Pretty World salutes Bobby Espinosa, The man behind the Hammond organ and piano for the Legendary Latino Rock & Jazz,Blues group "EL CHICANO" ! Pioneer of Brown Power Sound and has been called “The Jimmy Smith of East Los Angeles” Sunday March 7th at 2 pm pst.
East L.A. Music historian Mark Guerrero wrote : One of the best and most successful bands to emerge from the musically fertile ground of East Los Angeles is El Chicano. Originally formed as the V.I.P.s in the late 60's, the group recorded a rendition of a song by jazz composer Gerald Wilson, "Viva Tirado,"… With the cultural awakening of the Mexican- American in full swing and the new Chicano consciousness on the rise, the band was renamed El Chicano. The record became a local hit in Los Angeles, remaining at number one for thirteen consecutive weeks. El Chicano went on to release six other albums with MCA, which include, "Revolution" (1971), "Celebration" (1972), "El Chicano" (1973), "Cinco" (1974), "The Best of Everything" (1975)" and "Pyramid" (1976). Also in 1976, they recorded an album called "This Is El Chicano" for the independent Shady Brooke label. It was the first record on which they had been in full creative control. During this period they had hits with their version of Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" in 1972 and "Tell Her She's Lovely," which reached number 40 on the national charts in 1973.
Sadly Bobby died last week at the age of 60 at White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights after a long illness. Come and celebrate LA VIVA DE BOBBY ESPINOSA. In addition to the tribute, I will being playing a lot of Soundtrack jazz to commemorate the 82cd Annual Academy Awards. Join us in the chat room which is always full of fun and lively people! Feista Time!
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