¿Que Pasa?: First of all to you Ray - what made you decide to form your own band?

Ray: I actually was happy to be "just a sideman", however in the late 70's the band leader that I was working with at the time had to step down because he got a job that required that he work from 12 mid-night to 8 am in the morning, so the other members asked me to take over as leader. At first I refused, but they persisted and they convinced me to try it so I did.
To my surprise I discovered that I had the ability to do it. I've been leading different bands that I put together throughout the years ever since.

¿Que Pasa?: How did you all meet?

Ray:I met most of the members of Swing Sabroso when I moved to New Jersey from Brooklyn NY.
The exception is my trumpet player (Eddie Muniz) who was a member of my Orchestra
"La Herencia Latina" in Brooklyn. I released an album on the RCA Label with La Herencia Latina in the early 80's

¿Que Pasa?: Do your various backgrounds Puerto Rica, Spanish, Harlem,
Brooklyn, maybe more, influence your styles of playing?

Ray: With the exception of my trombone player (Khadafy Khan) who is from Trinidad, we are all Puerto Rican. We all (including Khadafy) have been influenced by the great Salsa bands of Tito Puente,Machito, Willie Rosario, Tommy Olivencia etc.and we have also been influenced by the great Jazz masters...Miles Davis...Monk...Coltrane...etc.

¿Que Pasa?: I imagine all the members of the band has impressive musical careers before joining Swing Sabroso can you tell us of a few?


Ray: My Trumpet player (Eddie Muniz) has played with Conjunto Clasico....my timbalero & bongosero(Jeffrey & Mark Lopez) have played with Ray Barretto & DLG (Jeffrey & Mark are brothers) My trombone player has played with the R&B group "the Stylistics" and he does alot of writing for commercials & TV shows. My congero Justino Vargas has played with Nino Segarra. My piano player was the musical director for the salsa singer Herman Olivera.

¿Que Pasa?: Do these various careers also contribute to the special
sound of the band?

Ray: Yes...they bring alot of great ideas to the table. As a leader I always encourage my musicians to let their creative ideas flow.¿Que Pasa?: What language so you speak within the band? Ray: Spanglish (lol)Que Pasa?: Your music has been described as Salsa Dura do you agree with this and if not how would you define your music?Ray: I agree 100%. The music we play is "Salsa Dura" With all due respect to those who still play salsa monga, our passion is Salsa Dura and our fans love it

Que Pasa?:Do you make joint decisions about new music for your repertoire?

Ray: Yes. I usually throw some recommendations to my musicians of songs that I'd like to add to our book and then I encourage some feed back from them. I especially discuss it with my singer (Gil Velez), because it's important that he likes the song. I would not want him singing a song that he doesn't particularly like just because the rest of the guys like it. I like it when we collectively agree on the song that we will be adding to our playlist.

Que Pasa?: Do you compose much of your own material? Ray: We have some band members that are good composers, but we also go outside of our band to get lyrics for the songs. We also only choose the best arrangers in the business. Que Pasa?: One of the tracks on your album is a tribute to Tito Puente is he someone special for you? Ray: Yes. Mr Tito Puente enriched our lives with so much great music that I wanted to show my gratitude by honoring his legacy and paying him tribute with "Song For TP".

Que Pasa?:Do Raphael Hernandez compositions feature heavily in your choice of
material?

Ray: I was born in Aguadilla PR, and so was Rafael Hernandez...so we're home boys from different eras. His music has touched me and so many world wide and we certainly have several of his compositions in our repertoire. (I will be recording some of his music on my next CD)

Que Pasa?:What are the internal dynamics of the group is there one member who is the joker etc?

Ray: I have to say that our trumpet player Eddie Muniz is the class clown, though I can sometimes go toe to toe with him (lol) We all get along very well and we have learned to keep our ego's in check. The music that we bring to the public is what's important and we focus on that.

Que Pasa?:Which salsa bands do you admire?

Ray: Tito Puente...Willie Rosario....Roberto Roena...Tommy Olivencia....Ray Barretto...Eddie Palmieri.

Que Pasa?:What kind of audiences do you play for is it a mainly a dance crowd?

Ray: Our music is "para el bailador". The audiences that come to our performances are from many different ethnic back grounds and they come for one purpose only and that is to Dance, and we make sure we deliver. Our fan base continues to grow each time we perform.

Que Pasa?: Which track are you asked to play most often?

Ray: Baila con Swing Sabroso

Que Pasa?:You have just released your first album how has it been received?

Ray: Our CD has been very well recieved especially in Europe...Colombia and in Japan.

Que Pasa?: Is it easy to get air play in US are there special salsa radio stations for instance?

Ray: No. The commercial stations in NY and NJ are doing nothing for this music. The non-commercial stations...college stations and internet radio are keeping this music alive & on the world stage.

In other parts of the US it's different. On the west coast they are playing this music everywhere they can.

Que Pasa?: Are you planning any tours and might you visit England, Italy, Germany,
France (were many of QPM web visitors live)?

Ray: I'm currently working with a promoter to do a tour in Italy. I'll keep you posted.

(For further information on concerts or to order a CD, check out Swing Sabroso ’s website on www.swingsabroso.com


© Interviewed by Laurinda Young
Thursday 19 July 2007

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