After Party with Chegui Metralla

Chegüi Metralla is a Puerto Rican, Newark, NJ-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and arranger whose work redefines the traditions of Salsa Dura and Latin Jazz — honoring the music's deep roots while pushing it decisively into the modern era.

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Over a 25-year career on the New York City scene, Metralla has established himself as one of the most versatile and in-demand sidemen and bandleaders in the genre. A first-call musician among the elite of old-school salsa, his credits include collaborations with Justo Betancourt, Cano Estremera, Frankie Vázquez y Los Soneros Del Barrio, Herman Olivera, Jimmy Bosch, Luisito Carrión, Mitch Frohman & The Bronx Horns, and many others.

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His sound is a product of a lifetime immersed in music from the very beginning. His father was a trumpeter and bandleader of Conjunto Semi, whose repertoire drew heavily from the Palladium mambo era — Tito Rodríguez, Tito Puente, and Machito — alongside a steady diet of jazz titans from Art Blakey to Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. That early exposure forged Metralla's deep love of precision piano and brass, and seeded his command of both instruments.

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Metralla's sonic identity is a dynamic fusion of multiple touchstones: the aggressive rhythmic drive of Eddie Palmieri, the grungy, earthy organic texture of Manny Oquendo and Conjunto Libre, the island groove of Enrique "Papo" Lucca and La Sonora Ponceña, and the cutting-edge energy of Batacumbele. From that intersection of Cuban Conjunto tradition, Afro-Puerto Rican music, and the jazz canon, he has forged a voice that is at once deeply reverent and wholly original.

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His profile in the Latin music world grew significantly following a pair of live recording sessions at Congahead Studios, where original compositions "Afro-Rykan Thoughts" and "React" introduced him to a broader audience and established him as a vital new voice in contemporary Salsa and Latin Jazz.

Metralla currently leads his recording project Metralla y Los Mercenarios, releasing music on his own imprint, Metralla Soundworks. The debut single, "Cero Paquetes" — an arrangement of a composition by the late Héctor Rivera — features an ensemble of industry veterans: John Benítez on bass, José "Juicy" Jusino on congas, Ray Colón on bongo and percussion, Nelson Díaz on timbales, and Juanga Lakunza on trombone. On the track, Metralla performs piano, lead vocals, minor percussion, and delivers a standout trumpet solo — a testament to the multi-dimensional musicianship that defines his career.

The release marks the first in a planned series of singles, each accompanied by original artwork, to be compiled into limited-edition gatefold vinyl volumes. With a reputation for hard-swinging montunos, fluid improvisation, and the vocal authority of a seasoned sonero, Chegüi Metralla continues to honor the traditions of Salsa Dura and Latin Jazz while contributing his own indelible new chapter to the genre.