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In Barrio Marianao in Havana, Cuba was born Armando Peraza was a Latin jazz percussionist
Peraza (May 30, 1924-April 14, 2014) was a Cuban Latin jazz percussionist.
Thanks to his collaborations with guitarist Carlos Santana, jazz pianist George Shearing and vibraphonist Cal Tjader between 1950 and 1990, he is internationally recognized as one of the most important figures in the field of Latin percussion.
Known primarily as a conguero and bongocero, Peraza is also a skilled dancer and composer. He has appeared on recordings by Pérez Prado, Machito, George Shearing, Charlie Parker, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader and Carlos Santana. Performances with Santana, Shearing and Tjader brought him international fame.
He was inducted into the Smithsonian Institute and had three “Armando Peraza Days” from the city of San Francisco.
One of the most important and respected figures in the world of percussion.
He is a legendary master on both congas and bongoes, whose unorthodox style and story are an inspiration to countless young musicians.
He began his artistic career in the early 1940s, played with singer Alberto Ruiz’s Kuvabana ensemble where he played the bongo and moved to San Francisco in 1949.
At the New York World’s Fair he played congas in an African pavilion with a Nigerian.
This African arrives and says to me: “Man, what part of Africa are you from? I told him, I am from Cuba. He said: “Don’t tell me” He later worked with the orchestras of Paulina Álvarez and Dámaso Pérez Prado, and the Bolero group.
In 1947 he moved to Mexico, where he joined with Mongo Santamaría the ensemble Clave de Oro, and in 1948 they both traveled to New York as percussionists accompanying the dance couple Pablito y Lilón.
At the end of that year, Peraza joined Slim Gaillard’s jazz combo with which he traveled throughout the United States. After arriving in New York in 1949, Armando became a sought-after musician, especially in the contemporary Bebop and Latin Jazz scenes.
Armando built a reputation for impressively fast and complex hand technique, experimental techniques and great talent for entertaining. He flourished in progressive atmospheres that combined jazz with Afro-Cuban styles and was at the center of a new expression called “Cubop”.
He has played on more than 100 albums and is the composer of more than 40 songs. Some of these works include collaborations with Mongo Santamaria, George Shearing, Cal Tjader and Carlos Santana.
Settled in San Francisco, California, in the early 1950s, Peraza began working with pianist George Shearing’s quintet, where he demonstrated his mastery as a player of the tumbadora and bongo; also in this period he recorded several albums of Cuban folk music with Mongo Santamaria.
In the 60’s he joined the quintet of vibraphonist Cal Tjader, with whom he remained for several years and with whom he popularized Chano Pozo’s Guachi guaro. In the 1970s, he joined Mongo Santamaría’s orchestra, with which he participated in the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Later he worked with Carlos Santana’s rock band, in which he remained for 17 years, until his retirement from artistic life in the 90s.
He possessed a great capacity to obtain the most unusual sounds of the bongo and the tumbadora, and distinguished himself for his extraordinary solos on both instruments.
He died on April 14, 2014 in California, United States, as a result of pneumonia.
The Tambor, Tumbadora or Conga is a percussion instrument of great importance in Latin music
The drum, tumbadora or conga as a soloist instrument in Cuban music or jazz bands, had as its first figure Chano Pozo, who, upon receiving the invitation of Mario Bauza and Dizzy Gillespie to participate in his big band, turned the world of jazz upside down.
This explosive union resulted in compositions such as Manteca or Tin Tin Deo.
They also created the roots of what is known today as Latin Jazz, which was originally called Afro Cuban Jazz “Cubop”.
After the surprising death of Chano Pozo, figures such as Cándido Camero, Carlos “Patato” Valdés, Mongo Santamaría, Armando Peraza, Tata Guines and Ray Barretto emerged who gave development and personality to the conga drum as a solo instrument.
It should be noted that Ray Barretto was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican descent.
He would be the first important figure in the world of conga drumming not born in Cuba. As a teenager, Barretto took care of his siblings in the evenings while his mother worked and spent hours listening to the radio.
There he was influenced by jazz and, in addition, his mother listened to Cuban and Puerto Rican music at home. This is how he formed his taste and love for music.
Mario Bauzá
He was a saxophonist in Justo Azpiazu’s orchestra and trumpet player in the Machín Quartet. Later, he joined Chick Webb’s orchestra as principal trumpet. In 1933 he was named director of the orchestra, and remained as such until 1937. Between 1937 and 1939 he played with the orchestras of Don Redman and Fletcher Henderson. And in 1938 he joined Cab Calloway’s band.
We can also affirm that Mario Bauzá is the musical godfather of two great jazz legends: Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. Because it was Bauzá who made Calloway meet the then young trumpeter John Birks Gillespie, and Chick Webb incorporated Ella Fitzgerald into his band.
Chano Pozo
Luciano Pozo González, better known as Chano Pozo was born in Havana Cuba on January 7, 1915 and died in New York, December 3, 1948, was a Cuban percussionist, half brother of trumpeter Félix Chapolín.
Percussion instruments are instruments that produce sound when struck, shaken or percussed in some way.
This percussion can be done with drumsticks, with metal bars, with the hands, with keyboards or by striking two bodies against each other. This wide variety of possibilities allows for a wide range of sounds and types of instruments.
He shined shoes and sold newspapers, played music in many places and even danced in the well-known Havana comparsa of “Los Dandy”.
He belonged to the Abakuá Secret Society, which explains the perfect mastery he had of the drums of the rite. He had the habit of playing sacred rhythms on his congas, as well as singing Abakuá and Yoruba songs.
He worked in the public transmissions of the radio station Cadena Azul, together with figures of the stature of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, being with Dizzy when he popularized the well-known theme of “Manteca”.
Dizzy Gillespie
He was born on October 21, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina.
Son of a bricklayer and occasional musician who treated him very badly.
The young Gillespie hit on everyone: “I was a devil, a strong devil”.
At the age of fourteen, he began playing the trombone, but soon switched to the trumpet, which he was already playing proficiently when his family moved to Philadelphia in 1935. There he got his first important contract with Frank Fairfax’s orchestra.
His life changed as he transformed from a thug in his youth to a true citizen of the world, supporting social causes such as racial integration.
Ray Barretto
Of Puerto Rican parents from Aguadilla, Raymundo Barretto Pagan was born on April 29, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. He spent his childhood and youth in the Bronx and Spanish Harlem.
He grew up with his mother Dolores Pagan and his siblings Cecilia and Ricardo.
As a child, when he was only 10 years old, he listened to Arsenio Rodríguez, Machito, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Los Panchos, Pedro Flores, Daniel Santos and Miguelito Valdez.
At the age of 17, in 1946, he joined the U.S. Army.
In Germany he discovered his taste for music represented in Bebop, listening to the songs “Shaw Nuff” by Charlie Parker with Dizzy Gillespie and “Manteca” by Dizzy Gillespie with the Cuban Chano Pozo, who became his source of inspiration. It was at that time that he became thoroughly acquainted with jazz.
“The word percussion comes from the Latin percussio, a variation of the word percussus, which refers to the action of striking, shaking or vibrating something repeatedly.”
Percussion instruments have a great importance in music because, within a group of instruments, their usual function is to mark the rhythm of the piece. This means that they are often seen as the heartbeat of a musical composition.
Because of their primary role in creating and maintaining the rhythm of a piece, percussion instruments often work in conjunction with bass instruments, including the double bass or electric bass.
There are a large number of percussion instruments that can be classified according to different criteria. In this article you can find the most important classifications used today.
Many of these instruments are simple and rudimentary. It is due to their simplicity that percussion instruments are the oldest in the history of mankind.
The evolution of technology and music gradually allowed the development of more complex instruments, among which are wind instruments and stringed instruments.
Sources:
https://www.instrumentosdepercusion.com/
http://clasica.latinastereo.com/Salsero-del-mes/Mario-Bauza
http://old.latinastereo.com/html/genteLatina/salseroMes/RayBarretto/cronologia.shtm
Cabaret Sauvage’s 25th Anniversary with Latin Essence
This atypical room located in the Parisian capital will offer Latin music for a month
Originally, Cabaret Sauvage was a Magic Mirror installed for only a few weeks in 1994.
A quarter of a century is the occasion for Cabaret Sauvage will celebrate its anniversary month with a Latin music festival. From July 1st to August 6th enjoy a colorful summer at Parc de la Villette – 59 boulevards Macdonald 75019 Paris, France.
This mythical place was created by Méziane Azaïche in December 1997. This first urban cultural park located in the heart of Parc de la Villette is surrounded by nature, has a terrace overlooking the Canal de l’Ourcq, has a circular dance floor, tables, benches, lights, and beveled mirrors. In the summer of 2019, they modernized this place with a new tent making it the first soundproof Magic Mirror in the world.
At Cabaret Sauvage you can eat, drink, dance, meet your neighbor from the next table, or even lounge on the terrace. Through its diversified program, you will be surprised by the quality of circus shows, dances, and night concerts with artists from all over the world.
During this anniversary month, Cabaret Sauvage https://www.cabaretsauvage.com/agenda welcomes attendees in a spirit of unity and acceptance with mixes of rhythmic genres for their knowledge and enjoyment, starting with Yuri Buenaventura on Saturday, July 9th. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the price is €35.
Yuri’s Salsa is marked by the lyricism of Europe and the drums of Africa. During his childhood, he listened to Gregorian chants, French songs, and classical music (melodies admired by his father) just as he enjoyed moving to the rhythm of percussion, marimba, and songs from the African continent that still sounds on the Buenaventura’s beaches (Colombia), his native island.
Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz “Compay Segundo” was the leader of the Compay Segundo y Sus Muchachos band.
The Latin music festival continues with Grupo Compay Segundo – Buena Vista Social Club on Friday, July 15th, and tickets are €25.99 (pre-sale price). Doors open from 8 PM on this day.
This group revives Cuban music before the revolution and expresses its distinguished stamp with a warm and unique sound.
This ecliptic music venue will bring Los Van Van in August, specifically on Friday, August 5th, and the doors open at 7:30 PM, and the ticket price is €35. On this occasion, César “Pupy” Pedroso will join this orchestra.
Los Van Van or better known by many in Latin America as “the Rolling Stones of Salsa” are a band created by Juan Formell in 1969 and has been a school for many current Salsa artists.
Cabaret Sauvage’s anniversary month ends with Chico Trujillo + Sidi Wacho on Saturday, August 6th. Doors open at 7:30 PM and the price of admission is €27.
Chico Trujillo began his musical career in Valparaíso (Colombia) in 1999. His project combines traditional Colombian Cumbia with Punk and has become today the standard-bearer of this new wave of traditional Colombian music accepted by many fans and exported for a long time to the European and American stages.
Likewise, the Sidi Wacho group is nomads born on the island of Valparaíso (Colombia), Roubaix (France), Lima (Peru), and Barbès (France). Their band is made up of two MCs (Rap vocalists), a trumpeter, an accordionist, and a percussionist who mix sounds and dialects accompanied by their war cry “La Lucha Sigue” (the fight continues) in an environment of Cumbia, Balkans, and Hip Hop.
Chantel Collado: a Canadian star of Latin descent
La Princesa de La Bachata
I am talking today with La Princesa de La Bachata Chantel Collado (https://www.facebook.com/chantelcolladoficial), who is an immensely talented artist. I understand she is a resident of Canada and is of Dominican descent. Thank you so much for accepting our invitation, Chantel. We learned that you are in Italy at the moment, what are you doing there?
First of all, thank you for the invitation. The pleasure is mine. Certainly, I grew up in Canada, but I’m on tour around Italy and pleased to bring my music to this beautiful country.
Chantel Collado was born in Canada, but her parents are Latino
Wonderful! How has reception towards your music in Italy?
It was amazing! Actually,I’m proud to see how both Italians and foreigners dance to bachata and enjoy it. Bringing this music to a country like Italy makes me very proud. It is a blessing to be able to travel, come, sing my lyrics and see how the audience loves them.
The nickname people you are given caught my attention. Where does La Princesa de La Bachata come from?
People give me that name when I went to London to give a concert. In view of the lack of women in the genre, I think it was easy for the public to call me that. For me, it’s a great honour for me to represent the genre, being a woman and a Dominican, since there aren’t many women who sing bachata.
Precisely because there weren’t a lot of women in the genre, did you feel a strong competition? Did you feel like you weren’t taken seriously?
Being a woman can complicate a few things. Thank goddness, men in the genre have also given me the opportunity and supported me, such as my musical godfather Frank Reyes, who is someone I admire. He is a bachata icon in the Dominican Republic and an example of a man who has supported me in my career. I had the opportunity to record a song and a music video with him.
I have received a lot of support from my colleagues and I am very happy to receive that support.
Who have been your musical references in and out of bachata?
I really like Romeo Santo, The King of Bachata. I grew up listening to exponents of Dominican bachata like Frank Reyes, Luis Vargas, Hector Acosta and Juan Luis Guerra. Outside of bachata, I have always liked Beyonce because of her stage presence. Regarding artists in this generation, I also really like Karol G.
Chantel Collado on stage
Have you experimented with urban or more modern rhythms?
Of course! I love to experiment and change from time to time. From a very early age, when I started singing in a competition in Los Angeles, I sang a cumbia by Selena titled Como La Flor. I have an urban song called Así. I’ve also sung salsa and I have merengues. What I like most is bachata, but for my generation, I listen to much urban music.
According to your biography, you decided to pursue a career in music after a talk you with your father, who also supported you very much in this regard. Can you describe that moment?
I grew up watching my father on stage as a director, musician and singer. From a very early age, I went on stage and sang with him. My brother is also a musician, so I think it just was natural for me. I didn’t know it’d like it or take it seriously as a career, but it was when I turned 15 that we decided to focus on music.
I was also performing and participating in musical theater, so I was singing, performing and dancing at the same time. When I turned 15, we decided as a family to focus on only one thing, which would be music. That’s how I started writing songs with my brother and we’ve been going at it for the last 14 years.
Latin descent
Your father is Dominican and your mother is Uruguayan. Do you think that coming from a Latin family has pigeonholed you or on the contrary?
Quite the opposite! It expanded my horizons. I grew up in Canada, speak English and, try to incorporate this language into my music. I’m of Uruguayan stock and even if people don’t listen to bachata in that country, I chose that genre because I listened to it all the time and I love it. I think that all this mix of countries expanded my horizons and I don’t feel that singing bachata is an obligation for me because I love doing it.
Her father and brother supported her a lot during her career
What did you do during the pandemic?
The pandemic was very difficult for me and all the artists in general, but I tried to focus on writing new music. I don’t know where I got the inspiration, but I recorded a music video with my mobile, which was made for my song Contigo o sin ti that you can find on YouTube. I did my own makeup and my own hairstyle for that day, put my IPhone on a tripod and got it all. I had to find thae encouragement to move regardless the situation.
Fortunately, I returned to the stage to sing for the public after two years.
In which countries are you touring now?
I am touring only in Italy. We’ve already been to two cities and we have two more to go to complete the tour. Then I will return to Canada, rest for a week and travel to the United States to continue touring.
Do you plan to tour Latin America?
I’ll be happy to do so. In fact, we already have some tentative dates in countries such as Colombia and Mexico. Let’s just hope that everything will happen because it would be the first time I brought my music to those corners.
How is urban bachata different from traditional bachata?
I think urban bachata is a movement that is starting to develop. My generation listens to a lot of urban music and an example of this is Bad Bunny, who is killin’ it right now. If we want bachata to evolve a little bit, we have to add a little urban touch and that’s what we’re doing. I think traditional music will never die because it is our main genre in the Dominican Republic, but it can also be made enjoyable for present generations, adding a little urban touch.
Speaking of urban artists, who do you want to collaborate with someday?
At the moment, I would love to collaborate with Bad Bunny. I love Bad Bunny and his new album. I had the great honor of opening for him in Toronto, Montreal, a few years ago. I also had the honor of meeting him, but I haven’t had the chance to collaborate with him yet, though I would love to.
As for traditional genres, I would like to collaborate with Anthony Santos on a more traditional song in my genre, bachata.
A message for young girls who want to dedicate themselves to the same as you.
I’d advise them to follow their dreams. I started in the music industry at a very young age I have achieved many things in the last 10 years. As a woman, I’d tell them to keep going because we are living in a time when women have more attention than ever before. We’re strong, independent and we can do anything we want.
Chantel at a photo shoot