Seguida

In 1972 bassist and arranger Randolph Ortiz, then nineteen, conceived the idea of merging the Bronx barrio outfits Latin Soul Inc. and Devoshun into a single large-scale ensemble, thereby founding the East Coast Latin rock band Seguida, whose sound fuses Afro-Cuban, salsa, R&B, soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop components. The group, newly titled Seguida, rapidly drew notice and secured a deal with Fania Records, resulting in the 1974 appearance of its first album, Love Is...Seguida, which featured the hit single "Mambo Rock." Two years afterward, in summer 1976, Fania Records issued the follow-up On Our Way to Tomorrow, an effort that incorporated certain disco touches. Three decades would pass before a reshaped lineup tracked Seguida III for Onroda Records in 2007. At that stage drummer Steve Adorno had taken the helm, surrounding himself with original members Louie Pérez on guitar and vocalists Lori Rose and Dawn Savio plus Pete Nater on trumpet, Adam Mason on bass, Gregory Rahiim Press on keyboards, vocalist Anthony Leon, Julian Myers on woodwinds, Jose Davila on trombone, Willie Olenick on trumpet, congero Pito Castillo, and Juan Gerena on timbales. The band’s pair of early long-players later received compact-disc reissues, with On Our Way to Tomorrow arriving in 2005 and Love Is...Seguida appearing in 2006.