ish bands, which often offered pale imitations of foreign groups. Naranjo wanted to start a total musical movement, with all-round musicians and singers. El Trabuco had no specific commercial ambitions and was ideated to record and perform at cultural events in theaters and universities, and although Naranjo never intended to be a salsa interpreter, the band overlapped considerably with salsa music. But in his jazzy arrangements, Naranjo didn’t use the typical 'minor' percussion salsa instruments, like güiro
, maracas and claves
, and worked with a jazz drum set, conga
s, bongos
, timbales, piano
and bass
in front of trumpet
s, trombone
s and saxophone
s, like old big band
s ensembles, not at all common in salsa bands. Eventually, an electric guitar
or a string section
were added to the format. El Trabuco made five studio recordings and recorded two live albums with Cuba
n group Irakere
. Notably, both groups performed on stage together several times.
In the late 1970s, Naranjo played drums with Tito Puente's orchestra during a salsa
all-star
concert tour that included Celia Cruz
, Héctor Lavoe
and Ray Barretto
. Beside this, he became an active participant and collaborator in several local movements like jazz, Latin, bossa nova
, rock
, and Venezuelan genres, and emerged as a well-respected arranger.
and Guaco
; pop-artist like Ilan Chester
, Simón Díaz
, Oscar D'León
, Ricardo Montaner
, María Rivas
, Aldemaro Romero
and Adalberto Santiago
, between others, and also has played with jazz people such as Jeff Berlin
, Dusko Goykovich, Danilo Pérez
, Arturo Sandoval
, Bobby Shew
and Dave Valentin
. The Trabuco and other bands that he has led have alternated with musicians like Estrellas de Areito
, Larry Harlow, Eddie Palmieri
, Son 14
and Chucho Valdés
. In this period he also toured through Europe
, Latin America
and United States
.
Since the 1990s, Naranjo has been an active participant in diverse artistic and musical outreach endeavors of Venezuela, not only as a player, but also as an historian
, educator, and urban chronicler
on radio, book
s and newspaper
s.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
ian. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. His mother, the singer Graciela Naranjo
Graciela Naranjo
Graciela Naranjo [nah-rahn'-ho] was a Venezuelan singer and actress. A radio, cinema and television pioneer in her homeland, she made her professional debut as a bolero singer in 1931. From the thirties onward her fame as a singer grew, she appeared in films and had her own TV show in an...
, was a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
pioneer in her homeland. Largely self-taught, Alberto embarked on a similar musical course, becoming – like his mother – one of Venezuela's icons of contemporary popular music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Career
In his early years, Naranjo was influenced by diverse music genreMusic genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s such as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, from Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
to Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
; from Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
to Thad Jones
Thad Jones
Thaddeus Joseph Jones was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader.-Biography:Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan to a musical family of ten . Thad Jones was a self taught musician, performing professionally by the age of sixteen...
and Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
; from Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
to Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, and specially, the music created by Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, one of the greatest all-time Latin jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
leaders. It is well know the fact that Puente revolucioned the role of the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
in stage performance, when he moved the drum kit and timbales
Timbales
Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
from the back to the front of stage, highlighted it as a solo instrument, and demonstrated that a drummer can also be a gifted composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
.
1959-1969
With Puente as his role model, Naranjo started professionally as a drummer in 1959, at age 18, playing with several local dance bands including Chucho SanojaChucho Sanoja
Jesús Chucho Sanoja , was a Venezuelan musician, pianist, composer, music director and arranger.- Early career :...
(1963–64), Los Melódicos
Los Melódicos
Los Melódicos are a Latin dance band from Venezuela that plays a blend of Colombian, Cuban and Dominican rhythms. The orchestra was assembled by Renato Capriles in Caracas during the late 1950s, making their debut in a local radio station on July 15, 1958...
(1965–66) and Porfi Jiménez
Porfi Jiménez
Porfirio Antonio Jiménez Núñez was a Dominican-born Venezuelan Latin music composer, arranger, and bandleader. A native of Hato Mayor Province, he played professionally under the name Porfi Jiménez....
(1966–67). A valuable sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
as well, he was adaptable to many different styles, being able to fit smoothly into the group in which he were playing. Later in the 1960s, he was focused exclusively in studio sessions
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
becoming one of the sought after musicians in his country.
1970-1979
Since 1970, Naranjo remained busy and performed on countless recording sessions. He also toured extensively, became a member of the Radio Caracas Television orchestra, and backed up significant artists touring in Venezuela, between others Charles AznavourCharles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
, Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr is an American singer and humanitarian from El Paso, Texas. She has performed in a variety of music genres, including jazz, pop and country, but has enjoyed her greatest success singing in Spanish.-Career:After taking the stage name 'Vikki Carr', she signed with Liberty Records in 1962...
, Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (singer)
Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
, Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
, Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, the Nicholas Brothers
Nicholas Brothers
The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African American team of dancing brothers, Fayard and Harold . With their highly acrobatic technique , high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day...
, Eliana Pittman
Eliana Pittman
Eliana Pittman born Eliana Leite da Silva was one of the more soulful singers of early 1970s...
, The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
, Tito Rodríguez
Tito Rodriguez
Tito Rodríguez was a popular 1950s and 1960s Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He is known by many fans as "El Inolvidable" , a moniker based on his most popular interpretation, a song written by composer Julio Gutierrez.-Early years:Rodríguez , born in Santurce, Puerto Rico,...
, Ornella Vanoni
Ornella Vanoni
Ornella Vanoni, OMRI is one of the most credited pop singers of Italy. She is known for her sophisticated pop style.-Artistic career:...
and Pedro Vargas
Pedro Vargas
Pedro Vargas Mata was a Mexican singer and actor, from the golden age of Mexican cinema. He was known as the "Nightingale of the Americas".-Biography:...
.
In 1977 Naranjo founded El Trabuco Venezolano, an orchestra in which he quickly achieved notable success as arranger and leader. The term trabuco comes from Venezuelan baseball slang, where it means an all-stars selection of players coming from different clubs, or bands
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, if is the case, in musical terms. The orchestra was created by Naranjo in response to the emergence of a plethora of salsa amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
ish bands, which often offered pale imitations of foreign groups. Naranjo wanted to start a total musical movement, with all-round musicians and singers. El Trabuco had no specific commercial ambitions and was ideated to record and perform at cultural events in theaters and universities, and although Naranjo never intended to be a salsa interpreter, the band overlapped considerably with salsa music. But in his jazzy arrangements, Naranjo didn’t use the typical 'minor' percussion salsa instruments, like güiro
Güiro
The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...
, maracas and claves
Claves
Claves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...
, and worked with a jazz drum set, conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s, bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
, timbales, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
in front of trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, like old big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s ensembles, not at all common in salsa bands. Eventually, an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
or a string section
String orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
were added to the format. El Trabuco made five studio recordings and recorded two live albums with Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n group Irakere
Irakere
Irakere is a Cuban band founded by Armando de Sequeira Romeu Music Director and composer, and by pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973...
. Notably, both groups performed on stage together several times.
In the late 1970s, Naranjo played drums with Tito Puente's orchestra during a salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
all-star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
concert tour that included Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
, Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
and Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto was a Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican jazz musician.-Early years:Barretto was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent...
. Beside this, he became an active participant and collaborator in several local movements like jazz, Latin, bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and Venezuelan genres, and emerged as a well-respected arranger.
1980-present
Naranjo has made arrangements for the bands Conexion LatinaConexion Latina
Conexion Latina is a salsa music and Afro-Cuban jazz orchestra based in Germany, which was founded in 1980 by trombonist Rudi Fuesers. From the beginning, the orchestra was formed of musicians from different Latin American countries like Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Peru, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and...
and Guaco
Guaco (band)
Tropical music band from Venezuela that was formed in Maracaibo by Mario Viloria and Gustavo Aguado, Zulia in 1968. Mario retired after being the main founder because of college studies but during his participation in the group he was the main composer for several years and his home was the main...
; pop-artist like Ilan Chester
Ilan Chester
Ilan Chester is a celebrated Venezuelan singer, keyboardist, arranger and composer. Born in Israel in 1952, of European parents, Ilan emigrated to Venezuela in 1953.- Biography :...
, Simón Díaz
Simón Díaz
Simón Narciso Díaz Márquez is a singer and Grammy Award winning composer of Venezuelan music.- Career :Díaz has endeavored to recover the folklore and musical traditions of the llanos, the Venezuelan plains...
, Oscar D'León
Oscar D'León
Oscar Emilio León Somoza, better known as Oscar D'León is a Venezuelan musician who became internationally famous for his salsa music. In Spanish, he is known as El Sonero del Mundo . His most famous song is perhaps "Llorarás," which he recorded in 1975 with his group La Dimensión Latina...
, Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Starting his career in the early 80s, he has already released more than 15 albums with numerous successful singles and has sold over 22 million record worldwide.-Early years:Montaner was born as Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, in...
, María Rivas
María Rivas
María Rivas is a Venezuelan Latin jazz singer, composer, and occasional painter.-Career:Born in Caracas, Venezuela of Spanish mother and Venezuelan father, Rivas gradually built her voice skills as a hobby, absorbing the influences ofIn 2005 Rivas returned to Aruba to be part of the show "Good...
, Aldemaro Romero
Aldemaro Romero
Aldemaro Romero was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger and orchestral conductor. He was born in Valencia, Carabobo State.-Biography:...
and Adalberto Santiago
Adalberto Santiago
Adalberto Santiago is a world famous salsa singer.He was born in barrio Pozas of Ciales, Puerto Rico. Adalberto's relaxed and flawless lead vocals are amongst the best in salsa, and for over two decades he has sessioned as a coro singer on countless New York recordings. His early influences...
, between others, and also has played with jazz people such as Jeff Berlin
Jeff Berlin
Jeff Berlin is an American jazz, jazz fusion and progressive rock electric bass player.Jeff Berlin's bass playing is somewhat similar to that of Jaco Pastorius, though Berlin plays a fretted bass and has stated his distaste for Jaco imitators.-Early life:Jeff Berlin was born to parents who were...
, Dusko Goykovich, Danilo Pérez
Danilo Pérez
Danilo Pérez is a Panamanian pianist and composer.-Early life:Danilo Pérez was born in Panama in 1965. He is considered one of the finest contemporary pianists and jazz composers of our era....
, Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in the newest renamed Artemisa Province, Cuba....
, Bobby Shew
Bobby Shew
-Biography:After leaving college in 1960, Shew was drafted into the U.S. Army and played trumpet with the NORAD band in Colorado Springs and on tour. After leaving the Army, Shew joined Tommy Dorsey's band and then played with the Woody Herman and then the Buddy Rich Big Bands in the mid-to-late...
and Dave Valentin
Dave Valentin
Dave Valentin is a jazz flutist.He learned latin percussion first when he was a teenager, and then switched to flute. Valentin's teacher, Hubert Laws, suggested that he not double on saxophone because of his attractive sound on the flute. He studied at the Bronx Community College...
. The Trabuco and other bands that he has led have alternated with musicians like Estrellas de Areito
Estrellas de Areito
Estrellas de Areito was an ensemble involving over thirty of Cuba's musicians, including Rubén González, Richard Egües, Nino Rivera, Félix Chappotín, Miguelito Cuní, Pío Leyva, Arturo Sandoval, Tata Güines and Paquito D'Rivera....
, Larry Harlow, Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
, Son 14
Adalberto Álvarez
Adalberto Álvarez is a Cuban pianist, director and composer.During the 1970s, Álvarez attended the National School of Arts in Havana. He started the Cuban band Son 14 in the 1970s and disbanded it in the 1980s. In 1984, Álvarez started the group Adalberto Alvarez y su Son, which he directs today...
and Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. In 1972 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Together with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Valdés is revered as one of Cuba's greatest jazz pianists...
. In this period he also toured through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Since the 1990s, Naranjo has been an active participant in diverse artistic and musical outreach endeavors of Venezuela, not only as a player, but also as an historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, educator, and urban chronicler
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
on radio, book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s.
Discography
- Dulce y PicanteDulce y Picante-Track listing:-Personnel:*Alberto Naranjo - arranger, director, drums, timbales*Pablo Ortiz - piano*Jorge Del Pino - bass*Julio Flores, Jorge Rivera, Horacio Mogollón, Evencio Villamizar, Bautista Vivas Chacón - saxes...
- Imagen LatinaImagen Latina (album)Imagen Latina is an album by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1992 and reedited twice in 2002 and 2008. It is the seventh album of El Trabuco Venezolano musical project arranged and directed by Naranjo....
- OblaciónOblación-Personnel:* Alberto Naranjo – arrangements, direction, drums, percussion* Víctor Mestas – acoustic piano* Gustavo Carucí – electric bass* Julio Flores – soprano, alto and baritone saxophones* Rodolfo Reyes – alto and tenor saxophones, flute...
- Swing con Son
- El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IEl Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IEl Trabuco Venezolano - Vol. 1 is a Vinyl LP by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1977 and partially reedited in two separate CD albums titled El Trabuco Venezolano 1977 - 1984 Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 released in 1995...
- El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IIEl Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IIEl Trabuco Venezolano - Vol. II is a Vinyl LP by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1979 and partially reedited in two CD albums titled El Trabuco Venezolano 1977 - 1984 Vol. 1 and Vol. 2...
- El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IIIEl Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IIIEl Trabuco Venezolano - Vol. III is a Vinyl LP by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1981 and partially reedited in two CD albums titled El Trabuco Venezolano 1977 - 1984 Vol. 1 and Vol. 2...
- El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IVEl Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IVEl Trabuco Venezolano Vol. IV is a studio Vinyl LP by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1984 and partially reedited in two CD albums titled El Trabuco Venezolano 1977 - 1984 Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 . It is the sixth of seven albums of the El Trabuco Venezolano musical project...
- El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. VImagen Latina (album)Imagen Latina is an album by Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo, originally released in 1992 and reedited twice in 2002 and 2008. It is the seventh album of El Trabuco Venezolano musical project arranged and directed by Naranjo....
- Irakere & Trabuco, Vol. 1
- Irakere & Trabuco, Vol. 2Irakere & Trabuco – En Vivo, Poliedro de Caracas, Mayo 15' 81Irakere & Trabuco - En Vivo, Poliedro de Caracas, Mayo 15 '81 is a Vinyl-LP live album released in 1982.The Cuban band Irakere of Chucho Valdés and El Trabuco Venezolano led by Alberto Naranjo shared a stage three times – twice in Venezuela at the Poliedro de Caracas, in 1979 and 1981 , and once...
Selected contributions
- Arturo Sandoval & the Latin Jazz Orchestra
- Los Cantos del CorazónLos Cantos del CorazónLos Cantos del Corazón is a 1995 album by Graciela Naranjo and Estelita Del Llano.-Track listing:# Presentación 0:21# Carrousel del Pasado 3:51...
- Cosas del AlmaCosas Del AlmaCosas del Alma is a Compact Disc studio album recorded in 1984, and re-issued in 2002.-Review:For decades, Adalberto Santiago has been an icon of salsa music. One of the most versatile and lush puerto rican singers, Santiago plays now romantic Boleros arranged by a group of renowned musicians as...
- I Remember CliffordI Remember Clifford (album)I Remember Clifford is a 1992 album by Arturo Sandoval, the second album he made after fleeing from his native Cuba.The entire album is a tribute to Clifford Brown, who was a great influence on Sandoval; Brown was an influential, highly-rated and much-loved jazz trumpeter who died in an auto...
- The Mambo KingsThe Mambo Kings (soundtrack)The soundtrack to The Mambo Kings is a solid effort that effectively conveys the atmosphere inherent in the film, which was based on Oscar Hijuelos’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love...
- Mambo NightsMambo Nights (album)After the Venezuelan musician Alberto Naranjo had done some arrangements for the German salsa band Conexion Latina, he was invited to participate as guest director for the recording of the band’s fourth CD, Mambo Nights...
- MuareMuareMuaré is an album by María Rivas.The name is a Spanish term which is originated from moiré, is a proper title to define the intention of this album. For more over a decade, María Rivas has been evolving in a parallel manner to the multiform styles of pop, folk and jazz musics...
Sources
- Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela / Directores José Peñín y Walter Guido, Tomo 1, pag. 706-710. Publisher: Caracas, Fundación Bigott, 1998. ISBN 9789806428034