March’s Salsa Sunday saw local band the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra (WSO) perform at Brooklyn Bowl, located at Wythe Avenue and North 11th 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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