Love at First Note: Latin Luminaries Danny Rivera and Nelson González

Late at night, after yet another sold-out show at a major venue like Carnegie Hall, one of the most adored voices in Latin music would rush over to Jersey and hit the studio. Danny Rivera—a powerful singer, thoughtful public figure, and consummate musical instigator—would sit down with the renowned tres virtuoso player Nelson González. For ten years, these sessions became the two veteran musicians’ obsession.

Close friends with a sixth musical sense for each other’s work, they set about reviving some of the Latin American songbook’s most compelling boleros. Obsesión (release: March 25, 2014) is a labor of love and an classic by two great musicians at their peak, where Danny tellingly showcases why he was born to sing.

Over decades, the boleros on the album became beloved, standard repertoire, much like classic jazz ballads. Penned by hard-working musicians from humble beginnings, like the title track’s composer Pedro Flores, they capture evocative moments of desire and longing with artless ease. Performers have returned to them, again and again, for their catchy melodies and evocative storytelling. Yet the art of the bolero—the total commitment to a song’s soaring sentiments, the musically intriguing melodies—has nearly been lost.

For Rivera and González, this simply would not do. On Obsesión, the masters render these classic tales of love, desire, and the universal shades of the heart with aching simplicity: Rivera’s riveting and passionate voice locks with Gonzales’ tres, the dialogue that formed the basis of the entire album. Expanding the usual bolero palette with requinto (the guitar’s underappreciated higher-register cousin), bandoneón (the concertina behind tango’s sound), and contributions from some of the brightest lights of Latin music (Chucho Valdés, Arturo O’Farrill, Andy González, the late Manny Oquendo, Martín Rojas, Raymond Torres, Federico Britos, Rafael Scharon, Carlos Abadiel and Ricardo Pons), Danny and Nelson aim to court new ears using elegant musicianship and eloquent emotion, pure and simple.
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