Apollo Sound 6

Percussionist Roberto Roena, who started out playing with Rafael Cortijo’s group (with Ismael Rivera singing) and was an early member of El Gran Combo, named his own group Apollo Sound because their first rehearsal took place the day NASA launched Apollo 11. The band’s horn section featured two trumpets, trombone, and saxophone, in imitation of Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Roena had wide-open ears: the group would explore samba, funk, jazz and rock throughout its catalog. Apollo Sound albums were numbered, and their sixth was a breakthrough, including the dramatic “Traición” and the funky “Que Se Sepa.”