HECTOR JR Y SU ORQUESTA C.A.N.I.ssss Latin Band from Bronx, NY

My name is Hector L. Morales Jr. and I'd like to introduce you to the sounds of my Latin band, La Orquesta CANI. I am a professional percussionist (Timbale, Conga and Bongo). I was born and raised in the borough of the South Bronx. The name, La Orquesta C.A.N.I., stands for "constant and never ending improvement", which is the philosophy I embrace. I grew up surrounded by rumbas, descargas and bomba music in basements and under the highways. My first influential instructor, Rafael de Jesus, was one of the fastest drummers I had seen while growing up. He played professionally at 15 years old, and toured with Duran Duran, Willie Colon, Dave Valentine plus many others. My ideas and talent come from a string of musicians in my family: my sister Miriam plays congas, my brother Robert is a saxophonist, my older brother Eddie is a conga player/flute player, my sister Yvonne is a singer as is my father, Hector Sr., who sat in for many singers such as Hector Lavoe, Ismael Rivera and Santitos Colon. Growing up as a young, vibrant, charismatic Puerto Rican what really caught my attention was the sound of the trombone mixed in with a high powered percussion section. I listened to Barry Rodges (Conjunto Libre) Willie Colon, Papo Vasquez, Ed Byrne, Glenn Miller and other trombonists and this is what drove me to eventually put a three trombone section style of salsa band together in 1999. I then partnered with Efrain Rolon, a professional bass player/ arranger/musician, to introduce this new 3-trombone concept. Efrain's creative style, passion, ability and power were instrumental in laying the groundwork for the band. Our first tune was " A Que No Te Atreves" sung by Rey Bayona. As a result many excellent professional salsa singers came through the C.A.N.I. such AS, Pete Pagan, Los Hermanos Moreno, Alfredo Torres, Joe Cuba. La Orquesta CANI focuses on the type of music you crave to dance to, like cha-cha, bolero, Latin, descarga, son, merengue and Latin jazz. We have the modern style mixed in with the old traditional style, such as, Hector Lavoe, Roberto Roena, Willie Rosario, Ismael Rivera and Jose "Alberto" Canario. unlike other Latin bands which typically use 2 trumpets and 2 trombones. La Orquesta CANI uses three trombones to create the passionate and empowering fat sound.