Sharon: First and foremost, thank you for giving www.lavozdelmambo.com and opportunity to interview you. It’s not everyday that I get to interview a LEGEND. You are truly a pioneer to the salsa music! How does it feel to be a Legend?

Johnny: Oh my God, I didn’t know I was a legend!……. (lol)! It feels good to receive the awards. It really feels to good to know that what you are doing people really do appreciate it. It feels good to know that I’m being awarded while I’m living and not dead. I have been a busy man and I’m thankful for the rewards.

Sharon: In your personal opinion what is the meaning of salsa?

Johnny: Salsa traveled the world, it went beyond its language boundaries, and today it is loved by the entire world. I first came up with the idea to create salsa when I founded La Fania All Stars. The members of La Fania All Stars were all young men who lived and grew up in New York. In the group we had Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, 2 Jews and an English, and that is what salsa was. Salsa was a combination of all these different countries, these ingredients formed to create a final recipe. Salsa came mainly from the Cuban music, its roots are mambo, rhumba, son montuno, guaracha, guaguanco, guajira, cha cha cha. The tittle salsa was the commercial name. However, it has other Latin American influences from my native island of Dominican Republic, it has merengue. It also has Puerto Rican influences with charanga and Columbian as well with cumbia. Salsa is a mixture of all these. It also has jazz and rock influences because, La Fania All Stars grew up listening to jazz and rock. What jazz did to salsa was that it enhanced the music, the chords, and the phrazing. It made it more progressive. However, we always played in Tipico style. When we played mambo that’s when we incorporated jazz. Salsa from the beginning was meant to be a dominant style of music.

Sharon: You have received countless awards and accolades throughout your career. Some of them include:

• Nine Grammy nominations
• Ten Gold records
• International Latin Music Hall of Fame Induction, 1998
• Recipient of the Bobby Capo' Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997
• Presidential Medal of Honor
• First International Dominican Artist Award
• First Latin music producer to receive the NARAS
(National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences)
Governor's Award in New York City

What is the most significant accolade or award of your brilliant career in music?

Johnny: Life it self. I can’t complain, I have lived a very comfortable life. Another great significant gift has been the respect I have received for salsa. I’m very proud of Latinos.

Sharon: You are about to celebrate your 50 years anniversary as a composer, arranger, bandleader and producer? What would you say has been the most memorable moment with the band you created your self, La Fania All Stars?

Johnny: I would say one of the most memorable moments was the day of our first debut, it in was in a club called Alpagado. That was when the members of La Fania All Stars were all original band members. The acceptance and welcoming of the crowd was not what I ever expected, it was warm and exciting. Another unforgettable moment was when we did a concert in Africa, it was in a stadium and there was an attendance of 110,000 people. Despite the fact that not one soul understood what we were saying, they all loved us, they were thrilled and it was like something I’ve never seen before. Another occasion occurred in a concert at Yankee stadium, it was a concert in recognition of the LP album we did and it was being titled the record of the decade. The attendance were all Latinos and it felt incredibly good to receive that support from your own people.

Sharon: You have been very inspirational to the younger generation. You recorded and performed with the group DLG as a guest artist in one of your own compositions. What are your thoughts on Salsa music of today?

Johnny: I believe less is more. There many young kids who are making complicated arrangements and it’s not cool because it is deviating too much from its mother roots. There are a lot of salseros who are making salsa romantic. Salsa wasn’t meant to be romantic, salsa is powerful and dominant. People are going back and trying to incorporate ballads into salsa.

 Sharon: When people think of Johnny Pacheco, what would like them to remember the most?

Johnny: I want people to think fun. I want them to think good music. You know I love to dance and when I make my music I want you guys to dance as well. I like to arrange my music simple and at the same time swinging. What I bring to the stage is togetherness and that is how you produce music that is enjoyable and precise.

Sharon: Where would you like to see salsa music 20 years from today?

Johnny: Hot! Hot! Hot! People will realize where music will have to travel and I have no concerns. Let me tell you something, I love television. Lately, television has been having some really good shows on air. I’ve been noticing how t.v. producers are playing salsa music in the background. However, only American shows are doing this and I’m not seeing Latinos doing this. This really bothers me.

Sharon: What is it about the flute that moves you?

Johnny: I like the sound. You know when I play my solos I picture my self in a balcony giving a speech to the world. My solos are very melodic and simple, when I play the flute I imagine that I’m talking and that’s what you hear. You hear a sound that’s communicating with you. One time I remember playing my flute in a concert and there were some kids standing by with their flutes. I invited them to join the band on stage and it was horrific, because they were playing too many notes and making no sense. When you play you want to make sense, you want to communicate with the crowd. The flute is a very sweet instrument.

Sharon: How difficult is it directing an orchestra? What are some of the principles?

Johnny: Well first, I have been the only leader for La Fania All Stars. In order to be a good leader you must have respect for you fellow musicians and they must return the respect back to you. You need to have togetherness, comradeship and harmony. This is how you have fun. This is the only way to lead a band and perform on stage.

Sharon: What knowledge do you think many salseros are lacking?

Johnny: Well for one, I see that in this era musicians don’t want to study and it is essential that you study and understand your music, you can’t get away from that. This first happened during the Boogalu period, where everyone just wanted to play by ear and you can’t do that. I personally love working with kids. I love workshops and teaching. I remember one time I did a workshop in Philadelphia and I asked a kid what instrument do you want to play and he said, “The trumpet.” I said, “Why?” He said, “Because it only has three valves.” This is the perfect example of what I'm talking about. Today, I see musicians trying to take short cuts and make it the easy way out. When I first started, I was the only conga player in the city of New York and I doubled in clarinet and saxophone for The Eddie Palmieri Band. I arranged my own music and produced it as well, all of this because I was well studied in music.

Sharon: Musically speaking, who has been the person you have learned from the most?

Johnny: The individuals I worked with the most were Tito Puente and Mr. Esmeralda.

Sharon: What is the biggest difference between the salsa community today and the salsa community 50 years ago?

Johnny: Music has changed a lot. Momentarily, I’m writing a book and it will cover a lot of this topic. Nevertheless, some of the biggest changes have been, for example, in 1960, Charanga music was number one and nationalities like Italians, Jews, Blacks, Latinos, and etc. would enjoy the music together and we were playing the same repertoire, that doesn’t happen now. I miss the togetherness music brought to the world. La Fania All Stars were so united that until this day, I receive phone calls from former band members and presents as well. I’ve been a father figure to them. I don’t see this unity with young people and without union it is impossible to have fun.

Sharon: What does salsa music do for you?

Johnny: It gives me life. It gives me happiness.

Sharon: What message you send to the entire Salsa World?

Johnny: Our music is meant to have fun, it is meant to wake up the dead. One time I was in Toronto doing a concert and I noticed how the band before us had the crowd falling asleep and I said, “This is going to be a challenge.” When we got on stage the crowd was dying and I said, "In a few minutes you guys are going to be tapping your toes." We played “kimara” and we had to come back three times encore.

Sharon: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interview, your precious time and your novelty. I can’t express how much I admire you and how influential you’ve been to me and to the rest of the world. Thank You for everything that you’ve done for the Salsa World, if it wasn’t for your none of what you see today would have been in existence.

Johnny: Thank you Sharon for your kind words. You have always been a nice young lady, full of talent and ambitions. Keep playing the trombone and keep dancing. The pleasure was all mine and thanks to “La Voz Del Mambo,” for having me be a part of their newsletter.

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