Hector Rivera

Rivera earned recognition as a keyboardist, arranger, and composer among the leading figures in the overlooked Latin soul style that emerged during the 1960s. While sharing ground with the better-known Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers through a fusion of Latin dance-pop, soul-funk grooves, and jazz phrasing, Rivera kept the jazz components subtler within his arrangements. His audience reach stretched past New York’s Latin dance circles when the 1967 single “At the Party” climbed into the national R&B Top 40.

By that point Rivera had already logged more than ten years as a working musician, having joined Elmo Garcia’s band in the early 1950s while still a teenager. His first appearance on record as a leader arrived in 1957 under unusual conditions: when Garcia proved short of material for a scheduled Mercury session, the label turned to Rivera, who had stockpiled his own pieces for a future solo project. Mercury agreed to record him independently and released the debut album Let’s Cha Cha Cha. In the ensuing years he worked primarily as a sideman alongside bandleaders Joe Cuba and Pacheco as well as vocalist Vincento Valdez.

Rivera achieved his strongest impact as a frontman with the 1966 album At the Party, recorded with an expanded ensemble that included multiple trumpeters, several percussionists, and Cachao on bass. Though it never matched the depth associated with Machito or the polish displayed by Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, the set delivered vigorous party music rooted equally in cha cha and soul. Rivera alternated between instrumentals and vocal numbers, the latter most frequently delivered by singer David Coleman on that particular release. The title track’s chart success paved the way for additional albums under his name, while he simultaneously continued writing and arranging for leading Latin artists including Ray Barretto, Machito, and Tito Puente.