The Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra will perform two shows in New Mexico – one in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe. (Courtesy of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra)
Oscar Hernández is meticulous when it comes to music.
As the director of the Grammy Award-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, he sets the bar high for the group of 13.
The group will perform two shows in New Mexico – one in Albuquerque on Sunday, December 5th at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and one in Santa Fe on Tuesday, December 7th, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
“We have a solid relationship with Albuquerque and it’s a unique place,” he says. “This will be the first time we play in Santa Fe.”
Last heard in New Mexico at the New Mexico Jazz Festival 2018, the group sets the gold standard for excellence in authentic hardcore New York-style salsa.
The group is celebrating its 15th anniversary with their mission to keep the musical legacy of Salsa Dura (hard salsa) alive and expand their audiences to include those who love great music, not just Latin music.
Hernández has long been considered one of the most prominent pianists and arrangers in the salsa and Latin jazz scene. He was born into a large Puerto Rican family who lived in the Bronx, New York, and it was the nearby Spanish Harlem neighborhood that shaped his cultural musical sensibility.
Hernández began playing the trumpet at the age of 12; shortly afterwards he switched to the piano. By the time he was finishing his teenage years, he was making a living as a professional musician performing with some of the most talented Latin jazz artists of the 1970s. He spent much of the 1980s producing, arranging and playing the piano for Panamanian singer Rubén Blades, while also leading his own band.
Hernández says it is gratifying to see the group grow.
“Every member knows the quality and history of the band,” he says. “We have some great actors, and that’s what keeps moving forward.”
Hernández says the group puts on shows across the country.
When it comes to sketching a set, it’s pretty easy.
“I’m clearly on my agenda,” he says. “I send the music to them (the musicians). You know some, if not all, of them. We got (the set) pretty down. We’re really good at what we do. We are very interested in being as professional and keeping the integrity of the music as high as possible. “
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