When a group of musicians share a common background, musical philosophy, or goal, the music that they create often shines with a special glow. Their shared experiences allow them to find sympathetic ideals that make the process of music making an easier experience. They can listen more closely and blend tone, phrasing, and stylist interpretation into a unified whole. Their improvisational exchanges start rising to a magical level that can’t be explained in words, but simply experienced. Sometimes these magical moments are brief and fleeting, one incredible gig that never again becomes a reality. Every musician desires those magical moments in their performances though, so when they encounter a group of like-minded musicians, they should certainly strive to keep them together.

Mitch Frohman found the right combination of musicians while working as a member of Mongo Santamaria’s band and he took the necessary steps to keep the group together. Santamaria’s horn section at the time included Frohman, saxophonist Bobby Porcelli, and trumpet player Ray Vega. All three musicians had worked with Puente, shared a broad knowledge of both jazz and Latin music, and they were at the top of their game. They found a common voice as a section, and they recognized the power of that unity before they left Santamaria’s group. The three musicians gathered together, found a rhythm section, compiled some original compositions, and formed The Bronx Horns. The new band offered a distinct sound and years of experience; they recorded two albums and performed around the world. As The Bronx Horns became a strong voice in the Latin Jazz world, the formation of the group marked another milestone in Frohman’s career.

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LATIN JAZZ CORNER: One of my favorite Mongo albums that you play on is Live at Jazz Alley. That had Ray Vega and Bobby Porcelli on there with you, which seemed like a step into The Bronx Horns. How did you guys start that group and what was your initial inspiration?

MITCH FROHMAN: Well, we were getting many, many compliments over the years – we had a wonderful blend together. You know, Bobby is one of the greatest alto players alive, playing this music. I’m sure that I can also speak for Ray; for me and Ray to play alongside Bobby was just a wonderful experience. Plus I had played with Bobby for many, many years, next to him in Tito Puente’s band, so I was very fortunate to have that influence in my playing. We all grew up in the Bronx, and when we were introduced on every gig, it would be, “ And from the Bronx, New York – Bobby Porcelli. And from the Bronx, New York – Ray Vega. And from the Bronx, New York – Mitch Frohman.” And you know, some people would kind of chuckle and call us the Bronx Boys, or the guys from the Bronx. It kind of rang a bell in my head. When we all left Mongo’s band in the early nineties, I kind of wanted to keep the horn section together, and I had some music that I had written. So I called some rehearsals, and got a rhythm section together. Basically, I changed it to the Bronx Horns, because I thought it was a catchy name, but it was also true. We all grew up in the Bronx and I basically started The Bronx Horns with the same horn section that we had in Mongo’s band, because we had a nice sound together.

LJC: The rhythm section that you guys had initially - and the rhythm section that you have now – is massive! How did you get those guys together?

MF: Well, when you’re in the business for a long time, you have relationships with people. These are all guys that I had been working with in different situations over the years, and I loved their playing. So these were just guys that were professional associates of mine.

LJC: Catch the Feeling was the first Bronx Horns album . . .

MF: I actually wrote that song during my years with Mongo, and we played it with Mongo Santamaria – he included it in the repertoire. I was actually hoping that he was going to record it, but I never got the opportunity to record it with him. Now I’m kind of happy because I was able to record it on my first album. But that tune was actually first played during my tenure with Mongo’s band.

LJC: Most of that album is compositions from you, Ray, and Bobby – were a lot of those songs that you had written earlier or did they come together around the album?

MF: Well, there was another song on the record that was called “Get Back In” which Bobby Porcelli wrote probably 30 years earlier – another one that Mongo played but never recorded. And then there were some songs that we had played years earlier with a big band that I had with this piano player Joe Mannazi in the early eighties. I had tunes like “Mitch’s Mambo” and “King Jacob” and some other tunes that were on that CD. I had big band versions of that which I then scaled down for three horns to record. I’m not exactly sure when Ray had written his tunes . . . well, I know there’s one tune on the record, “Mambo Melani,” that Ray wrote for his first daughter, so that was probably a recent tune, because his daughter had just been born, not too long before we recorded the record. Some tunes were tunes that had been written a long time ago by Bobby or myself, and some tunes were written fairly recently for the recording.

LJC: I saw you guys play in the late nineties at the San Jose Jazz Festival, it’s an incredible live group. I know you guys are all very busy – initially did the group get out and perform much?

MF: Well, I was still playing steady with Tito Puente’s band, so that was always my primary job, as far as my steady monetary employment for supporting my family. We did some touring, you know, we did some festivals around Europe and the United States. Never on a full time basis though. Basically the first record company that put Catch the Feeling out ripped us off and never paid me a penny in royalties. We had a licensing deal with them which has since expired, so now I own the product. Then the records were re-released by company called 32 Jazz in the late nineties, and within a year, that company went bankrupt and I never got a penny from them. I basically had not the best luck with record companies, although the record company Timeless that recorded us on the Silver in the Bronx album, we did get paid for the CD. But after the initial tours that we did in Europe for them, they basically never supported or promoted the CD. What we got, we got on reputation, which was nice, but I didn’t hustle the band that much, it was more of a part time thing. What I’m doing now, I’m starting to make a push this year, with a website, thebornxhorns.com, and I’m making a push to get the band out more. I’ve added a vocalist, Frankie Vazquez, so that, kind of like what Tito used to do with his Latin Jazz Ensemble, and his big band, where he would play maybe half a set Latin Jazz and then maybe half a set typical dance music for the people. I’m doing the same thing with The Bronx Horns where we have the ability to play the typical dance music and also the Latin Jazz, depending on the requirements for the gig and for the audience. So I’m making more of a push right now to get the band back out there.

LJC: Silver in the Bronx was a great record, how did you decide to create the tribute to Horace Silver – was it an appreciation of his music or did it seem like a natural fit for Latin Jazz?

MF: A combination of both. I was always a big fan of Horace Silver’s music and his music lent itself so effortlessly to our Latin rhythms. So I took a long time in compiling a list of songs and then going down and conferring with some of the guys. There were so many songs to choose from – we would make a list, come up with about 30 or 40 tunes, and then knock it down to 15 or 20 tunes, and then knock it down to a final list. And then I came up with the idea of picking which rhythms we would apply to each tunes. Instead of just doing the regular formula – maybe one tune would be a mambo jazz tune, another tune we would play a cha cha or boogaloo. Another tune we’d play an Afro-Cuban 6/8, another tune we’d play an Afro or a bolero. Just using many different forms of the Latin rhythms, and seeing which ones fit the melodies of Horace’s tunes. And then the other thing was choosing which tunes to give which the arrangers. For example, Marty Sheller, who did the arrangement and was the original trumpet player for Mongo’s “Watermelon Man” - I specifically gave him a tune called “Home Cookin’” to do in that cha cha-boogaloo feel. I wanted that type of feeling and he’s as good as anybody in the world for that kind of thing. And then the other arrangers - Joe Madera and Oscar Hernandez - Ray Vega contributed a few arrangements; they took tunes that they felt would show off their arranging strengths. So we put a lot of thought into it and I’m very proud of how it came out.

LJC: Around that time, Tito Puente died. You’ve said a lot of great things about Tito, but if you could isolate one thing that you took away from those years, what would that be?

MF: That’s hard to pin down. I was in his band for 25 years! It’s not one thing. He was a hard worker; the music was always the first thing in his life. He had his own school of music. There was also the school of Machito. It was like the Count Basie band and the Duke Ellington band – they were all great but they had their own styles and schools of music. It was a very exciting way of playing. It was a very percussive way of learning how to play this music. Also I guess seeing how to play this music in an exciting fashion without always having to play super loud. Tito could play exciting and fast, but with the sensibilities of a jazz drummer. He was a studied percussionist; he had the technique in his wrist. Where maybe some other Latin percussionists play more with their arms, Tito had the sensibilities of the great wrist action. It was learning how to play this music at many dynamic levels but in a very exciting way. You know, the show must go on. And basically playing all styles of Latin music, which I feel is a lost art with a lot of the bands today. Where the bands will either just play salsa or they’ll just play merengue or they’ll just play bachata. We had more than 1000 tunes in the book and we would play every type of function available. The first time I ever played a merengue was in Tito Puente’s band. We had merengues in the band, we had cumbias, we had paso dobles, and we had danzones. It was just “salsa.” He always used to joke how the word salsa was just a ridiculous marketing term. You know, we didn’t just play mambo, cha cha, and bolero, we played all types of Latin American rhythms. We even played some big band jazz tunes when we would play some society parties where they would want a couple of swing tunes mixed in. He even had that in the book. I got the appreciation of all forms of Latin American music and rhythms that we played. He was a very diverse musician. When I joined his band, I didn’t really know anything about Latin flute, but the person whose place I took did the Latin flute solos. So I basically immersed myself in learning that style, and I think that I’ve become a fairly good Latin flute player over the years. And that was something that I developed in his band.

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In Part 3 of our interview, discussing some of Frohman’s current projects. We take a look at The Bronx Horns, The Latin Giants of Jazz, The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and more. Come back tomorrow, you don’t want to miss this!

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Latin Jazz Conversations: Jose Madera, Part 2
10 Latin Jazz Perspectives On Horace Silver
10 Latin Jazz Perspectives On Charlie Parker
Latin Jazz Standards: 10 Versions Of Mambo Inn

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