Malo (band)

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Malo (English: "Bad") is an American musical group known for its blend of Latino, rock, jazz and blues. The San Francisco-based ensemble was led by Richard Bean, Arcelio Garcia, and Jorge Santana, the brother of Latin-rock guitarist Carlos Santana.

Four of Malo's original members (Bean, Garcia, Pablo Tellez, and Santana) had previously played in the band The Malibus. The other three founding members (Abel Zarate, Roy Murray, and Richard Spremich) had played together in the group Naked Lunch.^[1] (Bean and Zarate also played in a band called the Righteous Ones together.)

History[]

The band featured full horn and percussion sections in the style of contemporary bands Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Some of the best musicians in the Bay Area were featured in Malo, including Luis Gasca, Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Ron Smith, and Tom Poole in the trumpet section. Malo's music was popular in Central and South America, especially the songs "Chevere", "Nena", "Pana", "Cafe", and "Oye Mama".^[2]

After the release of their first album, many of Malo's original band members left the group in a rift widely popularized in the media. Buchtel went on to play with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jaco Pastorius and Woody Herman; Harrell became one of the most lyrical trumpet soloists, working often with saxophonist Phil Woods; Abel Zarate went on to play with Willie Bobo and continues to play Latin/Brazilian Global jazz in San Francisco with his group Zarate Pollace Project. Richard Bean formed the group Sapo with his brother Joe and still tours throughout Northern California; Jorge Santana embarked on a solo career.

Malo's January 1972 hit single, "Suavecito" (meaning "soft" or "smooth" in Spanish), was the group's only song that charted on Billboard's Top 20, at #18 for 10 weeks. It was written and sung by Richard Bean. Abel Zarate and Pablo Tellez play the signature guitar riffs and bass lines. Richard Bean continues to perform the single with Malo and recently shared his story of writing "Suavecito" on CalMagazine.com Channel 9.

A vocal section of "Suavecito" was included in the refrain of Sugar Ray's 1999 hit song, "Every Morning", which was one of Sugar Ray's most successful singles, climbing to number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart, becoming the latter country's second-highest-selling single of 1999. The chorus of the song references "Suavecito". Mark McGrath, Sugar Ray's front man, says, "We referenced 'Suavecito' because growing up in California, you know, that was just like the low rider anthem. Any car show or swap meet you'd ever go by, you'd always hear that [song] and that just stuck in your mind." He added, "We actually came up with that part, and it was very similar to Malo's part. We were sort of imitating it, and then we said, 'Let's just leave it, we're gonna change it later.' It really makes the song – we think – so we just left it."

From 1994 to 1998, Malo was joined by new lead singer Martin Cantu. In 1995, Malo released Señorita on GNP Crescendo Records. The title track of the CD was co-written by Damon Bartlett and Martin Cantu, who, like previous band members, also grew up in the San Francisco Mission District. Martin went on to write the first single "Take My Breath Away" along with co-writer Damon Bartlett and two other songs, "More Than Friends" and "Malo Ya llego" co-written with Arcelio Garcia. Martin Cantu also has several songs featured on the 1998 album, Rocks The Rockies, a live Malo concert recording, recorded in Pueblo, Colorado. Since leaving Malo in 1998, Martin Cantu, now an ordained minister who pastors a Christian-based church in the San Francisco Bay Area called Praise Worship Center, still tours intensely as a music evangelist as well with his Latin/pop gospel band L-Rey (pronounced “El Rey”). Martin Cantu and L-Rey released a gospel rendition of Malo's "Suavecito" as a hymn titled "Jesucristo".^[3]

In March 2017 Malo founding member Richard Bean, former Malo member Tony Menjivar, and many former longtime Malo members who are recognized as Original Kings of Latin Rock, assembled to create a distinct super group to carry on the Malo music legacy.

The current licensed and legitimate Malo is led by Richard Bean and Tony Menjivar, who are some of the original writers, composers, singers and artists. The group perform hits from their 1972 debut self-titled album that produced "Suavecito" through Malo Dos" (1972), Señorita (1996), Latin Legends Live, (1997) and Malo En Vivo (2005).

Discography[]

Albums[]

Singles[]

References[]

External links[]

• Malo's official website
• Malo at AllMusic
• Malo discography at discogs.com