PanArt Disco

[Guest ariceffron]

so someone mentioned this. Who is on it. Is it the same as ART records out of FL that released all those Lucho Azcharacha records?

[J Larsen]

Unless I'm badly mistaken (and that is a possibility), PanArt was primarily a Latin jazz label.

[JSngry]

PanArt was a premier label, some say THE premier label, in pre-Castro Cuba. They recorded the full spectrum of Cuban music, from the sweet crooners to the primal Santeria. There are some some stone classics on the label, like the Cachao-led Descargas and the Charanga of Hector Fajardo, as well as some gems that, unless you're a real expert in the idiom (which I'm not), it would be real easy to pass over, like Orquesta Banda Rumbavana. I only got those because of my "If you see a PanArt, BUY IT" rule.

Pan-Art is beginning to be available on CD, but for years, you had to get lucky. In the 70s, the label was still available in facsimilie copies at anyplace that sold Latin music in quantity. I got most of mine at a Cuban grocery mart in Dallas (and when looking for "ethnic" music of ANY kind in America, rule #1 is to ALWAYS check out the grocery marts), but I got my copy of Cachao's "Cuban Jam Session In Miniature" (one of the COOLEST covers of all time, and Chombo Silva predicts Sonny Rollins' 70s phraseology by 15-20 years) at the Disco-Mat in Manhattan (on 7th Ave? It's been over 20 years...).

Bottom line - I've got about 10-15 Panart albums, and there's only one suck job in the bunch (a thing by crooner Orlando Vallejo that is too sweet for ANYBODY'S good). Meeting deeper Latin collectors than I, I've mangaed to hear a fair cross-sampling of the catalog, and I'm convinced that PanArt is one of "those" labels, the kind that you buy on sight, because your odds of getting burned are very. VERY low. This is also the opinion of collectors and many Latin musicians. I don't run in Salsa circles much these days, but when I did, just mentioning that I had some PanArt sides and was looking for more got me in some doors, musical and personal, that I would have had a MUCH tougher time getting through for various "social" reasons.

You gotta remember though, this is CUBAN music, made in Cuba, by Cuba, for Cubans (and also remember that not all Latinos are Cuban, and also remember that there is an element of historical friction for reasons I don't comprehend between Cubans and Puerto Ricans). This music is not an attempt to appeal to a "crossover" market, and it's not music that reflects a desire to become Americanized. The "Cuban Jam Sessions" albums are just that - CUBAN jam sessions. Nobody plays any Bird licks, if you get my drift. But the shit is STRONG, it is POWERFUL, and it's NOT IN ENGLISH, which means that you miss the story of the lyric (unless you learn a bit of the language, which is recommended just on general principles), but it also means that you have the unigue opporunity to groove on the PURE SOUND of a language without having to be distracted by processing the meaning of it, which is a REALLY cool thing. At least it was for me.

So, yeah - PanArt is the shit. Go for it!

[J Larsen]

Thanks for elucidating. I've seen those records around the city, but I've always been a little intimidated by my own lack of knowledge about them (you know, that whole "what if I don't get one of the 'right' ones" thing). Next time I see a resonably priced stash I'll just dive in.

[JSngry]

A wise move, to be sure, as long as one is not expecting "Latin-Jazz" or some similar "modern" hybrid. This stuff is Cuban/Afro-Cuban to the core. And be aware that the crooner stuff is a bit, uh, NOT COOL! :D

Good rule of thumb - it the chicks on the cover look like virgins, REAL virgins, it's a crooner album, and it's best to leave it alone. Otherwise, dive on in!

Edited July 23, 2003 by JSngry

[Guest ariceffron]

JSNG&Y : ART AND PAN ART MUST SOMEHOW BE THE SAME THING. LISTEN TO ME_ LUCHO AZCARAZA FROM PANAMA IS ON ART RECORDS AND HIS LPS ARE SOME OF THE PHATTEST ORGAN ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. DO YOU LIKE THE 1st SONG ON THE GEORGE BRAITH SET? WHAT ABOUT ANYTHING BY BIG JOHN PATTON. you would like lucho then. do you or anyone else here know waht im talking about? Ive mentioned him before, i know it.

[JSngry]

I'm not familiar with Lucho, and AMG/Google searches turn up nothing. But he sounds like he'd be GREAT!

As for the connection between Art & Pan-Art, I honestly don't know. Pan-Art seems to have shut down around the time Castro took over, but the catalogue and label name opereated out of Hialeah (sp?), Florida for quite a while. I've seen Pan-Art CDs, but I don't know who puts them out. This Art label might be run by the same people, but honestly, organ was not used in any of the Cuban music in the 50s that I've heard, and that's what Pan-Art is, mostly. If Lucho was active then, I'd LOVE to hear it!

[J Larsen]

A Google search turns up plenty on Lucho. I'm surprised that he's not in AMG, as he must have quite a few fans. Here's a site purportedly run by his granddaughter.

http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Bayou/9064/

[JSngry]

Ah, the spelling bugaboo strikes again!

Thanks, Jan!

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Good rule of thumb - if the chicks on the cover look like virgins, REAL virgins, it's a crooner album, and it's best to leave it alone.

Jsngry...Any examples of what these sorts of albums might look like?

I've been in a serious boogalu vein as of late and would love to hear some more Latin tinged organ.

[Guest ariceffron]

yea if youre lookin for latin b3 you are totally missing out. totally. fyi ive found all my lucho albums at goodwill (in MINT condition) try ones were you know there will be mexicans.