TITO ALLEN ( Roberto Romero, Santurce, Puerto Rico) Sonero (improvising salsa singer) and composer with an elegant, lucid voice and refined singing style. "Not for nothing is Tito Allen called 'El Elegante de la Salsa'," wrote UK deejay/broadcaster Tomek in '95, "because he has the smoothest, truest, warmest voice of the many salseros singing today."
Allen's career began '62; relocated to NYC '72, there worked in a quartet incl. Colombian pianist Eddie Martínez; back to P.R. for six months performing in hotels; back to NYC to replace Adalberto Santiago as lead vocalist of Ray Barretto's band on their monster hit LP Indestructible '73 on Fania incl. Martínez. Went solo, made albums on Alegre (then part of Fania empire): Maldades '75, Feliz y Dichoso '76, Ahora y Siempre '77, Untouchable '79, Beyond '79, Unique '80, A Los Muchachos '81, most prod. by Louie Ramírez. Guested on Pupi Legarreta's charanga sets Pupi y su Charanga '75 and Los Dos Mosqueteros/ The Two Musketeers '77, latter in collaboration with Johnny Pacheco, both on Vaya.
He replaced Santiago again to provide lead vocals on Típica 73's Rumba Caliente '76 on Inca; but he soon departed to resume his solo career with Feliz y Dichoso '76; then returned briefly to gig with them just prior to their '82 dissolution. Sang lead vocals on one track each of Los Profesionales '77 and Tribute To The Messiah '79 by the Puerto Rico All Stars, both reissued on Combo '92-3; provided lead vocals on one track of Tito Puente's Homenaje A Beny, Vol. 2 '79 on Tico; contributed lead vocals to four cuts on Ramírez' Salsa Progresiva '79 on Cotique (reissued as Como Nunca '92 on Fania), El Genio '89 on L & T Records (one track) and Louie Ramírez Y Sus Amigos '90 on Cache (two tracks). Made Cantar '81 with Conjunto Clásico on their Lo Mejor label; was one of the lead vocalists (others incl. Ray de la Paz, José Alberto, Meñique and Johnny Rivera) on the three popular Noche Caliente (Noche Caliente 2) volumes '82-4 on K-Tel, the first (prod. by Ramírez) regarded as genesis of salsa romántica trend. Sang lead vocals on half of Aparecio el Rey! '86 on Echu by veteran composer/ percussionist Justi Barreto (b '23, Cuba).
He made his solo comeback with two commendable albums: El Intocable '88 on Faisán, with prod., mus. dir., arrs., piano by Isidro Infante, and Llegare '89 on TTH in collaboration with bandleader/bongosero Ralphy Santi, with mus. dir. and arrs. by Infante. Sessioned on two Latin jazz albums released '92: Decision on Messidor, Seis del Solar's first outing following Rubén Blades departure, and Tito Puente's Mambo Of The Times on Picante, providing co-lead vocals to the Joe Cuba classic title track. Relocated to P.R.; signed with Tony Moreno's Musical Productions (MP), debuted on MP All Stars '92; solo debut on the label was Clase y Sabor '93 on NRT (a division of MP). Contributed lead vocals to two tracks on Roberto Clemente: Un Tributo Musical '98 on RykoLatino. Has sessioned extensively as a coro (chorus) singer in NYC and P.R.. Participated in Típica 73 reunions '95 and '99. Made London debut Nov. '95 backed by UK salsa band La Clave led by Berklee-trained timbalero Jim LeMessurier; He reunited with them at London's Jazz Café in Dec. '99. Today Tito Allen is still singing stronger and better then ever… IF YOU WISH TO BOOK TITO ALLEN FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT , PLEASE CONTACT US AT titoallen@yahoo.com
DESDE SIEMPRE HAS SIDO NUESTRA GUIA PARA NUESTRO TABAJO, Y POR EL GUSTO DE QUE TENEMOS POR ESTA MUSICA, DESEAMOS QUE ESTES MUY BIEN DE SALUD, Y QUE PRONTO CONTEMOS CON TU PRESENCIA AQUI EN LA CIUDAD DE MEXICO, SON LOS DESEOS DE TUA AMIGOS Y HERMANOS DE "LA ORQ. LA REVELACION" DESDE LA CIUDAD DE MEXICO orquestalarevelacion@hotmail.com SI TE MENTI - CON LA REVELACION. EXITO DE LALO RODRIGUEZ.
Chacho! Sigues violento mi hermano. That brought memories y ver que no pierdes to elegancia al interpretar. Estas demasiao.
Te quiero un monton. Cuando puedas chequea mis fotos con banda para que veas a nuestro hno. Piro conmigo en concierto. No me dejo solo y al igual que tu es un gallo de pelea y aun enfermo tienes que verlo como cantaba con el alma y el corazon. Aunque nosotros no competimos, compartimos y yo en particular soy alumno de todos, especialmente de ti y de Piro y que honor!
Pronto pondre el video que nos tomaron, para mi seria un sueno poder cantar un dia con los dos juntos. Que te puedo decir "Soy feliz soy dichoso" y bendecido.
Ah! se me olvidaba decirte que tambien comparti con tu hna. Carmen.
Dios te bendiga mi hermano y saludos a la familia,
Gilberto Santa Rosa canta " Chinita" en "Mario Ortiz All Star Band Tributo 45 Aniversario", distribuido por Sony. A la venta el 15 de septiembre. Tito Allen cata 'El Soplo".
Saludos y respetos TITO como estan las cosas? espero que bien se que estubiste por aca en la isla pero no pude ir a verte pues me estoy recuperando de una caida en casa con 4 vertevras partidas pero gracias a dios estamos mucho mejor.Te dejo una foto que JIMMY me embio como recuerdo,bueno DIOS TE BENDIGA .
