|
|
|
|
PERCUSSIONIST, BANDLEADER
Born on April 29, 1929, Ray Barretto spent his youth listening to both his family’s traditional Puerto Rican music and the big band jazz of Duke Ellington and Tommy Dorsey on the radio. Looking for a better life, he joined the army in 1946. While stationed in Germany, he fell in love with Bebop through his exposure to the Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie recording “Shaw ‘Nuff.” Soon after, he heard Gillespie’s “Manteca,” and Barretto decided that music would be his post-military career direction. He began training himself on percussion using the back head of a banjo. He returned to New York in 1949 and bought a drum kit, maintaining a regular performance schedule at the Bucket of Blood club. In 1957, he replaced Mongo Santamaria in Tito Puente’s band, immediately going into the studio to record the classic Puente album Dance Mania. During his time with Puente, Barretto also worked as a studio musician, recording for a variety of traditional jazz artists, including Art Blakey and Kenny Burrell. Barretto formed his own group in 1962 and later that year recorded the album Charanga Moderna for the Tico label. The album included the boogaloo “El Watusi,” a huge crossover hit that placed Barretto in the star status. He continued to record a combination of boogaloo and charanga music in the sixties, experimenting with the inclusion of brass and jazz elements. Barretto joined the Fania label in 1967 and released the classic album Acid, which fused R n’ B with Latin music. Within the next couple of years, Barretto became a mainstay in the Fania All-Stars, beginning with the recordings Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. Over the following decades, Barretto directed the Fania All-Stars and recorded many influential albums including Live at Yankee Stadium, Vol. 1, Bamboleo, and California Jam. Also in the early seventies, Barretto led a chain of brass powered salsa bands that included young musicians such as bassist Andy Gonzalez and timbalero Manny Oquendo. The bands created a variety of now classic albums such as the 1972 albums The Message and Barretto Power. After a short stay with Atlantic records, Barretto returned to Fania in 1979 to record the album Rican/Struction, an instant hit. He continued to produce Salsa into the early 90s, including the Grammy award winning 1990 album Ritmo en el Corazon. Tired of the Salsa industry, Barretto formed New World Spirit in 1992 made a move to Concord Picante records. Over the next ten years, Barretto made a wide span of Latin Jazz releases including the electronic tinged albums Handprints and Ancestral Messages, Portraits in Jazz and Clave with a variety of traditional jazz superstars and the 2003 Blakey tribute Homage to Art. Barretto was recognized for his contributions to jazz in 2006 with an NEA Jazz Master award. He died on February 17, 2006, due to heart failure, leaving a musical legacy tracing the history of modern Latin music. Biography courtesy Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
RAY BARRETTO - THE MESSAGE (CD-1972/2007)
Adalberto Santiago
Vocals
Se Traba 3:55 more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels
RAY BARRETTO - TIME WAS- TIME IS (CD-2005)
Ray Barretto->Congas & timbales
Drume Negrita 5:49 more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels
RAY BARRETTO - INDESTRUCTIBLE (LP-1973) Roberto Rodriguez Trompeta Joseph "Papy" Román Trompeta Manuel Duran Trompeta, fliscorno Art Webb Flauta "Little" Ray Romero Timbales Tony Fuentes Bongos Julio Romero Bajo Eddie Martinez Piano Ray Barretto Conga Tito Allen Cantante principal Menique Coro Hector Lavoe Coro
El Hijo De Obatalá 5:00 more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
RAY
BARRETTO
