Grupo Niche

The group was first formed by producer, director, songwriter, vocalist and guiro player

Jairo Varela and trombone player and arranger Alexis Lozano in 1978; they were then joined by pianist Nicholas Cristancho, bassist Francisco Garcia, conga player Luis Pacheco, and vocalists Jorge Bazán and Hector Viveros. Together they released their first album in 1980 entitled “Al Pasto,” but unfortunately, it did little to challenge the dominating salsa band of Colombia at the time. Things did turn around though with the release of their second album, “Querer es Poder,” which was released in 1981.

Following “Querer Es Poder,” the group released two more albums: “Preparate” (released in 1982) and “Directo Desde New York!” (released in 1983). Grupo Niche then released "No Hay Quinto Malo" in 1984, which featured their signature song, "Cali Pachanguero;” the tribute single to the "world salsa capital" catapulted Niche as one of the top salsa bands of Colombia. In 1986, the band incorporated Puerto Rican vocalist Tito Gomez, who had previously worked with the famous Puerto Rican salsa group, la Sonora Ponceña, and Ray Barretto, the Godfather of Latin Jazz; additionally that year, they released "Me Huele a Matrimonio". Afterward, yet another Puerto Rican joined, the pianist Israel Tanenbaum.

Having released sixteen more albums since “No Hay Quinto Malo,” the band played a show in Montreal, Canada to celebrate the independence of Columbia in 2013. That same year saw the release of “La Danza de la Chanaca,” followed a year later by “Control Absoluto.” After two more albums, the band took a recording break for at least seven years, returning in 2013 with the release of “Tocando El Cielo con Las Manos.”