A new vinyl edition of Tommy Olivencia Y Su Orquesta’s 1975 album Planté Bandera is arriving August 16. The 180-gram vinyl pressing features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is housed in a vintage-style tip-on jacket.
Originally released in 1975 via Fania Records, Planté Bandera includes the classic standard “Trucutu,” “Evelino y La Rumba,” “A Mi Pai Chango”, and the powerful title track, “Planté Bandera” (I Will Raise My Flag), which is one of the most cherished Latin songs.
Tommy Olivencia is known for defining Puerto Rican salsa alongside his orchestra, La Primerisima. An adventurous bandleader and trumpet player, Olivencia is considered a pillar of Caribbean music. Songs like “Sabroso” (Tasty) and “Soy Dichoso” (I’m Lucky) capture the spirit of Caribbean rhythms that have long invigorated dance floors around the world.
Beginning in the 1960s, Olivencia’s orchestra was a launching pad for heralded Latin vocalists including Paquito Guzman, Gilberto Santarosa, and Chamaco Ramirez. Planté Bandera was the final collaboration between Olivencia and the improvisational salsa singer Ramirez, who died in 1983, four years after the release of his sought-after solo debut Alive and Kicking.
Olivencia and his bandmates were invited to record this collection in New York by trumpeter and Fania producer Luís Perico Ortiz, who provided arrangements for many of the album’s songs. Outliers include “Casimira,” arranged by Louie Cruz, “A La Yumbae,” arranged by the Dominican trumpeter Cabrerita, the fight song “Si Estas Herido,” arranged by José Febles, and the bossa nova tune “El Amor,” arranged by Máximo Torres.
A majority of the tracks were written by prolific Puerto Rican salsa composer Tite Curet Alonso. One of the songs not written by Alonso is the triumphant “Trucutu.” Featured performers across the album include David Cortijito on the congas, José Papi Fuentes on bongos, timbales player Julito Morales, and vocalist José Pepe Sanchez, who takes the lead on the swooning “Como Novela De Amor.”