In memory of the late Pablo Lebron, who had a very direct, unpretentious style that I admired very much. - elW

R.I.P. Pablo Lebron, the nostalgic voice of ‘Los Hermanos Lebron’
- Dena Burroughs, L.A. Arts Examiner

July 13, 2010 – Pablo Lebron, for years the voice of Los Hermanos Lebron (The Lebron Brothers) salsa band, passed away today in Brooklyn, NY.
The Lebron Brothers consisted of Jose, Angel, Carlos, Frankie, and Pablo — this last one ailed two decades ago by a heart disease that kept him away from performing.
The news of this terrible loss for the world of salsa music is of particular interest to the salsa community of Los Angeles as the four performing Lebron Brothers are scheduled to participate in El Festival Colombiano to be held in Pico Rivera just five days from today, on Sunday. Andy Rosillo, one of the festival’s organizers, stated that the foursome will be traveling to Los Angeles from Colombia this weekend to perform at the festival despite the terrible news. “There is an outstanding amount of interest, questions, and sadness for a great life that has been lost,” said Rosillo, and added that a Mass has been scheduled at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the festival’s location to commemorate the life of Pablo, who is tonight mourned all over the world.
Lebron Brothers Discography

Salsa y Control, a Lebron Brother’s classic…

These funky mavericks from Brooklyn knocked-out 16 albums on Cotique between 1967 and 1982, often mixing Spanish lyrics Latin tunes and English language R&B / soul-oriented numbers. Fania Records took over Cotique in the early ’70s and drafted in star bandleader Larry Harlow to produce Asunto De Familia in 1973 and Johnny Pacheco to produce another three. Reportedly, Fania boss Jerry Masucci even tried to persuade the Lebrón Brothers to replace Pablo with a younger, thinner white lead singer. But proud of their Afro-Boricua heritage, they resisted and were consequently excluded from some major opportunities. Angel and José Lebrón eventually took over the reins of production on the band’s 14th Cotique release in 1980, and Angel took the producer credit on the remaining two albums for the imprint. (Frankie Lebrón produced a one-off return to Cotique in 1998.) They first visited Colombia in 1979, where they continued to grow in status and recorded three albums there, including their live 35th anniversary album in 2002. The Lebróns last outing for Cotique, 1982’s Criollo, spawned the immortal "Sin Negro No Hay Guaguancó" (Without The Blackman, There Would Be No Guaguancó), which has become an anthem in Cali, Colombia. After Criollo, they recorded for the Caimán, El Abuelo, Yengo, Astro Son, Boso and Exclusivo labels between 1986 and 2009. discography
- John Child