Johnny Pacheco - Canonazo

180-gram vinyl

Fania Records' 60th anniversary marked with special reissue!

Johnny Pacheco's long-out-of-print Cañonazo launched the label in 1964!

All-analog remastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

Housed in a tip-on jacket replicating the original album artwork

Craft Latino continues its celebration of Fania Records' 60th anniversary by reissuing one of its most important albums: Johnny Pacheco's Cañonazo — the 1964 release that launched the influential label. Pacheco, who co-founded Fania, served as its creative figurehead, while his work as a musician, composer, arranger, producer, and bandleader was instrumental in shaping the modern Latin music landscape. Cañonazo also ushered in a new era for Pacheco, as it introduced his new band, Pacheco y su Nuevo Tumbao, featuring Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez on vocals.

Comprised primarily of popular Cuban songs from the day (including the label's namesake, "Fania") as well as the Pacheco original, "Dakar, Punto Final," the long out-of-print Cañonazo returns to vinyl on September 13, 2024. Featuring all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, the album is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in an old-school style tip-on jacket, replicating its original artwork.

A leading figure in the New York salsa scene, Johnny Pacheco (1935-2021) shaped the sound of modern Latin music-both through his work as a musician, composer, arranger, producer, and bandleader, as well as through his role as the co-founder of Fania Records. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco inherited a passion for music from his father-a leader and clarinetist for one of the country's most popular big bands. At 11, Pacheco and his family relocated to New York City, where he honed his craft on a variety of instruments (including the violin, saxophone, and flute) and later attended the prestigious Juilliard School, where he studied percussion.

In the '50s, Pacheco cut his chops in the legendary orchestras of Tito Puente, Xavier Cugat, and Charlie Palmieri before forming his own band, Pacheco y su Charanga, in 1960. Throughout the next few years, the group released a string of best-selling albums (Pacheco Y Su Charanga Vols. 1-5), toured the globe, and created a dance craze along the way, "The Pachanga" (a combination of the bandleader's name and "charanga").

By 1963, however, Pacheco was in search of a new home for his recordings. But rather than sign with an established label, he decided to form his own. Co-founded with lawyer Jerry Masucci, Fania Records not only offered Pacheco full creative control over his work, but also allowed him to champion his fellow Latin artists, including Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, Cheo Feliciano, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, and many others. Before long, Fania would become one of the world's most successful and influential Latin music labels.

It was only fitting that Fania's first album was by Pacheco himself. Released in 1964, Cañonazo ushed in a new era for the bandleader, who reorganized his popular group into a conjunto-replacing violins with trumpets and renaming the outfit Pacheco y su Nuevo Tumbao (the word Tumbao translates into any number of meanings, including style, rhythm, and attitude-all of which feel appropriate to mark the artist's new creative journey). The album also marked Pacheco's first of many outings with vocalist Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, a relative newcomer at the time, who would become a major star in the scene.

 

Side A

1. Canonazo

2. Como Mango

3. Pinareno

4. Cabio Sile

5. Campeon

Side B

1. El Kikiriki

2. Labrando la Tierra

3. Fania

4. Yo Soy Guajiro

5. El Pregonero

6. Dakar, Punto Final

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