Live at the Vineyards: The Morning Set with Herman Olivera

This portion of the interview above has been edited for length and clarity:

Carlos: Hey, Herman, Carlos Lando here.

Herman: Hey, Carlos.

Carlos: We've met in the past. When you've come to Denver, I'm a huge Eddie Palmieri fan, and I've been following you forever. One of the first, I'm going to test your memory here, one of the first times that I recall, you coming to Denver was when you came out with Manny Oquendo and Libre, and...

Herman: Yes, I do.

Carlos: At a place called Los Cabos, which was a little Peruvian restaurant. The house was jumping- that day, and you also came out for a very special broadcast that we did on NPR on "Toast to the Nation," across the country, where you and Eddie came together.

Herman: New Year's Eve.

Carlos: Yeah. And that was our radio station, and you guys were backed up by the Latin Giants of Jazz.

Herman: Exactly. Exactly. I remember that. And my visit to Denver with El Conjunto Libre, that's when I returned. I had left Conjunto Libre after about a 10-year tenure with them, and I had just resumed, and I was on a tour with them, and so I got to go to Denver and then with Eddie Palmieri.

Carlos: Yeah. You know, I was talking to Oscar last week, he was talking about you guys going back even further than that.

Herman: Oh yeah. Well, you know, when I first started with Conjunto Libre in 1979/78 into '79, September of '78 into '79, Oscar was the piano player, and on my first album, my first production that I recorded with Libre, was "Libre Increíble," the Red Album, on the Salsoul label, and Oscar was the piano player on there too- and he's my brother. We've been performing together for almost- close to 50 years now.

Carlos: Wow. I think that's the album, also, where Dave Valentin was on.

Herman: That's correct. That's correct.

Carlos: Did an amazing flute solo on one piece, I can't remember the name of the song, but it was a great album.

Herman: Goza La Vida.

Carlos: Ah, Si, Si, Si, Si.

Herman: Ese tema es de Aragón, ese tema, un tema de (Orquesta) Aragón,

Steve: That's right.

Herman: That's a cover

Steve: On the line with us from Florida, we are so looking forward to seeing you on the Bandstand when we get to August at this place called Balistreri Vineyards. It's a really cool setting. They actually do the bottling in the basement of the building, but then out back they've got grass where they do weddings, and then we set up a couple of big tents, so it's under the tent, but it's really important- Tina has ordered an extra large dance floor, and everybody is dressed up- It's the most awesome garden party of the summer, and we're so happy you are coming out to celebrate our 40th anniversary with Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

Herman: Well, I am also very excited to be performing in Denver, to come out to the vineyards, Balistreri Vineyards, and also to be performing with my brother Oscar Hernández and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. That's one of my alma maters. In the first production, I was one of the original singers, when the group got started, that project- so when Oscar called me, I was elated, man, because I haven't been to Denver in many years, you know- in many, many years, and so when he told me this- I was so happy, I was so happy that I get to go to Denver and I get to unite- we get to unite musical energies, you know. Spanish Harlem is a three-time Grammy award-winning orchestra, you know, known around the world- and so being one of my alma maters, I call them because, you know, I come from Libre, I come from Johnny Pacheco, I come from the Machito Orchestra. Those are all my alma maters, you know, different universities. You know what I'm saying?

Carlos: Yeah.

Herman: So I'm elated, man. I'm very happy. Thank you for the invitation to KUVO jazz, you know, to Tina, and the staff. Thank you so much for inviting me, and I am so happy. So happy.

Carlos: You know, when I was talking to Oscar, when we were first talking about this event coming up, and you know, we knew we wanted Spanish Harlem, and I said, but you know, this is their third time here. They're a great band. I really would love a special guest, so Oscar started to name, "how about Herman Olivera?" and before he could say the second name, I said, Stop right there, I go, "I want Herman, Herman Olivera would be perfect." I go, you know, and the recordings, people don't understand how great a sonero, this man is. He's not just the sonero of the 21st century. You gotta earn that, and I know that Eddie Palmieri has been the man who has just always put you in the forefront with the accolades that you deserve. The album of his called El Rumbero Del Piano, it was an amazing album and so forth. I'm going to ask you the same question I asked Oscar, about the essence of what a sonero brings to a band, to an orchestra, versus a- just maybe a front. We went through a period in this music where the singers basically were backed up by the stock arrangements, and they just, they call it salsa monga, or whatever, but the essence of a sonero. What makes it different than just a standup singer who's up there singing the lyrics of well-known tunes? What's the difference between a singer and a sonero, in essence?

Herman: Well, I'm going to speak on my behalf, and I don't want to sound arrogant or anything. I think that a singer should be exciting. A singer should be able, in this music and in this genre, it requires, it requires a singer to be very exciting, exciting, well dressed, exciting, creating, very organic, you know, and be very creative with his wordsmith and dance. You know, I dance, I create this energy that I guess is something of the past except for my brother Gilberto Santa Rosa. You know what I'm saying? But aside from that, I try to create this energy - that excitement, man. Exciting. I'm on the spot. So I'm creating, even though I recorded these songs, I am creating in the soneo, las inspiraciónes. You know, a good sonero should have a batch- a repertoire- I can't even speak English. I gotta speak so more Spanish.

Carlos: Puedes hablar español, you could speak Spanish too.

Herman: You know, un amplio vocabulario, un amplio vocabulario, eh, para, para poder, tener un arsenal, arsenal of words to carry the song. Because when I go on stage, I'm creating, especially when it gets to the soneo part, so the inspiración I'm creating on the spot, yes, I'll take some things out of the records that I've recorded, but it's live on the spot. So I'm creating, I'm dancing, I'm moving, you know I'm sharp. It is like a boxing, you know what I mean? And just jabbing and jabbing and jabbing, and I'm doing combinations, man. I'm combination. And I'm jabbing. And I'm jabbing, till I knock you out! You know what I'm saying?

Carlos: That's the best description you could give us.

Herman: And we're still, the genre is still going through that, you know, it's not a thing of the past. It's gotten even a little more monotonous, you know, with the talent that comes into this. I was very lucky, man, very, very lucky. I always say I was born in Newark, New Jersey, and geographically speaking, I was 30 minutes from New York City, the epicenter of the salsa, the hardcore, of all my heroes, and I got to meet all my heroes. By the time I was 19 and I started working in New York with Conjunto Libre, we alternated with everyone. We played with everyone, so I was rubbing shoulders with all my heroes, man, and I was absorbing their energy, and I was asking questions, and I was sitting down. If I get a chance to talk to 'em, I would talk to them, and that's still in me. I still have that passion. I still have that passion that burns deep inside of me, man, for this genre that I love so much, and music, and not only the genre of music in general. Cause you know, I love jazz. I love Brazilian music. I love Spanish flamenco music. I love urban music. I love R&B music. I was born and raised in the United States, so I'm bilingual, you know what I mean? So I have influences, man. I have a lot of musical influences and references, you know, and I came up with great masters, Manny Oquendo, Andy González, Pupy Cantor, Jerry González, all the Machito Orchestra, Johnny Pacheco and Maestro, the Ray Barretto's, all those guys were gatekeepers, man. And you just couldn't come sing and into their group because you were pretty looking. No, you or either you had it or you didn't have it. And what I did have, they managed to see something in me, and they polished me everywhere I went; I got a little more polished. I got a little more polished until I got to my godfather's house, Mr. Eddie, Eddie Palmieri, and he, he said that I was a diamond, and he just got the facets. He cleaned them up and he buffed them up into a diamond. That's what he says. I'm still learning. I'm still a student of this music, of the genre, of perfecting my voice, of perfecting what I do. You know, you know, it's not over. It's not over yet. This is every day, I'm constantly reading, looking for information, listening, opening my ears. You know, I listen to a lot of different genres, and that helps me be very creative when it's time to go to work, you know that I'm creative because I have an arsenal of, I have a baggage man, a lot of luggage, man. I'm carrying a lot of luggages with a lot of knowledge. You know what I'm saying? So that's what keeps me going. It's the passion. The passion, and that's all that I can add to all this. I speak for myself. I can't speak for anyone else, or what is it that you're supposed to be doing, or whatever. I know what I'm supposed to be doing, and I know what I should be doing, so I keep doing it. I keep studying.

Carlos: Yeah. Well, thank you. I think we got what we need. Thank you so much, Herman. Este- This is the real deal, man. Hardcore.

Herman: This is hardcore. You know,

Carlos: Yeah

Herman: This is hardcore, bro. This is, uh, you know, Machito, Arsenio Rodríguez, Tito Rodríguez, Tito Puente, This is Benny Moré. This is Roberto Faz, Orquesta Aragón, you know, this is Frank Sinatra. This is Tony Bennett. This is Ella Fitzgerald. This is Sarah Vaughan. You know, this is John Coltrane. This Duke Ellington, you know, Chet Baker, esto es Lavoe, José Feliciano, Chamaco Ramirez, Marvin Santiago, Pete El Conde.

Carlos: Wow, wow.

Herman: You know, my world is consumed with a lot of music and a lot of art. A lot of art, a lot of art, man, so- and reading and art and living and living. You know- you can't possibly sing a song if you haven't lived it. The majority of songs that are put in my hands, I'm able to- that are placed on my lap, it is performed. These gifts are usually songs with lyrics that I have lived, and since I've lived them, I can express myself not only in the studio. The studio, you only have three minutes and 40 seconds. I sketch things out so that everything is placed properly for the record, but when I'm live, I just cut loose, man, you let loose. I let loose and- y dejo salir todo, toda esa energía.