Album that Honors Dominican Republic Composers Released on May 5
The songs were composed during the first half of the 20th century and are part of a doctoral dissertation about Dominican music pioneers from the diaspora. The album will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, CDBaby, and TikTok.
Austin, TX — Austin-based band Sofrito y Su Melao released their first album, “Del Burro al Subway,” on Friday, May 5, 2023. A homage to Dominican composers of the first half of the 20th century, this production disseminates older Dominican music recovered from New York archives.
UT Austin Ethnomusicology Ph.D. Candidate John Bimbiras spearheaded the project as part of his graduate research, which received the support of Sofrito y su Melao’s host organization, All Rhythms, the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, and the UT Austin Rainwater Innovation Grant.
“The idea for this project was born out of my desire to merge my two lifelong career pursuits: musical performance and academic scholarship. It is all well and good to be reading and writing about music. Still, music is for the making,” said Bimbiras, who will include this music as an illustrative component of his doctoral dissertation.
Recorded at Austin’s Ramble Creek Studios with the support of sound engineer and owner Britton Beisenherz, the album features 8 songs by 5 different mid-20th-century Dominican composers who were active in New York City at the time.
“It is quite significant to be able to come up with such a project, with the support of musicians from Texas, New York, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic; that gives this project a rich mixture of talents to honor these composers properly,” added Bimbiras.
The tracks are: “Papá Bocó” (Manuel Sánchez Acosta and José E. Chapuseaux), “¡Apuraíto No!” (Athala Robles), “Insomnio” (Rafael Petitón Guzmán), “Cielo de Sosúa” (Rafael Petitón Guzmán), “Fantasía” (Luis Herrero), “Del burro al subway” (Mercedes Sagredo), “Nuevo amanecer” (Luis Herrero), and “Quisiera” (Luis Herrero).
The ensemble is composed of: Roberto Aponte (saxophones), John Bimbiras (guitar, cuatro, and arrangements), Kirsten Boynt (trumpets), Ben Bradshaw (bass), Felipe Brito (trombone), Wilfredo José Burgos-Matos (lead vocals, chorus, and güira), Christina Cuellar (flute and chorus) Ian Fry (tambora, bongo, bells, timbales, and musical director), Leo Gauna (trombone), Ben Irom (piano), Vijay Meunier (guitar), Jeannelle Ramírez (lead vocals and chorus), Danny Rodríguez (conga, güira, and maracas), and Noah Simon (piano accordion and chorus).
The producers were Mr. Bimbiras, Ian Fry, and Wilfredo José Burgos-Matos.
The album will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, CDBaby, and TikTok. CDs are also available for purchase from Mr. Bimbiras at johnbimbiras@gmail.com.
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