La Sonora Ponceña

BIOGRAPHY

PAPO LUCCA & LA SONORA PONCEÑA

Enrique Arsenio Lucca Quiñonez, better known as Papo Lucca, born on April 10, 1946, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Papo Lucca, playing piano with the Sonora Ponceña; his father Quique Lucca stands next to him (2006)

Papo Lucca (“Papo” being common Puerto Rican slang for “junior”) is a famous Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist(knowledgeable in at least eleven instruments), but is best known as a pianist. Main musical genre focus are Salsaand Latin Jazz. Papo is considered one of the best Salsa pianists of the 70′s through the millennium. He ranks with another great pianist, the late Charlie Palmieri, as one of the best piano instrumentalists in Latin Jazz and salsa.

He is the co-founder with his father Don Enrique “Quique” Lucca Caraballo of the famous Puerto Rican band La Sonora Ponceña. He has also played and recorded with the Fania All-Stars, Willie Colón, Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Bobby Valentín, Ismael Quintana, Gloria Estefan, Adalberto Santiago, Andy Montañez, Pablo Milanés, Rubén Blades and is also a great music arranger.

BIOGRAPHY

With his dynamic piano playing and unique approach to salsa, Papo Lucca (born Enrique Arsenio Lucca, Jr.) has led his band, Sonora Ponceña, to the forefront of Latin music. Inheriting the group from his father, Lucca has continued to inspire Sonora Poncena with his innovative playing. While Rubén Blades called Lucca, “the best pianist in the world”, Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez explained, “of non-Cuban pianists, I most admire (Lucca) because his salsa is very close to son. Son piano is more varied than salsa piano which is more formulaic and holds on to a single riff much longer.”

Lucca has been involved with music most of his life. A native of Ponce, a small city on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, he began studying at the city’s Free School of Music at the age of six. In addition to being trained in solfeggio, he studied piano, clarinet, saxophone, and music theory. A month after he enrolled in the school, he performed a classical piece on a local radio station. Lucca simultaneously studied privately with pianist Ramon Fernandez. With his father’s encouragement, Lucca advanced quickly. Performing with Sonora Porceña at the age of eight, he made his recording debut three years later, when the group accompanied bolero vocalists Felipe Rodriguez and Davilita on their album, Al Compas De Las Sonoras. At the age of fourteen, Lucca began an “official” member of Sonora Ponceña.

Throughout the 1950s, Lucca remained active as a musician. In addition to playing solo piano on a television show hosted by Ruth Fernández, he recorded with Obdulio Morales, Orquestra Panamerica, and Machito. Despite his busy schedule, Lucca found time to continue his formal studies. Graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, he went on to study at the Conservatory of Music. His first opportunity to showcase his talents came in 1976 when he co-produced Sonora Porceña’s album, Musical Conquest/Conquista Musical, with Louie Ramirez. Two years later, he produced the group’s album, Explorando, on his own. Although he’s remained committed to Sonora Porceña, Lucca has balanced his involvement with a variety of outside projects. In 1976, he replaced pianist Larry Harlow in the Fania All-Stars. He continued to perform with the group until the mid-’90s.

Lucca reached his peak in 1979. Together with Sonora Porceña, he collaborated with influential Latin vocalist Celia Cruz on an album, La Ceiba, and appeared with Cruz in a television documentary, Salsa. The same year, he performed on an album, Habana Jam, along with the Fania All-Stars, which was recorded during a concert in Cuba. Lucca also recorded a solo piano album, Latin Jazz, in 1993.

DISCOGRAPHY with LA SONORA PONCEÑA