A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
ABOUT
Jose Luis Chapman A.K.A. "El Montuno," of Dominican origin, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in the Dominican Republic. From a very young age, he showed artistic concern since he comes from an artistic family. Both his grandfather and his father sang and played the bass. The latter came to belong to the most important musical groups of the Dominican Republic in his days, such as Johnny Ventura, Félix Del Rosario, Primitivo Santos, Grupo Maniel, among others. Montuno grew up exposed to many musical genres, admiring and being influenced by artists such as Michael Jackson, Oscar D’León, Johnny Ventura, Ismael Rivera, El Conde, Dimension Latina, Johnny Pacheco. But it was in 2003 when he made his dream come true when he got to see his great idol, Oscar D’León, at the Copacabana in New York City and, in an act of daring, his friends lifted him up to the stage. To his great surprise, D’León was receptive and gave him the opportunity to sing. It is there where he had his first experience as a singer before a large audience. From that night, Montuno became a face that always appeared in the presentations of D’León and would serve as his "bandboy" whenever he passed through New York. "This is a gesture that I will always be grateful to my great idol," he says with the typical eyes of children coming to a toy store for the first time. It would take a few years of restlessness and persistence, but his desire to be part of the artistic firmament was emerging and carried him to meet another of his inspirations, Porfi Baloa, who was performing in the city of Miami. The chemistry between Maestro Baloa and Montuno was immediate, both musically and personally. This connection led Baloa to take him to Venezuela, aware of his talent, and produced him an album under his label Porfi Music. In this musical production, Baloa has created a new sound matching the personality and vocal capabilities of his new salsa crop. Both Maestro Baloa and Montuno hope that this project is to your taste and that you enjoy it as much as they enjoyed it while they cooked this succulent musical dish. Be the jury, but above all… enjoy the proposal from head to toes.