Rubén Blades Introduces Salswing!

By DownBeat I Apr. 19, 2021

Rubén Blades makes music beyond genres with *Salswing!*
(Photo: José Rovira)

Rubén Blades, the Panamanian-born singer, actor and activist, continues his love of big band Latin jazz and salsa with the release of Salswing! (Rubén Blades Productions), his latest release with the Roberto Delgado Orquesta.

In a letter to listeners, Blades wrote that his goals with the recording were to introduce Roberto Delgado and his orchestra to a wider audience, noting that the band was “capable of expanding its original Panamanian roots to cover other musical genres.”

Another goal, Blades said, was “to present my interest in exploring other vocal directions, and thus eliminate the stereotype that affirms that we are conditioned to only exist artistically within specific boundaries, according to our nationality.”

The album will be available in three versions. Salswing!, which dropped Friday, April 16, offers a true “mixtura” of salsa and jazz. Salsa Plus!, a more salsa-driven version presenting Afro-Cuban tunes with a few swing cuts, will be released April 23. Swing!, a jazz version of the set with a few salsa cuts, launches April 30.

“Perhaps the most important point is to exemplify that, as artists, we address our music to the world, not just to a specific segment of the population,” Blades told fans. “The concept ‘mixtura’ exposes the hope that people will accept music, no matter what the genre is, provided it is done with quality and professionalism. All of the albums today limit themselves to a specific musical direction, to fill a specific market niche. It is an economic imperative, not an artistic one.”

He went on to say that Salswing! delivers music from two genres that could appeal to wide variety of listeners.

“Understanding that some people, at first, may have a problem with this concept of ‘mixtura,’ we have also created separate editions emphasizing genres,” he said.

“When people ask me what kind of musician I am, I just stare at them,” he concluded. “When they ask me what do I play, my answer is: ‘Music!’” DB