David Cedeno on his roots, touring Japan, and the current state of Latin music
By Ian and Max, from WOBC’s International Workgroup
During one of the first International Workgroup meetings, we looked in the submission box and found a CD single of “Have I Told You Lately” by David Cedeño. The workgroup really enjoyed what we heard: the classic salsa instrumentation and energetic performances, along with the raspy and soft vocals resulted in a great rendition of the Van Morrison original (thank you to Imogen, our music director, for playing David’s version on Staff Picks the day after we recorded this). We were eager to contact him and arrange an interview. Based in New Jersey, David has been releasing albums since he was sixteen. Since then, he has been a jack-of-all-trades, as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and manager for Libertad Records. He starred in the film El Cantante (2007), alongside Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, as a trumpeter in a “Fania All Stars musician” scene. The COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed down his career, but as of late, he has begun to frequently travel and release music. If you’re reading this, we would be very grateful if you sought out David’s music in any way you can. David’s amiable nature certainly came across as he candidly responded to our inquiries in the following interview.
Just to start off, how did you start playing music? Is this something you always grew up around?
Yes, I did, but my whole family (all my uncles [in fact]) were composers in the Latin industry. They wrote for many bands. My mother was a composer and she played the guitar, my uncles played guitar. I started playing guitar at the age of seven, then started singing my own compositions. At the age of nine, my older brothers had a rock ‘n’ roll band. They used to play a lot of Beatles and Rolling Stones songs. Then, I woke up one morning and found out they got me a bass guitar, and they put me in their group. We used to be called The Bubbles, then the Latin’s Five, the Invaders. Then, we turned to Latin music. I was about twelve years old, and at the age of fourteen, my brother got married and let the band go. That used to be a six-piece band, by the way, but then I went ahead and started my own fourteen-piece orchestra.
Did a lot of the shift you made, from rock music to Latin, have to do with the direction the original band was going in or did you push it in that direction?
When we called ourselves Latin’s Five, we started playing Latin music. The Joe Cuba, Richie Ray, and Joe Bataan stuff. We played Latin for about two or three years. My brother let the band drop for a while when I was fourteen, so I started David Cedeño and His Orchestra, in 1969.
How did you manage to get that orchestra together?
From playing in different places with the six-piece band. You meet musicians here and there when you play in different clubs with different Latin bands. I just kinda put the word out. A lot of things happened when I turned fourteen. That’s when I started playing trumpet (I played bass in my brother’s band), and arranging music. I enrolled in Arts High School of Music. Everything happened when I was fourteen. I did my first recording in 1969. So my mind was at full speed, and old musicians around would find out about new bands and you start getting calls. A lot of different musicians show up at the rehearsals asking “Can I play with you?”, “Can I play with you?”. Then from there on you do recordings. I did an album in 1971, then 1975, and I kept on. Today I have seventeen CDs recorded on the market.
You said all this stuff was happening in 1969 (getting the band together, the recording), what was the scene for Latin music like where you were at that time?
It was big. On a scale of 1-10, from what it was then till today, back then it was 10 and today it’s like a 2. There were clubs that would open seven days a week, in New York, and they would have three bands in one night. Sometimes we would double. We’d go to one place in New York, like on Tenth Avenue, then we would go down to Casablanca and play ‘till 4 in the morning. There was a lot happening, a lot of venues. The bingo halls and the churches were all doing their 2-3 events and gigs, and there were nightclubs all over. We live in New Jersey, I have always been in Jersey. From where I was it was like fifteen minutes from New York, so we always concerned ourselves with that scene. The scene was big, and Latin was happening.
That sounds like a really exciting scene to be involved in. You said “Back then it was 10 and today it’s like a 2”, do you think there are any reasons why that change happened?
A lot of things have happened. One thing is that the big promoters, the HUGE promoters, in the Latin music scene that were in New York passed away. A few moved and some retired, so there’s no one there who knows the business well as far as promoting gigs, and not that many pushing for that. On top of that, a lot of the New York bands, after not seeing much happening, moved to Florida. I kinda take back what I said about the scene not happening. It’s not really happening in this, you know, northeastern part of the United States. New York was THE market, along with Chicago, California, and now Florida. Right now, if you asked me to mention how many bands live in Florida, they all do. Except the ones that are in Puerto Rico, originated in Puerto Rico, and have been in Puerto Rico all their lives. In terms of the states, most of the top bands are in Florida, because in Florida it’s happening. They call from Miami saying it’s the “new New York”.
It’s cool that you were in the right spot back then.
Yeah, and also when I saw a lot of that happening, I’ve always been a fan and I grew up with Top 40 music (from the 50’s and 60’s), which I LOVE; and we used to play that when we had the rock band. I also do a lot of Top 40 stuff, songs from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s that were big hits and in English. Maybe like three gold sellers? Four gold sellers? Millions?. I like those songs. I used to do them in my big band. If you go to my website (www.davidcedeno.com), you can view all the English salsa songs I do. We take the same songs. We don’t change the words, melody, or even speed because they’re usually balanced and when you put it in salsa it’s in 4/4 time which is double the time. So it sings like a 6/8 ballad but you hear that big band sound. The reason I did that, and it really saved me today, is because I do a lot of the Township and Municipality mini-concerts. When it comes to my band, it doesn’t matter what the audience is because I go there and I get a crowd of a few hundred people who aren’t Spanish and who don’t speak a word of the language. But that crowd in front of us, if I play those oldies-but-goodies for them, they’re singing along with the band, which is one thing my manager said to me years back. He said, “It’s very unusual that I see an American crowd standing in front of a Latin band and singing along”, because the average band just does all Hispanic vocals.
When you were featured on Latino Motion several years ago, you said that you felt bad for leaving the American market when you started playing Latin music. Why?
Well, because I grew up with that. I’m Puerto Rican, but I came from Puerto Rico when I was nine months old. That’s all I knew. At the age of three, my brothers were ages seven, eight, nine, and ten. They’re playing WABC and CBS 101.5, all the Top 40 stuff: The Beatles, the David Clark Five, the Monkees, the Rolling Stones. All that good stuff, and here I’m playing Latin when I was originally playing all those rock songs. The bass has been my instrument. Still to this day, that’s the instrument I dominate the best, although I play trumpet with my band day in and day out. But there was not a motion for trumpet in a rock band, ya know? The average rock band would really need a couple of guitars, a drummer, a bassist, a singer, and a tambourine player and you were good. It’s like anything else. It’s like moving into a new neighborhood. You’re going to say “Wow I miss this guy and that guy”. So yeah, I missed my American music. That’s what I listen to most of the time. I don’t tune in to any Latin radio stations.
That’s really interesting. What music do you listen to regularly? What artists in particular?
I do listen to the 70s and 80s, whatever they put on. I don’t pick an artist, and I go on radio stations that are “oldies”. I love the oldies. But you know, I think I listen to that mostly if I’m in my car or something. Little would you believe, and maybe you’re going to say “Wow this guy’s crazy”, but I listen to easy listening music. I don’t recall the artists but there are ones like David Rose, Mantovani, Perry Como, and just old violin music. It’s so soothing, it’s good for the ear, and I train myself with it because you’re listening to a symphony of 100-some, as opposed to listening to a Latin band or a rock band with five tracks or fourteen tracks. That music is unbelievable and, sadly, you can’t really get that on radio. I get it at home online. I listen to Music Choice. I’m not sure if you guys are familiar, but it’s a TV channel, and you can get easy listening. When I’m in my office or doing something around the house I just put that on, but I love all kinds of music. Music is music. It’s like a painter who paints clowns, another guy who paints houses, and the other guy who paints flowers. The art that goes into it is what I follow, not the style.
Yes, easy listening music is very good for the ear. Another thing we were interested in is how around 1997, you toured Japan for six months. Would you mind telling us a little bit about that tour?
That was a tour that started as a three-week tour. When we got on the plane, my manager sat down and said “I got a little bit of good news for you, if you want” I said “What is it?” and he said, “In the last week, I’ve been working and asking if they have other venues out there, and we can book another three weeks,” making it six weeks. He said the reason for that is because it costs $2,800 for a man to get a band out there, and once the agent gets the band out there, they want to sell it. So I said, “I like it, as far as I’m concerned we’re good to go.” Here’s another thing, back in the early days of 1969, 1970, and 1971 I met a distributor from Japan in New York City, and just like that he said “Hey I’ll buy a couple of albums”. Then you sell them to distributors for a DOLLAR, then they’d be in the store for $2.50. I said “Here’s ten, and who are you anyway?” and he said, “I’m a distributor”. Next thing we know he’s writing letters to me, sending money in advance, and he buys music from me. Back then there was no wire or whatever [laughs]. Then, around 1994, he said “You know, I sold more music of yours here than any other Latin band that has had a billing bigger than yours”. He said that includes Tito Puente, you know? He’s a king in music, and bands that were worldwide, but the thing is, record companies were not selling to Japan.
No one bothered to say “Hey, how about selling music in Japan?” They never thought of it. Meanwhile, because I sold this guy ten albums, he went bananas. The thing is, people had been buying my music out there all along, so when we went out there, everything started just blooming up. After we were there for three weeks, my manager said to me “Hey, I just had a meeting. Four more weeks.” My manager was down in New Jersey and he went and took us there, but he went back because he was the manager that dealt with Marc Anthony and J-Lo.
He was the big guy in the Latin market. But things just kept escalating and escalating. After the six months were over, our green cards expired and they wanted us to take a plane into Korea, and stay there 24 hours, so we could get back into Japan and do another two weeks [laughs]. It was a remarkable gig, a real experience to know your music is being appreciated on the other side of the world. Not only because it’s a venue to sell, but to see the people that lined up next to my stages so that we can sign CDs, cassettes, eight tracks, and albums they bought over the last 35 years. Pretty amazing, to feel that. I had no idea anybody in Japan would come to see a band because of the artist, you know? Those were fans, ya know? That’s pretty amazing, ya know?
That sounds incredible. So you were saying in Japan it was more like a tour and you felt all that love. Is that very different from how it is in the U.S.?
It is different because they worship you. They worship my band in Japan, and they travel from state to state out there. There was a guy that came down from Okinawa, that‘s an island at the bottommost part of Japan. He’s with this guy on my opening night, dressed like a captain, then
he’s got this big bag, and everyone was there on the first day (TV, radio, fans). He (the guy with the bag) seemed like a nuisance. He was really pushy and kept saying “Hey can I talk to you?” and my manager was just like “Later, later.” Finally, at the end, when we’re all at the hotel, he’s in the lobby. My manager brought him up and said “David, give him a break, he wants to talk to you” and I said, “Fine, beautiful.” I’m not that kind of guy with my fans. I’m all for my fans, but that day I was under a lot of pressure, and I felt him being a little pushy and others wanted to talk to me. This guy said “David, I’ve been a fan of yours forever. I live in Okinawa, and I came on my boat with my captain to see your gig today, and all I want is for you to sign my collection.” He opened up that brown bag, it looked like a big saddle of a horse. He had everything, you name it. If I recorded it, he had it. It was 45 CDs, LPs, cassettes, albums. I felt so bad, and I apologized to him and then I said “We’re gonna sign everything”, and some of the guys were already gone, staying in different hotels. I said “Are you gonna be here” and he said yeah. I said tomorrow we’re gonna be at this, this, and this place, so bring your stuff back and I’m gonna get the whole band to sign it for you, and we did that. He wasn’t an old dude (he was much younger than me), but he said he was Cuban and learned Latin music from his father, who was a Latin music lover. His father used to buy my CDs and stuff like that.
It’s very amazing, I had deals that came up while I was out there. I signed off on three CDs for Japan to manufacture and distribute. I mean, that’s how things were out there, but it’s nice. It’s a country I will never forget. The way they accepted us, they were very polite, very clean country [laughs].
Have you ever traveled back and toured Japan since then?
No, I have not. There’s been, ya know, offers here and there. Things that come up, things have changed a lot, and what’s happening now is that the Latin market is not like the American market. The prestige is not there, and I say that with all respect to my Latin people and Latin business, but nowadays if a fourteen-piece band is going to travel to a different country to perform, they just want the leader to go, they want the singer to go, maybe the front lineup (four guys tops, maybe five), and then wherever country you go, they’ll put a band for you. That’s how different it is. The American market is “You’re in Chicago, eight piece: Dick, Jan, Rick, Marty.” You all gotta be there, it’s Chicago! You know what I’m saying? But that’s not like that in Latin music anymore, ya know? The bands used to travel together, but not anymore. Big bands and salsa bands, they don’t wanna pay the expense.
I’ve been to a lot of different countries. We did a concert in Canada, in Ontario, where there were like six bands, all from Canada, and we were the only Latin band there. The agency treated us - and I kid you not - as if we were gods, like if we were the Beatles, like no one was supposed to get near us. All this catering, they carry our bags, they carry our instruments. So different, ya know? I’m not complaining about the Latin market, but I go to these Latin countries to play and they can see a trumpet in my bag and something hanging from my neck and dragging on the floor and me walking half-limp and they’ll say “Oh you’re fine”. In these other countries, they don’t let you carry yourself. That’s how much they value you, how much they appreciate you, ya know? It’s beautiful, it’s a beautiful experience.
Shifting gears a little, in 2007 you starred in the movie El Cantante alongside Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. How’d you get involved in that project?
Well, that’s a movie Marc Anthony and J-Lo produced. I knew Marc Anthony from way before he was Marc Anthony, 1997 or 1996, and he’s been to my rehearsals and stuff like that. When he did the movie, he asked if I would be in his movie, and I was in his movie. Very nice movie, fourteen hours of shooting, but the part that I did with my band was about six seconds, but that’s normal and that’s beautiful. I had a good time, I hung out with all the musicians I knew in the industry.
Yeah that’s wonderful. Shifting gears again a little bit, obviously in the beginning of 2020 we had the COVID-19 pandemic, how have you been doing lately getting your career back up since the pandemic?
Oh, it’s been rough. Ya know, touching base a little bit on what I said to you about clubs in New York closed and stuff like that. The COVID, even though it’s more laid back and not as strong as it was before, a lot of those venues that did stuff - even outside concerts, even municipalities - a lot of them just don’t do it anymore. Even the little bit that was alive in New York, like Latin restaurants that had music, COVID wiped ‘em out. How do you keep paying rent? They just took a beating until they had to let it go. I myself, talking about COVID, recorded and produced a song titled “Have I Told You Lately”, which is the most recent song that we’re promoting. That was recorded in January 2020, and released on February 29th I believe. As we’re promoting it, we’re getting CDs out in the mail, and COVID hit at the beginning of March, and I find out that no DJs are going to radio stations. Nothing’s happening. So we stopped it. We stopped it right there, and it just laid on the shelf for a couple of months, and just when we were going to start releasing it again, like about six months later, I got COVID, and it hit me four times. Until the last time - November 2022, the last COVID I had - and it kind of set me back. I fought it, ya know, I didn’t let it get to my lungs, because as a trumpet player your lungs should be good. Your lungs are gonna be in better shape than the average person. But it knocked me down and out. And then June of this year, we released it and that’s the tune that we’re promoting right now.
Moving off of that, have you felt the response to “Have I Told You Lately” this second around? How have you felt about that response?
I think it was good. You know something? I am so glad that I did not keep releasing it in 2020, because now when we put it out, radio stations just come pouring in “Hey we’re playing it, nice job!”. It’s on a lot of the TV and radio channels here in the States. I got stations in Florida playing it and stations in Puerto Rico playing it.
What’s weird about it is that I’m pretty well known and people appreciate me a lot in Colombia. We’re going out there on April 20th for the “Legend of the Live Artistes”. The reason why it’s named that is because a lot of the legends have passed away.
Colombia is a country that is not known for rock music, or American music. They’re a country on their own. You put any radio station up there, and you’re never gonna hear an American song, let alone have people who speak English. When I recorded “Lady in Red”, and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” over the past years, I never sent it to them. I never really promoted it in Colombia. This time I did, and now there are mini stations that are playing it and they’re telling me “You’re the first Latin artist we’re playing with an English track.” So I’m very satisfied with the response that I’m getting.
I have ADD, I’m a person who can’t sit still. Even though COVID was trying to knock me down or whatever, I did a song titled “Let’s Stay Alive America! (Six Feet Apart)” and it’s with the trumpet and my wife filmed it. It’s a CD that’s also a video. We did 10,000 copies and I gave them all out. It wasn’t a selling item. Also, it was a reminder of the “six feet apart” thing, which was one rule that a lot of people who got sick and did die didn’t follow. So it’s like an advertisement, but instead of being just a piece of paper (I could have just done a flyer), I said “Let me give them something that they can hold onto.” It’s a really nice song, just me playing trumpet in my home, and listen if you get a chance, anyone out there who’s reading. You can go to YouTube, “Let’s Stay Alive America” by David Cedeño.