Oscar Hernandez’s Spanish Harlem!

By Les Rivera The Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO) is one of the most popular Latin bands in the world today. SHO’s presentation of old but eternal 1960’s and 1970’s salsa tunes, mixed with some brand new songs written by bandleader Oscar Hernandez, have just given birth to their second CD “Across 110th Street”.   The band’s name could not be more representing of the birthplace of New York’s very own Salsa Clasica. The name represents the native New York Puerto Rican (NuYorican) musical roots to a tee, it strongly represents the very lively Puerto Rican culture of New York’s Spanish Harlem (a.k.a. “el Barrio”), and the band has many of the world’s finest Latin artists performing together in a carefully tuned symphony of salsa. What originated among the millions of Puerto Ricans of New York City in the late 1960’s has spread to the rest of the world by a landslide! SHO’s pianist and bandleader Oscar Hernandez has experienced an unprecedented growth in the worldwide popularity of his band in just a short couple of years. One can easily imagine the world famous musical celebrity Oscar carrying a highly visible personality. But, Oscar Hernandez is a rather laid back, very likeable, and a humble person, taking everything day by day. His down to earth personality has made him most deserving of all the positive bravado that SHO has brought, a success which seems to have become another pinnacle of his career. Oscar has been around the Salsa, Latin Jazz and contemporary Latin music scene for decades. Among his historic and countless contributions in his capacities from Music Director to studio session player we can, among other things, hear him play the piano in the opening tune of television’s long running hit show “Sex and the City”! Les Rivera: Oscar, you seem to be busier than ever in these days! Oscar Hernandez: Les, always great speaking with you. It’s going real well. I have been so blessed and fortunate with the way things have happened here. LR: How has the reception been to your new CD “Across 110th Street”? OH: The CD has received great reviews. We have been featured in the New York Times, Daily News, New York Post, El Diario, and on the Sirius Satellite Radio. You have the Ruben Blades factor in this CD. The style of music carries a lot of compassion. Now I just hope the people will receive it favorably.  LR: How did you choose the tracks on your CD? OH: I chose most of them. Frankie Vazquez recommended a couple of songs, such as ”Maestro De Rumbero”, but all the songs truly fit the style of the band.  LR: “That New York sound” is an expression often used to describe the unique NuYorican salsa style. In your new CD you have recorded a cha-cha where you carry your audience into a mesmerizing masterpiece of a piano solo segment. “Eschucha El Ritmo” (“Listen to the Rhythm”) on track five is a new composition in a new CD that mostly consists of recordings of old songs. How did this new song get incorporated into the CD?  OH: I wrote “Eschucha El Ritmo”. “Perla Morena” is another track I also composed for this CD. They are both my songs. Other songs I have composed or arranged can be found in our first CD “Un Gran Día En El Barrio” (“A Great Day in the Neighborhood”). I have been so fortunate with a good reception to the songs.  LR: How did you come up with the band’s name “Spanish Harlem Orchestra”?  OH: The name was Aaron Levinson’s idea. We have been so blessed with that name, as it carries such a significance. The band is all about Puerto Ricans here in New York, and the audience loves that. The band members are “real deal” people. These highly experienced and professional musicians have been around for a long time!  LR: You have experienced an unprecedented rapid success growth for SHO. Barely before seen in the history of the music has a salsa band realized such an explosive progression to worldwide fame. Where are some of the places you have been performing?  OH: Yes it’s almost unbelievable that we have grown so fast. Within the short time of two years we have been to Europe six times, Hong Kong, Japan, the West Coast four times, and we have performed at major Jazz festivals, among other things.  LR: What are the factors making SHO the tremendous success it is? OH: That’s hard to figure out. We have good records. What’s interesting though, is, listening to the band live sounds even better than the CD’s! I use the same guys most of the time; they are all great musicians. We are like a basketball team. The guys are always musically on top of the game, they are happy with the success, every one contribute with an equally important piece, and they are involved with picking the songs we use. LR: Do you have anything you wish to tell your worldwide fans? OH: We are riding the crest of the waves for our audience. It’s because of them that we enjoy being out there, and we are very happy. On behalf of the band and myself I would like to thank all the people for their support, as I never take anything for granted. We’d like to do more and also improve our level of professionalism even more. It’s hard to maintain standards, but we are doing our best always. I am hoping that people will continue to support the music of mine, as well as the music of other musicians. Keeping our music alive with support is so important. It’s vital for us individually and for Latinos in general. Maintaining the tradition is important.  LR: Where were you born and raised?  OH: I was born and raised in Manhattan. Later on I was raised in South Bronx. My parents came to New York from Puerto Rico. That makes me a NuYorican.  LR: Who are some of the names you were involved with prior to Spanish Harlem?  OH: Before Spanish Harlem (pause) there were so many involvements. I was Ruben Blades’ Music Director from 1983 to 1996, Music Director for Hector Lavoe as well as pop-rock’s Paul Simon, Broadway Success, I was freelancing, I played with lots of great guys, such as Tito Rodriguez, Jr., Libre, the Bronx Horns, and many, many more.  LR: Which artists have most influenced your career as a pianist?  OH: It’s so hard to pick just one or two artists. I was 17 or 18 years old when I got started. From early on I drew attention to Eddie Palmieri, Azucar, Tito Rodriguez, Pachito, Tito Puente, Baretto, Willie Colon, Gran Combo and Ponceña. From Cuban music I was influenced by greats like Aragon and Arsenio. There were so many good people out there. From Jazz I was influenced by Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa. I enjoyed everything from Swing to Bebop. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane were others.  LH: Oscar, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you again, as always.  On behalf of salsarican.com we’re looking forward to your continued success and contributions to the Salsa and Latin music world for years to come! Who should people contact if they are interested in booking your Spanish Harlem Orchestra for a performance?  OH: Anyone interested in booking us can contact me directly. They can either call my office at (845) 359-5265, or they can e-mail me at yapiano@aol.com. The SHO’s website can be found at www.SpanishHarlemOrchestra.com, and my personal website can be visited at www.OscarHernandezMusic.com. Thank you so much Les. Chevere, this was a fun interview. Hope to see you again soon.

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