Lehman Center for the Performing Arts continues its sensational 32nd season with two of salsa’s hottest vocalists – Jerry Rivera and Tito Nieves – for one night only on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.
Jerry Rivera has been one of the stars of salsa romantica since 1992’s Cuenta Conmigo shot to the top of the charts. With 20 albums to his credit, he returns to Lehman Center to deliver hit after hit from his career, including “Casi un hechizo,” “Amores como el nuestro” and “Ese.” Also returning is Lehman Center favorite Tito Nieves, who brought the tropical sound to a new audience in the ‘80s, creating “the New York sound.” His vast list of three decades-worth of smash hits includes “Sonámbulo,” “I’ll Always Love You” and “De mí enamórate.”
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, N.Y. Tickets for the event can be purchased from the Lehman Center box office (Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking is available.
Rivera grew up in Puerto Rico, son of singer Edwin “Pino” Rivera, who made a demo of 14-year-old Jerry and presented it to CBS, who signed him. He became known as “El Bebé de la Salsa” with the release of Abriendo puertas (1990) when he was only 15 years. Over the past 20 years Rivera has had 26 #1 hits and 43 Top 40 hits and has sold over twelve million records worldwide, making him the best-selling Tropical music artist of all time. His 1992 triple-platinum “Cuenta conmigo,” one of Salsa’s top-selling albums, spawned two major hits — the title track and “Casi un hechizo.”
Rivera’s 20 albums range from Latin Pop to the bolero album Rivera (2001) and his popular tribute to Frankie Ruíz, Canto a mi ídolo…Frankie Ruíz (2003), which garnered a Latin GRAMMY nomination. He appeared in the film “I Like It Like That,” featuring Jon Seda, Rita Moreno and the Barrio Boyzz. In 2007, he released “Caribe Gardel,” a tribute to Argentine singer Carlos Gardel that featured Gardel’s “Cuesta abajo,” one of that year’s major salsa hits. His most recent CDs are 2011’s El Amor Existe, which included the Salsa hit “Solo Pienso En Ti,” and 2012’s “Jerry Christmas.”
Nieves born in Puerto Rico, moved at age one to New York. In 1975, at age 15, he began a two-year stint as lead singer for Orquesta Cimarrón and two years later joined the orchestra of his mentor, Hector Lavoe. He earned the nickname “the Pavarotti of Salsa.” Nieves’s first recording was in 1979 as lead singer of the group Tairbori. In the early ‘80s he joined Conjunto Clásico. Embarking on a solo career in ‘86, Nieves distinguished himself by singing salsa in English, bringing cross-over appeal to the tropical sound.
In 1988 he recorded his first solo album, “The Classic,” which included the hit “Sonámbulo” and earned a Gold record. The following year he released Yo quiero cantar, featuring the gold “I’ll Always Love You.” His vast list of smash hits includes “Can You Stop the Rain,” “You Bring Me Joy” and “De mí enamórate,” but it was his version of Stevie Wonder’s “I Like It Like That” that made him an international sensation. Nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Salsa Album in 2002, Nieves has received six Latin GRAMMY nominations, including one for 2007’s Canciones Clásicas de Marco Antonio Solís. Tito stayed at the forefront of music with his 2005 reggaetón single, “Terremoto” from the album “Hoy, Mañana Y Siempre.” With 30 solo albums, his latest is 2011’s “Mi Ultima Grabación.”
