The LatinSax Quartet will play a free afternoon concert on Wednesday, April 9 at 12:30 p.m. in Weehawken.
The show is part of the free UBS Atrium series offered by the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center (HRPAC).
The ensemble features four seasoned performers including: Oscar Gongora on soprano sax; Alejandro Rios on alto sax; Guillermo Madriz on tenor sax and Raul Cordies on baritone sax. The group was formed with the encouragement of legendary Latin Jazz great Paquito D’Rivera.
According to the founder and director of the band, Oscar Gongora, who lives in East Hanover, D’Rivera inspired him to put together the group.
The band has been together since January, and recently played a concert with D’Rivera called “Cuba, the Pioneers,” which was presented by the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York on March 19.
“I never really played with [D’Rivera] until now,” said Gongora, who has been playing for over 20 years. “Our first performance was in March and Paquito performed with us. We also played a very new piece that [D’Rivera] wrote called “Kites Over Havana.”
Gongora said it was amazing to play with the Grammy award winner.
“It was unbelievable,” said Gongora. “It was incredible to play with someone that I have idolized since I was a little kid.”
Musician, teacher, director
Gongora, who was born in Cuba, is the three time first prize winner of the Amedeo Roldan National Competition in Cuba. In 1992, he came to the States and received a merit scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music.
Before moving to East Hanover five years ago, Gongora lived in West New York. Yet he continues to keep ties to North Hudson.
Currently, he is the organist and choir director at St. Anthony’s Church in Union City and he has been teaching in the Secaucus school system at the Clarendon School for nine years.
He said that when he came to the States as a classical sax player, he knew the more he could do, the better his chances for survival.
“I had to learn things to be prepared for the public schools,” said Gongora. “For nine years, I was able to provide for my family. We teach everything – from percussion to brass. We do it all.”
Before coming to the States, Gongora faced some very difficult times in communist Cuba.
“I was a political prisoner just for thinking differently,” he said. “Even though I was able to receive three awards in my country, but when I became a teenager, you want to become the person you want to be. For seven years, I wasn’t allowed to play anymore. They actually said to me, ‘you will never be a person anymore.’ I had to start a new life.”
He said he was fortunate to receive a scholarship to study music when he arrived in the States.
Although he faced the added difficulty of learning English, he continued his studies. After graduating with high honors from the Manhattan School of Music, he received a master’s degree in music education from New Jersey City University.
He said music, in particular the saxophone, has helped him through many things in life.
“More than anything it is my first love, my companion and a way to express all the feelings in my life,” said Gongora. “I really think that music changed my life, from the time I was 8 years old, it really made me feel extremely proud to be a part of all that beauty.”
A quartet of talent
Gongora said that the quartet is continuing in the tradition of Marcel Mule’s French school and added that using four saxophones brings alive all the different tones and colors of the music.
“That is why I decided to do the four saxophones – for the tradition and to bring in all the different colors of the saxophones.”
He said the soprano sax, which he loves, acts as a guide to the other instruments.
“Well, the soprano sax can take the place of the violin in the string quartet. It has the most challenging part and in a way, I always had it in the back of my head to be able to guide my guys,” said Gongora. “I think the soprano gives you the opportunity to guide. It can be very dramatic or very sweet or powerful. It can be very sexy sometimes. You can create many different colors.”
He added, “It really is a dialogue between the instruments. They are all important but the soprano has to guide and close the notes. It is not about, ‘I am the soprano – look at me.’ Our goal isn’t about only one person it is about all of us playing together.”
Gongora and his fellow band mates all have years of experience.
Rios (alto sax) first studied in Cuba and began his professional career at an early age as a soloist. He performed and recorded with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and Chamber ensembles from 2004 to 2007. In addition, he won various awards including two Musicalia Awards: Soloist and Cuban Music Performance in 2001.
Madriz (tenor sax) is recognized as an interpreter of various music styles including: jazz, Latin, pop, rock, and classical and was honored for musical interpretation by the government of Guatemala in 1995. He toured throughout Europe as the first chair saxophone with the Symphonic Band of Barva de Heredia, among others.
Cordies (baritone sax) studied at the Professional School of Music in Cuba and participated in many different festivals as a member of a saxophone quartet. After graduation, he began teaching saxophone at the School of Art in Santiago. After moving to the States in 1999, he continued to teach music in several private music schools.
“I’m very lucky to have the guys on my side,” said Gongora about the quartet. “They have the same goals, the same passions. It will be great to open up a market that is nowhere to be found in the United States. Much of the music has never been heard in the United States.”
An afternoon delight
Executive Director of HRPAC Bruce Sherman said that the concert will be a combination of classical and contemporary music, including some Latin popular music.
Originally, The Amstel Sax Quartet was scheduled to play the afternoon concert, but had to cancel their U.S. tour due to an injury to one of the members.
Sherman said that he is pleased with the replacement. Since HRPAC began the series, they’ve never had a cancellation. A hallmark of the series is the incredible international talent that the audience enjoys. They hear a concert they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to experience.
“Obviously these are very fine musicians,” said Sherman about the LatinSax Quartet. “It’s a newer group, but obviously [D’Rivera] wouldn’t play with just anyone. He isn’t in it, yet he’s a big supporter of the group.”
There is one more afternoon concert scheduled in May, and then the summer outdoor concert series begins.
“We encourage people to play hooky and take advantage of the considerable talent,” said Sherman.
The LatinSax Quartet will play on Wednesday, April 9 at 12:30 p.m. in the Atrium at 1000 Harbor Boulevard in Weehawken. The concert is part of the free lunchtime concerts presented by HRPAC. For more information, call the concert hotline: (201) 716-4540 or visit: www.hrpac.org.
Diana Schwaeble can be reached at: current@hudsonreporter.com.