Happy Time Cha Chas - Ricardo Juarez

 

Cha Cha Militaire

Happy Time Cha Chas
Ricardo Juarez and His Orchestra
Produced and Originated by Enoch Light
Grand Awards Record Co. GA 254 SD
1960

From the back cover: The happiest dancers in the past year or two have been the ones who have danced to the happy rhythms of the cha cha. And it's not just because the cha cha has deservedly become the most popular dance to reach the United States from south of the border in a long, long time. A big part of the happy time that comes from cha-cha- ing is the mixture of lovely, familiar tunes that we all know with the tempting cha cha beat that gets everyone out on the dance floor. This mixture was popularized by Enoch Light and His Light Brigade when he recorded I WANT TO BE HAPPY CHA CHA for Grand Award. Now Ricardo Juarez and his orchestra carry the idea even further by joining some of the greatest popular American tunes to the authentic cha cha beat that this orchestra knows so well in arrangements that sparkle with imagination and excitement.

The cha cha beat puts these wonderful songs in a fresh and provocative perspective. With the stirring rhythm of the cha cha pulsing excitingly underneath them, the melodies come out in a precise, jaunty way that makes them step along with a delightful flair. And the arrange- ments are full of variety, rousing exchanges and mixtures of sounds as the throbbing beat of bongos, timbales, congo drums, cowbells and scratchers weaves in and out of the brass and reed ensembles; while exciting accents are added by flutes and guitars, and an extra percussive wallop comes from the bright tones of the xylophone and the gutty prodding of the Hammond organ.

You'll hear the wave of joyous sound that occurs when a happy alto saxophone rises suddenly and sweepingly out of TWO CIGARETTES IN THE DARK, when a muted trom-

bone starts to swing over the cha cha beat of IT'S A SIN TO TELL A LIE, when both the alto saxophone and the muted trombone exchange brief intricate solos during SHOULD I and the gorgeous tone of the open trombone appears on TOO YOUNG.

BREEZIN' ALONG WITH THE BREEZE becomes even breezier than the breeze when the organ floats like a zephyr through the ensembles and the solos. KISS ME AGAIN is made as light and airy as a puff ball by the risingly rippling undercurrent of the saxophones and the organ. There's excitement, too, in the duel between the bongos and the conga drum that brings YOUNG IN HEART to a stirring climax.

But possibly the most unusual arrangement in this collection and certainly the most un- usual cha cha ever recorded is the brilliant CHA CHA MILITAIRE. Ricardo Juarez has caught all the splendor and excitement of a huge marching band and has transfered it to a cha cha that glistens with a gloriously brassy sound, with ruffles and flourishes from a drum corps gone excitingly native and with the big splashy crash of enormous cymbals.

Besides the happy dancing, the stimulating listening and the spectacular stereophonic high fidelity recording of these happy time cha cha's, many of the arrangements start out with passages played first on one speaker alone, then duplicated on the other. This is done so that you can be sure that the balance between your speakers is absolutely precise. Listen carefully to these balancing passages and be certain that you are hearing all of the full, realistic sound that skillful engineering has put in the grooves of this record.

Too Young Cha Cha
Sweet And Lovely Cha Cha
Young At Heart Cha Cha
Cha Cha Militaire
Kiss Me Again Cha Cha
Moonlight And Roses Cha Cha
Too Marvelous For Words
Two Cigarettes In The Dark
Breezin' Along With The Breeze Cha Cha
It's A Sin To Tell A Lie Cha Cha
It Might As Well Be Spring Cha Cha
Should I Cha Cha