Salsa de la Bahíaquot;, a collection of Bay Area Salsa and Latin Jazz. THE LAST MAMBO For several years now, Dr. Rita Hargrave, a psychiatrist and hardcore salsera, has been working on a documentary about the San Francisco Bay Area Salsa scene. Collaborating with cinematographer Paul Kealoha Blake, co-director Gerald D. Brown and Wayne Wallace, the noted trombonist, bandleader, educator, and producer, Dr. Rita is in the final stages of her video production that she calls, quot;The Last Mambo.quot; quot;I began incubating the themes for 'The Last Mambo' when I first visited the Museo Nacional de la Musica in Havana, Cuba in 2000,quot; writes Dr. Rita. quot;The richness of their musical tradition and commitment to cultural preservation resonated with me and convinced me that the Bay Area's contribution to Salsa and Latin Jazz needed to be told.quot; Due out in 2014, the documentary traverses the resident Salsa world from it's roots to it's current state. A passionate cast made up of musicians, entrepreneurs, DJ's and dancers, tell the story of how Afro-Latin based music made it's way to the SF Bay. quot;The Last Mamboquot; explores the diverse cultural landscape, social history and future of the San Francisco Bay Area salsa music and dance community,quot; adds Hargrave. This collection - Salsa de la Bahia - is the musical companion to quot;The Last Mamboquot; and showcases some great unsung hits heard only on local radio and in nightclubs. These pieces are sterling reflections of the state-of-the art that Salsa musical artists in the Bay Area have culled. quot;Rita and I chose the songs with the idea of this CD being a dance record that showed the musical diversity of (what) the Bay Area scene (has to offer),quot; comments Wayne. There is no better person for the task of producing the soundtrack for quot;The Last Mamboquot; than Wayne Wallace. From playing to the pen, Dr. Wayne, a title bequeathed to him by the great Pete Escovedo, is a student of Cuban music with impressive Salsa and Latin Jazz credentials which include being musical director of the Pete Escovedo Orchestra, John Santos & The Machete Ensemble, and Conjunto Cespedes as well as numerous sideman gigs with luminaries like Tito Puente and Manny Oquendo & Libre. The musical spectrum of this 2-disc set shows the kaleidoscope of Afro-Latin musical colors seen and heard around the Bay Area. Complimenting this rich collection are three original pieces recorded at an all-star session in 2012. quot;Everyone understood that this was an opportunity to make a collective musical and artistic statement about the music we have played for years,quot; explains Wayne. quot;We spoke of the lineage of Cal Tjader, Carlos Federico and the many musicians who helped create this music.quot; quot;Several of the younger players remarked at how Benny and Pete 'Just grooved' when they played. It was that tacit mentor/student relationship that you can't learn from a book or the Internet that sticks with you for life.quot; quot;Salsa de la Bahiaquot; truly honors those who have dedicated their careers to playing and advancing Salsa and it's Afro-Caribbean off shoots and the people that surround the scene to dance, listen and cheer thee hometown heroes. It pays due to a scene now recognized internationally for the caliber of it's musicians and dancers but that is still largely ignored for it's artistic merit by the mainstream media HOW THE SF BAY GOT IT'S SALSA GROOVE In the early 1970s, the fledging Fania Record label (founded in 1963 by flutist Johnny Pacheco and attorney Jerry Massucci) reinvigora
