“I was offered many projects during my career, but I always turned them down because that was not the kind of salsa music that I wanted to record,” Oscar Dudamel tells Apple Music as he celebrates the release of Sueño Alcanzado, his debut album. Now living in Madrid, the trombone player and bandleader is the father of Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor who made history leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Gustavo is on board to contribute a violin solo, but Sueño Alcanzado has little in common with classical music. The project delves into traditional salsa with impeccable arrangements and a sound anchored on the fiery aesthetic of the 1970s, when salsa was redefined by the stars of New York’s Fania Records, like Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe. “I didn’t want to make a covers album,” the elder Dudamel explains. “The composer who wrote ‘Sueño Alcanzado’ told me, ‘Thanks to your son, now you are in the game. If you release an album of new music, you will make it big.’ These songs have an academic touch, because of the slick sonics and the arrangements, but they also have the sound of the street. The violins are not synths. It’s actually the string section of the Simón Bolívar, Gustavo’s orchestra in Venezuela.” From the Afro Caribbean exuberance of “Tu Me Vas a Matar” to the velvety moods of “Estando Junto a Ti,” a sumptuous bolero, the project benefits from the contributions of major salsa figures like singer Van Lester, a disciple of Héctor Lavoe, and pianist Marlow Rosado, known for his association with the late Larry Harlow, former keyboardist with the Fania All-Stars. Here, the trombone player from Caracas guides us through the songs on the album, one by one. “Sueño Alcanzado” “This song was written many years ago in the apartment at Parque Central in Caracas, where we lived on the 32nd floor. Alberto Crespo was there playing a small piano, Eliel Rivero wrote down the lyrics, and Gustavo’s mother [Solange Ramírez] was also present, because we were still married then. We used a Sanyo tape recorder. ‘Sueño Alcanzado’ [‘Fulfilled Dream’] is about family and inspiration, because this started as a family project. The musicians I mentioned are great friends of mine. Alberto was a famous pianist at age 14, while he was still in high school. Eliel is a trombonist like me, and he emerged from Venezuela’s El Sistema. This is why I say that inspiration and community are the dream that came true.” “Tu Me Vas a Matar” “When this song was presented to me, it didn’t sound like this; it was short, simple, and devoid of any solos. I remembered that people in Colombia love the son montuno and thought that this track talks about unrequited love, but it’s also great for dancers. This guy is singing about being rejected, and now we need to sock him one so that he leaves the jukebox alone. Alberto Crespo asked me if I preferred the piano solo to be more of a virtuoso affair, or in the style of [Fania legend] Markolino Dimond. I told him that I favoured Markolino, and Alberto came up with this tremendous solo. In the end, the track combines sadness with joy and the roots of Latin music. If jukeboxes were still popular, I could see people putting the coins in to hear it time after time.” “Bonita Son” “This one seemed a bit basic in the beginning. It’s dedicated to women, and it has the sweetness of a good son montuno, the kind of swing that inspires you to dance real close to your partner. The piano solo is by Marlow Rosado, who studied under Larry Harlow. I always say that Marlow sounds like Larry Harlow, whereas Alberto Crespo is a combination of Eddie Palmieri and Papo Lucca.” “Estando Junto a Ti” “It took a lot of convincing for my son Gustavo to record a violin solo. He didn’t want to, because he hadn’t played in a long time. I’ve always loved the album that Héctor Lavoe did as a tribute to singer Felipe Pirela, and this bolero has the same kind of progressive approach. It’s more academic, with lots of texture. It talks about love—the kind of experience that is truly universal.” “El Beso” “It reminds me of the time when I was a student at the Pastor Oropeza institute. When I heard the arrangement, I remembered the first time that I kissed a girl. I modified the arrangement, because it was too openly erotic, and that wasn’t my intention. The trombone solo is rugged; it brings to mind the ’70s and salsa master Willie Colón. I thought it was funny that the day after we taped the song, an assistant at the recording studio was humming the trombone solo. It reminded me of the infamous mouth solo in Ruben Blades’ ‘Buscando Guayaba.’” “El Fuego De Tu Amor” “We had already recorded a bolero in a progressive vein. I thought we should also do the kind of heartbreaking bolero that people love, like the ones that Daniel Santos recorded in Cuba with La Sonora Matancera. We were rehearsing it when Venezuelan actress Gigi Zanchetta dropped by the studio. She told me that it had been years since she listened to a bolero that sounded so genuinely tropical.” “La Rumba Me Llama” “We changed this one quite a bit, because I wanted the arrangements to cut deep. Initially it was just the voice, a few verses, the mambo section, and the outro. I improvised a few sections, and [singer] Van Lester added a chorus. It’s the one track on the album that speaks directly to people from Latin America, and they’re playing it everywhere. The other day, I got a call from Puerto Rico, because they were showing the video where I’m dancing and playing the trombone. On the day of the shoot, they brought me a chair, but I told them, ‘Take that chair away—I’m planning to dance.’ It has the old Fania vibe. I respect all salsa musicians, and everyone has a different style, but nothing matches the classic Fania sound.”