Sexteto Cafe
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Sexteto Cafe
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Dorance Lorza, Sexteto Cafe's bandleader, Tres, guitar, bandola and vibes player, arranger, musical director, producer and rising name on the international salsa scene. Listen to Sexteto Cafe while you read this page Dorance was introduced to the tres by the Puerto Rican maestro of the instrument, Nelson Gonzalez, whom he met at an Ismael Miranda performance in Cali in 1980. He cites the Cuban tres icons Nino Rivera, Arsenio Rodriguez and Pancho Amat as his principal influences. He studied to be an electronic engineer at technical school but opted for a musical career after leaving at 18; then studied at the Popular Cultural Institute in Cali. He played tres with the veteran bolero singer Tito Cortes for two years and led his own group Renacer Antillano between '83 and '89 performing classic Cuban sones by Trio Matamoros, Guillermo Portabales, and others. Venezuelan trombonist / arranger / composer / chorus singer Cesar Monge hired Lorza to play tres and synthesizer with his short lived Colombian-based band La Pandilla '90. While Monge was Kike Harvey's musical director, arranger and producer, he employed Lorza to play tres on the track "La Batidora" on Kike's Sonero Para El Mundo '92 on Sonolux (the LP was included on UK compilation La Isla Bonita '95 on Tumi); subsequently Monge invited Lorza to join Kike's band. Monge gave Lorza another break when he commissioned him to write the chart for "Llego La Zafra" for Tuto Jimenez's Regalame Una Noche '92 on Sonolux. The song turned out to be the album's biggest hit and an anthem for the soccer club Deportivo Cali. In 1993, Lorza believes, he pioneered the vibes-led Latin combo sound in Colombia with his production of the single "Que Suerte Tiene El" / "Dudas De Mi" by Siglo 21 on Discos CMA.
He has sessioned on numerous albums including Conjunto Son del Barrio's outstanding Rumba Antillana '92 on Kanaveral featuring Lucho Puerto Rico on lead vocals; Valdes Typical Band on BMG, led by the father of Qrquesta GuayacAn and Grupo Niche alumnus Richie Valdes and produced by Niche leader Jairo Varela at Niche Professional Studios in Cali; La Sonora Miami's Con_Sabor A_Cali '93 on SAR, also made at Niche Professional Studios; Santiago Ceron's Desde Santiago de Cali '93 on Astro Son / Fuentes; Tumba Fuego's Atizando '93 on Codiscos; and Cali Aleman's Cali '94 on RMM. Dorance wrote four arrangements and directed the recording of La Celestial's follow-up Como Caida Del Cielo '93 on Codiscos; directed and played tres, guitar and bandola on Los Def Caney's Clave y Son '94 on Fuentes; produced, directed, arranged and played tres on 100% Sabroso '96 on Codiscos by Lucho Puerto Rico y su Grupo Sonero. His other production credits include Montunos! '93 on Fuentes by Los Nemus del Pacifico (for which he wrote all the arrangements); 6a. Avenida '94 on Vedisco / Fuentes by Los Titanes; Salsa De Hit '95 on Fuentes by Orquesta Internacional Los Niches; and the best-selling Con Sabor a Viejoteca - Exitos de Cuba '96 on Fuentes by Los Del Caney (issued as Me Contagid'97 on Vedisco / Fuentes). He has also written charts for Hansel Camacho, Octava Dimensibn, Los Titanes, Los Del Caney, Fruko y sus Tesos, Los Nemus del Pacifico, Proyecto Omega, Orquesta Matecaria, Grupo Canela, Orquesta Yerbabuena, Orquesta Kamaleon (featuring Oscar Alberto Abueta), La Maxima Identidad, and others. He cites Puerto Ricans Louis Garcia, Papo Lucca and Jorge Millet as his favourite arrangers and admires Monge for his deliciously simple arrangements. In 1993 he was invited to
Santiago de Cuba to perform with Sur Caribe at the Matamoros Festival. In '96 he started leading, playing vibes and arranging for the Londonbased Sexteto Cafe, and issued the group's Colombia-recorded debut Cafe Salsa on PCP Records the following year. The intended follow-up, Latin DNA, was recorded in '98 and '99, but didn't find a release. Sexteto Cafe's 2004 album Salsa Pa' Ti '04 on I Love Salsa sets a new benchmark of creativity for re-interpreting classic tunes, the sample attached to this page 'El Titere' is taken from Salsa Pa' Ti. Dorance and his sidekick Armando, London's top Latin percussionist, are to give a week long Latin music workshop at the Triskel Art Centre in Cork City in April 2006.
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When Monge relocated from
Cali to work in Bogota as a musical director on a soap opera, Lorza took over as
Kike's musical director and produced Diferente '93 (arranging three tracks) and
the dazzling Pinceladas de Amor'94 (playing tres and arranging two stunning
medleys), both on Sonolux. On the latter he implemented Kike's concept of a
three trombone and baritone sax front-line, a combination that was also employed
on the debut solo album La Perla Negra '94 on Sonolux by Kike's vocalist sister
Daisy (Kike penned all but one of the songs; Lorza produced, directed and wrote
three charts).
He played tres with London based Conjunto Sabroso backing Henry Fiol at his UK
debut gig at Brixton Recreation Centre, June '95. He produced The Voice of Cuba
'96 on Mr. Bongo in London by Hanny And His Friends.