Every now and then you have to pay attention. It seems the older you get the faster time goes by. The other day I searched on YouTube for some of the songs that I composed and arranged back in the late 1990s with various groups in San Francisco. Some of these tunes have 100,000 plays which is sort of cool but I am sure that at this point no one in this group is making money off those plays. We did it for love anyway. And the dancers.
Arrangements by Paul Lyons
Orq. Azabache – This Moment
Hi. This is Paul Lyons the arranger of this song and many tunes on this album – Azabache from 2000. Thanks for posting this video.
What makes this song so cool is that it is a salsa song about breaking up. There are very few of those. Usually salsa songs in English are love songs and are quite corny. Not with this one.
These charts where written originally for trumpet, trombone and baritone sax. Notice that on this recording the band played the song with trombones. What is so strange about this recording is that the second mambo I wrote originally as an afterthought to the song. I always imagined a solo on top of the trombone line. But I love this tune and knew it would touch people.
Julio Bravo, Sin Rencor
Arranged by Paul Lyons from San Francisco. Another tune I actually do not remember arranging. 2000 was such a crazy time. People thought the world was going to end. I just had had my second kid, a daughter Lucia. At the time I was writing about one arrangement a week and every now and then complete originals would be commissioned. The phrasing of the horns is stellar. Bill Thuerer, Derek James, Stephen Khuen. The orchestration is how it was written.
Simplemente Complicada – Orquesta Azabache.wmv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z7Cr-zIX2Q
Composed and Arranged by Paul Lyons. Lyrics by Ray Martinez. This is a tune/melody that I wrote that Ray wrote lyrics to. It was about a relationship he was having at the time. So Ray put words to the song and then brought it back to my place with a scratch recording. We probably hung out for a while and brainstormed some ideas. I then wrote the arrangement that afternoon. All of the songs on this album came together in one six month period and I am certain this project (Azabache 2000) was self produced. It is not in print anymore. Someone call Ray and tell him to press a few thousand more.
Azabache – Cinco a Diez
Arrangement by Paul Lyons (Azabache 2000). About 100,000 views makes me scratch my head at how crazy the music industry is. This is a very cool tune about a very difficult situation – 5 to 10 years in jail.
Learn How to Write Salsa Charts. Certified by the Club Owners Association of Northern California.
If you are interested in purchasing the sheet music – arrangements for any of the songs above, email contact me