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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
Oscar D’ León Will Celebrate his 50th Anniversary In Europe
50th Anniversary Europa Tour 2022 will start on July 10th in Bulgaria
In 1997, the album Sonero del Mundo, in collaboration with Willy Chirino, was nominated for a Grammy.
Salsa legend Oscar D’ León “El Sonero del Mundo” will celebrate his half-century of a uninterrupted artistic career with a tour of six European countries, and tickets don’t exceed € 70, so hurry up because there are few left.
The 50th Anniversary Europe Tour 2022 will start on July 10th in Bulgaria (Latin Beach Boom Festival), and he will continue in Germany (Frankfurt – July 12th, Munich – July 13th, and Berlin – July 16th). After, he will visit the city of Milan in Italy on July 14th, then land in Spain for a concert in Barcelona on June 15th, Tenerife (June 23rd), and Madrid (June 27th – The last live of the tour). Oscar D’ León will continue his Tour through Paris (France) on July 17th and Amsterdam (Netherlands) on July 22nd at Kwaku Festival.
“Who will share this tour of Europe loaded with hits and #Saborrr?” The Sonero de la Salsa wrote on his Facebook page on June 7th.
The king of Salsa, Oscar D’ León http://oscardleon.net/ was born on July 11th, 1943. His youth grew up in the popular area of western Caracas (Antímano). This singer and self-taught bassist, since his debut in Latin music, has become one of the most representative artists of the Afro-Caribbean genre. He has been praised for his participation in orchestras such as La Dimensión Latina and his work as a soloist.
His first jobs were as a driver of a school bus and a taxi during the day, along with his apprenticeship in the execution of the string instrument, double bass, and his numerous night performances in different clubs in the Venezuelan capital. His success came in 1972 with the orchestra La Dimensión Latina and since then, D’ León has remained at the top of popularity as one of the most respected and admired Salsa artists of his time, with more than four decades of experience in unsurpassed live performances and more than 50 albums of their own and collaborations.
Oscar D’ León sang “Mundo Perfecto”. Song in Spanish from the animated movie The Emperor’s New Groove (Disney – 2003)
He paved the way for musicians of his genre by being one of the pioneers to tour the Asian continent (Japan) and the first Latino to sign a record deal with the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom.
Between the 1980s and 1990s, Oscar recorded the hit “Ariel” with the Billo’s Caracas Boys orchestra as a tribute to Billo Frometa and Benny Moré. He launched the version “Qué bueno baila usted” with the Venezuelan orchestra Los Blanco. He was a special and permanent guest at important Salsa and Latin Jazz festivals, in addition to sharing the stage and recordings with famous artists such as Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente. Starting in 1998, every March 15th is celebrated in New York City as “Oscar D’ León Day”, and for seven years (May 14th, 2015) it has been “Oscar D’ León Day” but this once in the California state (USA).
In 2013 he received the Award for Musical Excellence awarded by the Latin Recording Academy and two years later he dazzled with his presentation in Viña del Mar (Chile) taking the Gold and Silver Gaviotas (Seagulls).
This year the master Oscar D’ León celebrates 50 years of trajectory and will celebrate it with you in Europe. So don’t miss this opportunity to sing his greatest hits such as El Frutero (1976), Llorarás (1986), Detalles (1986), Mi bajo y yo (1990), Frenesí (2001), and La Mazucamba (2002).
Concerts: Servando & Florentino and Los Van Van in London
The two Salsa bands will perform at the Electric Brixton´s stage in the English capital
Servando & Florentino are descendants of Alí Primera (singer-songwriter of social themes)
The duo Servando & Florentino will visit London with their “En Tu Ciudad” tour on Sunday, July 17th at the Electric Brixton https://www.electricbrixton.uk.com/ located at 1 Town Hall Parade SW2 1RJ London, United Kingdom. Ticket prices are £41.25 and those under 14 must be accompanied by a representative. In Your City Tour 2022, it will also arrive during this month of July in four cities in Spain (Valencia, Tenerife, Barcelona, and Vigo) and will step on the stage of The Button Factory in Dublin (Ireland) on July 18th.
“Europe, we will also see you in Your City! We are very excited to meet all of you and that you can enjoy the Primera Experience that we have prepared.” The publication was made by the duet on April 20th on their Facebook page. Online tickets have been available since April 22nd, and you can get them on their Los Primera website. www.losprimera.com
The Servando & Florentino brothers were born in the early 1980s in the popular area of Valle in Caracas (Venezuela) and began their careers at a very early age as main members of the Salserín orchestra in the mid-1990s.
The Primera brothers with this orchestra led by the singer and composer, Manuel Guerra, had great hits such as “De Sol a Sol” and “Yo sin ti” from the studio album Salserín con mucho swing released in 1996. With this success, they became a youth phenomenon equaled to the Pop group, Menudo. Salserín crossed the Venezuelan borders achieving the same fury in countries like Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, and Mexico, managing to gather up to 500,000 people in some concerts.
Years later, they continue their careers abandoning this youthful salsa phenomenon, and began their internationalization as a Salsa/Pop duo signing with the record label Hecho a Mano belonging to the artist Ricardo Montaner. With him, they made the albums: Los Primera (1997) and Muchacho Solitario (1999) then followed by Paso a Paso (2000), for a total of seven record productions with different record labels.
After twelve years, the Primera brothers meet again with their salsa audience in Europe, and you can’t miss it.
“London! We are waiting for you VanVaneros. The Train is Normal but a little Accelerated.” Text published by the orchestra on their Facebook account
On the other hand, Los Van Van will also be performing on this same stage located in south London on Sunday, July 31st with their Havana To London concert. Tickets cost £35.50 and an ID is required to access the show. The doors will be open to welcome you from 8 PM.
Los Van Van has been called by many the “Rolling Stones of Salsa”. This band was founded in 1969 by bassist and composer Juan Formell, a legend of Cuban music, accompanied by José Luis Quintana known as “Changuito”, and César “Pupy” Pedroso invented the “Songo”, a Cuban rhythm predecessor of “Timba” or “Salsa Cubana”, which would generate “Salsa – Son” with a Cuban sound that has made generations dance.
In 2018, they recorded their first record production “Legado” since the physical departure of Juan Formell in 2014. This tribute album has 14 songs with 3 new versions of the international singles Te extraño, Por qué lo haces y Amiga mía.