Photos of The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra at Salsa Sundays in Brooklyn Bowl

Brooklyn Bowl, one of the major music venues in Williamsburg, NY, is located at 61 Wythe Ave. Its 23,000 square feet space contains 16 bowling alleys and a 600 capacity performance venue. It opened for business on July 9, 2009, according to its website. Photo taken on March 11, 2012.

An iconic wall of dolls made from bowling pins in the foyer of Brooklyn Bowl greets customers as they enter the venue.

Approximately 200 guests showed up for the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra (WSO)’s performance at Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday (WSO appears in the upper right background). The 11 piece band performs at the venue once a month at an event called “Salsa Sundays.”

Lead vocalist for the WSO, Solange Prat, performs during their first set of the night. According to Mano, Prat was a musical theatre star in her native Buenos Aires and has been with the band since they were formed in 2010.

Percussionist and arranger Gianni Mano, who is a native New Yorker, is the leader of the WSO. Mano is of Italian and Russian Jewish descent, and said that salsa music is “one of the most spiritually and historically rich, yet danceable music” he has ever come across.

The crowd on the dance floor watches and learns how to dance salsa from veteran dance trainer Joey Corsica, who demonstrates his moves from the stage during a 30 minute break between sets. The goal, according to Corsica, is to get the audience members “more familiar with the moves so they can dance to the tunes in later sets.”

Dance instructor Joey Corsica gives audience members a lesson on salsa dancing from the stage between sets. Corsica, who has been salsa dancing for 20 years, was discovered by Mano while giving lessons at another gig a year ago. Mano invited him to orchestrate these salsa lessons during Salsa Sundays at Brooklyn Bowl.

 

Tonight’s special guests (right three in the foreground) included three cast members from the hit Broadway show Fela!, who performed on stage with the WSO during its second set.

Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra at Salsa Sundays in Brooklyn Bowl

March’s Salsa Sunday saw local band the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra (WSO) perform at Brooklyn Bowl, located at Wythe Avenue and North 11^th Street in Williamsburg.  From 8.30 until 11 pm, the WSO performed for a crowd of nearly 200 guests. Regular performers at Brooklyn Bowl, the group is led by percussionist and arranger Gianni Mano, and counts among its members Argentinean vocalist Solange Prat, Angela Ortiz on the piano, Andy Cotton on the bass, Jhohan Hernandez on the congas, Geraldo Flores on the bongo, and James Hall, Alex Asher, Jason Prover, and Mark Morgan on the horns, according to salseek.com. Normally an 11 piece band, WSO was joined Sunday by special guest Richie Viruet. Viruet, who plays the horns, brought his experience performing with Latin music luminaries like Tito Puente to the WSO.

The band gave two sets of performances consisting of seven of the band’s numbers, with each set lasting between 30 and 45 minutes.  These included salsa renditions of indie pop and rock anthems, such as TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me,” Peter Bjorne and John’s “Young Folks,” Yeasayer’s “Ambling Alp,” and F*cked Up’s “Black Albino Bones,” as well as original compositions like their number entitled simply “WSO.” Between sets, 20 year veteran dance instructor Joey Corsica took the stage, teaching the crowd to salsa dance and firing them up for the second set.

Mano, who is a New York native, described Salsa Sundays as their “monthly party at Brooklyn Bowl.” According to him, the band started playing at Brooklyn Bowl, one of the largest music venues in Williamsburg, about a year and a half ago. Their most successful performance thus far has been at that very venue, when they launched their eponymous debut album, “The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra,” and performed to a crowd of 500 to 600 people. “The crowd was simply amazing and was dancing all night as we belted out song after song,” he said. When asked what makes WSO stand out, Mano said “our band is very different from other salsa bands who tend to be more traditional, because we play more indie rock anthems, which resonates especially well with the crowd here in Williamsburg.” He also said they perform regularly at other major New York music venues, like the BB King Blues Club and Grill and Sounds of Brazil (SOBS).

Also present that night was special guest DJ Walter Baez who goes by his stage name, Walter B. Nice. Baez was described by Mano as a “salsa connoisseur,” and credited him as instrumental in helping the WSO acquire this regular gig at Brooklyn Bowl.  “He has quite a pull here, and I’m grateful to have made his acquaintance.”  When interviewed, DJ Walter B. Nice confirmed that he helped to organize the event, and added that “they bring together two favorite local music genres—salsa and indie rock—which is a great combination for a neighborhood like Williamsburg.”

Keith Hamilton, who has been a manager with Brooklyn Bowl since it opened its doors in 2009, said “The WSO has been a great draw for Brooklyn Bowl since they started performing here. They usually draw between 100-200 people whenever they perform, and people come from all over the five boroughs to watch them. Tonight is especially crowded, maybe because of the change to better weather.”

            The WSO will perform again for Salsa Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl on April 29, 2012.

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