Sammy Figueroa, a percussionist with an excellent career.

Sammy Figueroa was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1948. He is the son of bolero singer Charlie Figueroa, whom he never knew, as his father passed away at the age of 32.

Sammy moved to Puerto Rico as a child to live with his grandparents and escape the Bronx’s gang violence.

At 18, he started his professional career with bassist Bobby Valentín’s band. Throughout his career, he has stood out for his versatility, playing in a multitude of musical styles and contributing to nearly 400 albums, ten of which are platinum.

He has collaborated with major pop artists like David Bowie, Chaka Khan, and Mariah Carey, as well as with distinguished jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, and George Benson. In 1977, he became a founding member of the Latin rock fusion group Raíces.

In 2001, Sammy Figueroa moved to South Florida and formed his own group, Sammy Figueroa and His Latin Jazz Explosion. His albums And Sammy Walked In and The Magician were nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album.

His 2023 album, Searching for a Memory / Busco Tu Recuerdo, is a tribute to his father. The project, produced by his wife, Rachel Faro, with whom he has also co-produced other albums, allowed Sammy to reconcile with his father’s legacy. On this album,

Sammy sings on a record for the first time and transforms his father’s classic boleros into modern Latin jazz arrangements. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the “Best Jazz/Latin Jazz Album” category.

Sammy Figueroa has received numerous awards, including two Percussionist of the Year awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), two Drummie Awards for Best Hand Percussion, and a Best Percussionist award from the Jazz Journalists Association.

Discovered by jazz flutist Herbie Mann, Figueroa became a well-known session and studio musician, touring and recording with The Brecker Brothers, Average White Band, Morrissey – Mullen, The Mahavishnu Orchestra John McLaughlin, and Miles Davis.

He has also appeared with Blondie, Sonny Rollins, David Sanborn, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, George Benson, Chet Baker, Stanley Clarke, Grover Washington Jr., Al Jarreau, Lena Horne, Joe Williams, Mark Murphy, Mike Mainieri, Néstor Torres, Chico O’Farrill, Mike Stern, Chuck Loeb, Bobby Watson, Dave Valentin, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Bobby Valentín, Tania Maria, Mariah Carey, James Taylor, Dr. John, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Celine Dion, Blues Traveler, Natalie Merchant, David Lee Roth, Hall & Oates, Joe Cocker, Rickie Lee Jones, Annie Lennox, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Grace Jones, James Ingram, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, and many others.

Some of the R&B hits he is featured on include Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” Luther Vandross’s “The Night I Fell In Love,” and Ashford & Simpson’s “Solid (as a rock),” as well as most of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards’ hits on the Chic and Sister Sledge record labels.

Michel Camilo wrote the song “And Sammy Walked In” in his honor, and it was also recorded by Giovanni Hidalgo. Two of his CDs, And Sammy Walked In and The Magician, have been nominated for Grammy Awards in the “Best Latin Jazz Album” category. Figueroa hosts a Latin jazz show on WDNA-FM in Miami, Florida.

If you’re not very familiar with Sammy Figueroa’s work, you can try an experiment with this album: listen closely to see if you can guess what his instrument is. In a medium-sized combo, what instrument seems to take center stage? The answer: it’s impossible to guess, which says something about Figueroa’s maturity as a leader.

It’s also surprising to see how pared down his forces really are this sextet sounds like a big band. (Spoiler alert: he’s a percussionist.) It also says something about him that the term “Explosion” is a misnomer for his band. There are no pyrotechnics, no crazy tempos, and no wildly layered rhythms here.

But there are some very impressive horn arrangements (check out “Cha Cha Pa’ Ti” and the lovely “Cuco y Olga”), along with some of the sweetest, most tender ballads to appear on a jazz album of any genre in recent years (“Queen from the South” and “Zuliana” are the best examples).

For a percussionist acting as a bandleader, giving this kind of sustained, loving attention to compositions that only make a tenuous use of his talent is further proof of Figueroa’s taste and maturity. Let’s hope Figueroa keeps going in this vein. Rick Anderson.

Sammy Figueroa & His Latin Jazz Explosion – Urban Nature (2011).

Tracks:

1. Gufillo (Silvano Monasterios)
2. Urban Nature (Gabriel Vivas)
3. Latin What? (Michael Orta)
4. Zuliana (Silvano Monasterios)
5. 7th Door From The Left (Silvano Monasterios)
6. Cuco y Olga (Nicholas Martines)
7. Cha Cha Pa’ Ti (Gabriel Vivas)
8. Queen From The South (Silvano Monasterios)
9. Funny Talk (Gabriel Vivas)

Musicians:

• Sammy Figueroa (Percussion)
• Silvano Monasterios (Piano)
• Gabriel Vivas (Acoustic bass)
• John Michalak (Sax)
• Alexander Pope Norris (Trumpet)
• Nomar Negroni (Drums)

Guest Musicians:

• Ed Calle (Sax)
• Mike Orta (Piano)
• José Gregorio Hernández (Percussion)

Website: Sammy Figueroa

By:

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

L’Òstia Latin Jazz

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