“So What?” by the Joe Cuba Sextette

After breaking his leg as a child, Harlem born Gilberto Miguel Calderon gave up stickball for the congas. He never considered them a profession until he attended a Tito Puente concert in 1950. A chance meeting with Puente after that show led to a lifetime friendship and the motivation for Calderon to leave law for a career in music.   

​Four years later, and the Joe Cuba Sextet (Calderon was actually of Puerto Rican descent) was born. They would become a landmark act in the Latin music scene, with their two influential hits “El Pito (I'll Never Go Back to Georgia)” and “Bang! Bang!”.

​“So What?” was recorded and released in 1965 on the Secco record label. It’s a deep track from Joe Cuba’s 14th album Comin’ At You, and is an excellent example of just what his Sextette could do. We lost Calderon in 2009 but his influence on the Latin “boogaloo” sound from New York will never be forgotten.