¡Oye Como Va!
Tito Puente Jr. + His Salsa Orchestra will offer a free concert in Bayside’s Crocheron Park on Thursday, Sept. 21. The dance lessons start at 6:30 pm with the music soon after. (Rain date: Oct. 1, 5 pm).
The comparisons are inevitable, and the similarities are boundless. Tito Puente Jr. plays the timbales with the greatest of ease and leads an ensemble that mixes Tropical genres with Jazz, Bossa Nova, and other rhythms. In other words, he’s just like his eponymous father, who was also known as El Rey del Timbale and the King of Latin Jazz.
Junior embraces his heritage as he takes stages in casinos, performing arts centers, symphony halls, and festivals. He even produced a 2004 album, In My Father’s Shoes, which pays tribute to Senior, who won five Grammys.
“There was magic in the music my father made,” Junior has stated. “It made people happy all over the world.”
Admission is free, and no tickets or reservations are needed. Feel free to bring chairs.
Named after Joseph Crocheron, who operated a hotel there in the mid 1800s, Crocheron Park is located off the Cross Island Parkway. It’s in the vicinity of 214th Place and 33rd Avenue with Little Neck Bay nearby.
Queensborough Performing Arts Center presents this concert which is sponsored by City Council Member Vickie Paladino.
