How, why and when did you get into salsa?
I was studying Electronics at the University of York and also at California, Santa Barbara when half way through the course I suddenly decided that I wanted to be a musician instead! I decided to finish the course and I got the Degree in Electronics, but I then moved to London, got a cheap flat and worked at being a musician. It was then that I discovered salsa.
Do you dance salsa and if so, who first taught you to dance?
Yes I do dance salsa, but not to a very high level, as I don’t do it very often. I started doing live gigs at a place called HQ in Camden, where a Mexican lady called Jania was the dance teacher. She was also interested in the live music scene, so we became friends, and she taught me my first salsa steps.
Did you have any dance training prior to salsa?
No, none.
Tell me a little about The Alex Wilson Project. When, why and how was it set up?
In order to support a recording deal that I managed to get in 1998, I decided I needed to set up my own band. This was five years into my career as a musician, and the record deal was with a Jazz label. So, I set up a predominately Jazz based band and recorded three albums with them. The first was Afro Saxon, and the second, Anglo-Cubano was recorded in Cuba.
It was after the third album, R&B Latino, that I really got into recording salsa music. R&B Latino was really just an experiment mixing RnB with Latin rhythms. R&B Latino was a big hit, quite unexpectedly, and lots of people were telling me that the title track was being played in all the salsa clubs, and that it was very popular.
It was then that I decided to put together a 12 piece salsa band in order to play for the salsa crowd properly.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
On the Latin side I have been inspired by Papo Lucca of Sonora Poncena, and also Eddie Palmieri. When I was learning to play montunos rhythms on the piano, I was inspired greatly by Eddie’s style as well as that of Peruchin, an old piano player.
I have also been inspired by Sergio George, who is the man behind the likes of Victor Manuelle and D.L.G.
Who do you admire?
All of the above, as well as Oscar Hernandez of Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
What’s your favourite track at the moment?
This is a difficult question, as there are too many. One song that I really like listening to at the moment is the Salsa Remix of Sean Paul’s ‘Get Busy’, although I know that it’s not a current song.
What are your all time favourite tracks?
La Rebelion – Joe Arroyo
Te Pone la Cabeza Mala – Los Van Van
What are your favourite albums?
I like to listen to both Puerto Rican and Cuban music.
Any CD by Senora Poncena is great, but in particular I love their ‘45 Aniversario’ CD.
Los Van Van’s ‘Llego Van Van’ is also a favourite of mine.
What was the last CD you bought?
The last CD I bought was a Jazz CD by Wynton Kelly who is a Classical Jazz Pianist. The CD is a compilation of his work.
What music is in your car/cd player/tape player at the moment?
As I am in the middle of a series of five Jazz concerts at the moment, I have been listening to a lot of Jazz lately. The CD I currently have in my CD player is ‘Anything Goes’ by Brad Mehldau.
Who are your favourite artists?
Sonora Poncena
Nat King Cole
El Gran Combo
Eddie Palmieri
I like all the old classics.
If you were not a successful Musician, what would you be doing instead? Or if you also have a full-time job, what do you do?
I would probably being doing something in connection with my training in either electronics or computing.
I also love languages and travelling, so who knows, I may have been doing something along those lines.
Tell me something most people wouldn’t know about you?
Well as I’ve already said, I have a Degree in Electronics. I also moved around a lot when I was younger so I grew up all over the world.
But………… you’ll just have to get to know me a bit more to find out anything else about me :o)
What’s your all time favourite salsa club/event that you have played at?
That’s a good question and I’d have to say three.
When I first got involved in the live music scene in 1993, the scene was a very vibrant one back then. This isn’t so much the case these days which is a shame. The scene is still alive and well in places, but it seems to be much more pocketed.
Back in the day I used play in a club called Bass Clef in North London. On Fridays they had Latin bands and on Saturdays they had African bands. The atmosphere there was amazing, so Base Clef would have to be one of my favourites.
The second would have to be Lubi’s old club in Leeds called Underground. He somehow managed to cultivate a fantastic crowd, who were really ready to hear live music. Such a shame it closed.
More recently, the band played at the Brighton Dome to a crowd of 850 people. There is nothing better than being in front of so many people who have all paid good money to see you, and are all shouting for your music.
What has been your most memorable moment?
During my career I have travelled to 49 different countries so I have many, many memorable moments.
One that stands out though would be my first visit to Japan.
Another would be when, after supporting El Gran Combo when they were playing live in Leicester Square, Rafael Ithier, their pianist and band leader signalled to me to sit in with them when they were playing. It’s not every day that something like that happens, and it was a huge compliment.
Have you had any embarrassing/nightmare-ish moments in salsa?
I really don’t get embarrassed that easily but there have been a couple of funny moments.
As a dancer – I went to see a Spanish Harlem Orchestra gig where I danced with a young lady. Half way through the track though she said ‘you don’t do salsa classes do you?’. I just laughed it off as I was just enjoying the music and the dancing even though I wasn’t that good back then.
As a musician – I was playing up in Manchester with Merengada, and we were playing a track, which wasn’t a particularly complicated one, when a very skimpily dressed lady walked right past the front of the stage. Every single band member’s eyes followed her, and I’ve never seen so many musicians mess up all at once before! It was very funny.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I really appreciate the UK salsa scene because they’ve really got behind me and supported me all the way, by buying the CD’s and tickets to see me live, so my thanks go out to everyone.
Getting the salsa band set up and recording the first salsa CD involved huge personal financial risk, and I even had to re-mortgage my house to help fund it. The CD has been very well received, and as I said, the UK salsa scene has really supported me throughout, and its looking like perhaps it was well worth taking the risk. It’s early days yet though, and still too early to tell. Hopefully we will be able to produce more salsa CD’s in the near future if the audience still want more.
www.alexwilson.net
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