Joe Bataan - Figaro (Official Visualizer)

Shop for the Joe Bataan – Gypsy Woman vinyl + N.Y.C. Latin Soul t-shirt: https://found.ee/joe-bataan-gypsy-woman-faniastore-lat Subscribe to the Fania Newsletter for updates: https://found.ee/fania-subscribe-yt-lat Fania presents an audiophile edition of Joe Bataan’s classic 1967 debut, Gypsy Woman. The album, which includes such hits as “Gypsy Woman” and the first-ever recording of “Ordinary Guy,” has been newly remastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Memphis Record Pressing. The LP is housed in a classic tip-on jacket, replicating the album’s original design. This reissue includes the release in hi-res digital audio for the very first time. In addition, a Canary Yellow color, limited to 1,000 copies, vinyl exclusive is being offered at Fania.com with a limited-edition navy blue NYC Latin Soul T-shirt. In the ’60s and ’70s, East Harlem native Joe Bataan epitomized the melting pot of New York City, both musically and culturally. Born Bataan Nitollano in 1942 to an African American mother and a Filipino father, Bataan began singing as a teenager, performing doo-wop on street corners. While a gang-related prison sentence at 15 could have ended his musical dreams, the experience turned Bataan’s life around instead. Six months after his release, in 1965, he formed his first band, Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers. Combining Latin beats, R&B, and a mix of English and Spanish lyrics, the group was instrumental in establishing the “boogaloo” sound that would become hugely popular over the next few years. Bataan served as the bandleader, the pianist, and the English vocalist, while Spanish-language vocals were handled by Joe Pagan. The band also included trombonists Joe “Chickie” Fuente and Ruben Hernandez, bassist Louis Devis, conguero Victor Gonzalez, timbalero Eddie Nater, and percussionist Richie Cortez. Thanks to regular gigs at venues like the Tropicoro Ballroom in the Bronx, the band caught the ears of the newly founded Fania Records, who signed them in 1966. One year later, they released their debut album, Gypsy Woman. Featuring musical direction by the great Johnny Pacheco, the album was led by the title track, a nod to the Impressions’ 1961 hit of the same name. However, as Pitchfork points out, the song was far from a traditional cover. “Beyond an opening line that riffed on Curtis Mayfield’s songwriting, Bataan changed everything else… Whereas the Impressions’ mellow original had more in common, aurally, with a bachelor pad exotica record, Bataan’s song was ferociously uptempo and unmistakably Afro-Cuban, opening with a lively piano montuno and background singers yelling, ‘She smokes, hot hot, she smokes!’” The album also features one of Bataan’s signature hits, “Ordinary Guy,” an emotional English-language ballad, which the artist would revisit on multiple records over the next few years. Other boogaloo-style, English-language tracks include “Chickie’s Trombone,” “So Fine,” “Too Much Lovin’,” and the dynamic “Figaro.” Yet, Gypsy Woman wasn’t a straightforward soul or boogaloo record by any means. In fact, the band took a more traditional route with several of their Spanish-language songs. Among the highlights are two high-energy mambos (“Fuego” and “Campesino”) and “Sugar Guaguancó”—a joyful, Cuban-influenced rumba. **Sígue/Follow Fania Records** Facebook: https://found.ee/faniarecords FB Instagram: https://found.ee/faniarecordsIG YouTube: https://found.ee/fania-subscribe-yt-lat Twitter: https://found.ee/faniarecordsTwitter TikTok: https://found.ee/faniarecordsTikTok Newsletter: https://found.ee/fania-subscribe-newsletter-lat