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| The music hints at 50's pop and the sound of the classic Latin crooners, jumps forward to alternative rock, electronica and then back again. There are crisp dance beats and lush Caribbean groove, a touch of The Beatles but also an updated take of the traditional Cuban conga.
This is the world of singer songwriter Jorge Moreno.
His parents both came from Cuba to Miami when they were 11 years old, in pre-Castro days. Jorge, 26 and the youngest of four siblings, grew up surrounded by music. He says he learned a lot from his father, Tony Moreno, a respected veteran of the Latin music industry. "Not about how to write songs or how to sing, but about the business," says Jorge. "I remember going to a few recording sessions with him when I was a kid. I'd hang out with the artists when I went with him to a concert, have pictures taken with Celia Cruz after a show, things like that. So I was exposed to show business at a very young age."
While getting a taste of show business and Tropical music from his father, Jorge was learning about 50's and 60's pop and rock from his mother, Melba. "She was a very big fan of Elvis Presley, The Beatles and many more artists of the time and I came to love the music through her. I'm an encyclopedia on 50's & 60's pop music, very good on trivia," he says with mock pride. He pauses then continues. "I guess I've been an intense music devotee since I was a kid."
Not surprisingly, when he started doing his own singing Jorge found himself "sometimes imitating salseros and sometimes Frankie Avalon." As he grew up, he got interested in "very experimental music" and by his junior year he had formed a trio with a couple of friends and began to write songs - "a Latin Beatles-ish sort of rock. "
After three years together, writing and rehearsing, the summers spent in Spain and England, playing, soaking in flamenco, Arabic music as well as the alternative scene, the trio dissolved. There had been a couple of fruitless showcases for major labels, boredom had begun to set in and Jorge decided to move on and study photography and film. That didn't mean leaving music, however. "I kept playing, getting better at playing guitar, getting better at songwriting." By 1996, he knew "music was all I wanted to do." "My first demos were very alternative, with Arabic music, hip-hop beats, and even a bit of Pink Floyd." From there, his style kept evolving as he started "mixing my alternative interests with my traditional roots, the music from the 50's I know well and trying to come up with catchy little hooks -- but with an edge."
His work paid off. After five years of making demos, EMI Music Publishing signed him as a songwriter, and then the music caught the ear of Maverick. Suddenly Jorge found himself working with top producers Lester Mendez (Shakira, Enrique Iglesias), A.T. Molina and Andres Levin (Macy Gray, Aterciopelados), "each with a different personality, each doing different songs and it has really turned out for the best," says Jorge. "Lester does the more pop, radio friendly stuff and we connected very well. A.T. Molina comes more from the hip-hop/tropical side. And Andres is a mixture of both. He has done a lot of cool stuff, and his style has an edge I like a lot," says Jorge. "A good producer is an extension of the artist, really interpreting what the artist wants to do and helps him realize his vision and these guys are great about that."
The collection of songs on his album includes originals such as "Despertaré," "Mi Sufrimiento" a pop song "with a Tropical twist," as Jorge describes it, and "Si Yo Fuera," a song in the style of Los Zafiros, a sort of Cuban Platters, popular in the island in the 1960s. The set also includes a couple of tributes to two seminal Cuban singers and entertainers, Beny Moré and Desi Arnaz."I did 'Como Fue' completely different from the Beny Moré version. It's a tribute but I didn't want to do it in a traditional style," explains Jorge. "I believe if you are going to cover a song, you have to bring something new to it or just don't do it -- and the original by Beny is so beautiful that I didn't want people to come and say 'who does this guy think he is?' Additionally, "Reloj" is a bolero also "inspired by the great, classic Cuban singers like Beny. I'm a big fan of that music, of that era," says Jorge. "And I believe a way to keep it alive is to give it a more modern sound."
On "Despertaré," another Beatles-influenced song "with a 50s thing in the vocals," he puts himself in his ex-girlfriend’s position looking at a failed relationship that has turned the world upside down. "Por Eternidad" is a song about death, a rare subject in pop music. "It's the saddest song I've ever written," says Jorge. "The scenario in which I put myself here is that of a guy who's dying and the song is his dying words, talking about his regrets, wishing he had more time. It's one of the songs I feel the most"
Creating settings, taking on other people's identities and issues is part of Jorge's approach to songwriting and performing. "When people hear my songs they might think I’ve been jaded by a lot of women but I haven’t really. It's just that I like to put myself in other people’s position and write it from that perspective." "For me a singer is like an actor, interpreting different roles, different stories."
A prime example is "Sixteen," an English language track written and recorded with producer Andres Levin just the day before the final mastering of the record. "It is a very Beatle-esque track about falling in love with a beautiful 16 year old girl who doesn't look 16, very much a Lolita thing.... That's my Jerry Lee Lewis song," he deadpans.
"Babalú," featured in the CBS "I Love Lucy's 50th Anniversary Special," hosted by Desi Arnaz Jr and Lucie Arnaz, was in the works before the show and even before he was signed to Maverick, says Jorge. "I had planned on doing 'Babalú.' I hadn't done it yet, but had downloaded the song to start working on it. I loved it as a kid and I always remembered it. But when I heard it again in the Ricky Ricardo version I knew I had to it -- but in a different way. When I got signed to Maverick and they asked me about the songs I wanted to include, I said I would love to do a version of 'Babalú,' - then they mentioned the special and that's how the whole thing was tied-in. It was just good timing."
While this “good-timing” certainly gave a powerful jump-start to the release of Jorge’s album, it has been the album’s quality that has lead to a wonderful year of growth. Since it’s release, Moreno has received a wealth of critical praise, including 4-star reviews in both the Los Angeles Times & Miami Herald. In May 2002, Jorge was voted “Miami’s Best Latin Singer” in the New Times’ annual “Best of Miami,” and most impressive of all, Jorge has just recently received a LATIN GRAMMY nomination for “Best New Artist” |
Leslie Ahrens
