The Revisiting series features albums from the past that played a significant role in Latin Jazz history. The purpose of this series is to introduce new Latin Jazz listeners to important albums and look back at these albums in historical perspective. Each entry will jump to a different point in Latin Jazz history - this week we’ll visit 1992.
When a Latin Jazz musician reaches their artistic prime, the future either holds possibilities or lost potential. Fueled by creative fires, the artists may write innovative compositions or explore new musical territory; hopefully they capture all this music on recordings. They may collaborate with other Latin Jazz masters, inspiring high energy and memorable performances. Opportunities most likely arise for us to hear these artists live, bringing our connection with the artists to another level. Yet,life may old insurmountable road blocks for the artist as well; family tragedies or obsessive addictions understandably distract them and diminish the quality of their output. The musician might shift their creative focus, prioritizing financial gain and commercial appeal over their original artistic track. In the worst of all possible scenarios, the artist may die before their time, leaving only the memories of their work. Artists that capture our imagination thrill us with future possibilities, but far too often musicians disappear and we are left with lost potential.
Born on May 29th, 1952 in New York City, Hilton Ruiz built his musical skills quickly at a young age. He started classical piano studies in his elementary years and performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of 8. He soon began stretching his musicality into jazz and Latin music, quickly advancing in both directions. Famed jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams worked extensively with the young Ruiz, helping him develop a strong bop repertoire. He soon started performing with Latin bands, and at the age of 14, he played on his first recording with Ray Jay and the East Siders. His career blossomed over the next few years, performing with a variety of jazz artists such as Joe Newman, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. Ruiz made his first serious statement as an artist with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, touring and recording on classic albums such as The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color
and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man
. Ruiz recorded his first album as a leader in 1975, The Piano Man, and continued to work with a variety of jazz legends. He moved deeper into Latin Jazz, recording on the 1979 album Ya Yo Me Cure
with Jerry Gonzalez, the 1981 release A Taste of Paquito
with Paquito D’Rivera, Steve Turre’s 1987 recording Viewpoints and Vibrations
, and the 1992’s Live at the Village Gate
with Tito Puente’s Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars. As Ruiz moved into the 1990s, he emerged as a strong voice in both the Latin and jazz worlds, becoming a busy sideman and a well-respected leader.
The 1992 release Manhattan Mambo showcases Ruiz’s ability to bridge Latin and jazz worlds into a rich sound charged with New York spirit. Ruiz changes Perez Prado’s “Mambo Numero Cinco” from a pop dance number into a full blown descarga, giving saxophonist David Sanchez ample opportunity to build a strong statement. The Ruiz original cha cha cha “Home Cookin’” provides Sanchez, trumpet player Charlie Sepulveda, and trombone player Papo Vazquez with a chance to explore soulful blues licks. Ruiz improvises furiously over John Coltrane’s “Impressions,” followed by a wildly passionate solo from Sanchez. Inheriting a kind nature as a bandleader, Ruiz hands the spotlight to sideman Giovanni Hidalgo on the percussion feature “Giovanni Speaks,” recognizing the music’s percussive roots and Hidalgo’s major talents. The jazz-tinged son montuno “Sure Thing” provides colorful chord changes for melodic improvisations from Sanchez, Sepulveda, and Ruiz. The album features jazz freedom and improvisation with intensive Cuban rhythms, fueled by a band full of future Latin Jazz icons.
Following Manhattan Mambo, Ruiz’s Latin Jazz career moved into high gear with a string of high profile sideman gigs and successful turns as a bandleader. He continued to work with Puente, recording several discs, including the 1995 album Tito’s Idea
and the 1996 release Special Delivery
. Mongo Santamaria employed Ruiz on his 1995 recording Mongo Returns
while Juan Pablo Torres hired him for 1995’s Trombone Man
. He kept one foot firmly planted in the straight ahead jazz world, recording with Abbey Lincoln on the album Painted Lady
and the Mingus Big Band on Que Viva Mingus!
. Despite a busy schedule, his output as a bandleader continued steadily, producing albums such as 1997’s Island Eyes
and 2003’s Enchantment
. He contributed music to film soundtracks, including the Academy Award winning 1999 release American Beauty
. In May of 2006, Ruiz traveled to New Orleans, planning to create an album to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Police discovered Ruiz outside a local bar with a crushed skull and broken face bones on May 19th; after weeks of treatment, he died on June 6th. Some controversy existed as to the actual cause of Ruiz’s death; some claimed that he had been beaten while the bar declared that he suffered a severe fall. Whatever the case, the Latin Jazz world lost a major musical voice in 2006. We’re lucky to have numerous recordings that keep Ruiz’s influence alive, yet we’re unfortunately left wondering about the lost promise of the artistic potential in his later years.
———-
Click here to have these posts delivered via email. Or, click here to subscribe to the full text RSS feed and never miss another post!
Stumble it!
LJC Delivered to Your E-Mail Daily!
Join The LJC Community in a Feed Reader
Loading ...
.jpg)
Wazzup Chip! Glad to see this historic recording revisited. One of the reasons it’s important, to me, is the fact it’s recorded on audiophile label Telarc. I’ve mentioned my audiophile tendencies before, the thing that most audiophiliacs don’t realize is that most Latin music, and Latin Jazz in particular, features audiophile worthy recording processes. Most audio nuts agree that records featuring acoustic instruments recorded live (at a show or in the studio) are the most desirable traits of a well-recorded disc. Usually my anglo brothers get their groove on with Classical or classicly-styled Jazz recordings. For the longest time I’ve been trying to turn them on to the amazing universe we know as Latin Jazz. I’ll tell ya, once they hear it, it’s an easy sell, it’s getting them to hear it that’s the problem. Telarc recording this record was a huge thumbs-up for me as it confirmed what I’ve always known to be true.
A very interesting tidbit about this recording. The liner notes state the recording date as 4/28/92. The recording, Tito Puente’s Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars - Live At The Village Gate, shows it’s recording date to be 4/27/92! This recording features Mongo Santamaria, as well as Giovanni Hidalgo, on Conga. At the time of the release of these records I just happened to notice this thing about the recording dates which made me give ‘em a harder listen. There is no doubt in my mind, that there’s a noticible deference in Hidalgo’s playing on the date featuring Mongo. His playing on the Ruiz date is his usual -’King Kong standing over the city’-style where as his playing on the Puente session, recorded the day before, shows him taking a back seat to Maestro Santamaria, especially when they solo. FOR ME, it’s an obvious showing of love and respect since, at that point in time, Giovanni could’ve easily played rings around the aging legend and didn’t. CB, once again I thank you for providing a forum for me to show how much of a geek I can be at times!!!;)
The amazingly tragic story of the murder of Hilton Ruiz and the circumstances surrounding his death SCREAM to me for a Justice that, unfortunately, is never going to happen. Tell ya what, the Hilton Ruiz story could be an amazing book and movie, don’tchathink?
Chazro - Isn’t this a great album? I’ve been listening to it a lot lately; I simply can’t get enough of it!
That’s an interesting point that you bring up about the Telarc label - they serve as a good transition point to bring jazz artists (and in some cases Latin Jazz artists) into the spotlight of the musical world. They certainly enjoy a great rep, and most people do consider that high quality of sound with the label. It’s funny that people do consider classical music to get such a pristine sound and then don’t really consider all the thought that goes into recording other styles. I love classical music, but it’s certainly not the end all of recording quality. None the less - one thing that I’ve noticed is that they tend to take established jazz artists and provide a larger visability. For example, their current Latin Jazz artists include Arturo Sandoval, Rosa Passos, and Michel Camilo - all great artists and all established names. I guess that this provides a good entry point into the music for listeners.
Thanks for the history fact - I love stuff like that! You got me to pull out the Tito recording and compare notes. I agree with you, Hidalgo sounds a little restrained on the Puente recording; more straight-ahead. This may have been a request from Puente in an effort to get a group sound, but I tend to agree with you. Hidalgo knows his history, and understands Mongo’s influence - I think that he was showing respect. I remember having a similar thought when I saw Poncho Sanchez’s group with Mongo Santamaria as a special guest. Sanchez has never really been my favorite conguero, but I remember noticing a distinct difference in his playing when he sat next to Mongo. He was definitely getting out of the way and letting Mongo take the spotlight. It was a great gesture.
The argument around Hilton’s death is a frustrating one, I agree. The evidence all seems to lean towards an attack, probably driven by race issues. The authorities brushed it off way too quickly. It’s really tragic, what a sad and unfortunate loss. A movie . . . I’d love to see Hilton remembered but I’m not sure if I’d like to see it happen through Hollywood’s eyes. It certainly would be quite a story though.
Don’t forget . . . all geeks always welcome here! I’m totally the same way!
I had the good fortune to be able to hear Hilton ealy in his carrer,as he first played Puerto Rico (in a duet set with Frank Foster) in the mid-70’s.Hilton’s mix of jazz and bop stylings was revolutionary then and still is.Together with the late Jorge Dalto,they changed latin jazz piano playing forever.
It would be exceptionally hard for me to choose a favorite Hilton Ruiz record,but from a Latin Jazz perspective,this is one of the really good ones.A killer band too!
We will probably never know the whole story on Hilton’s tragic death.It’s a shame that he left us way before his time.
I had the good fortune to get to know Hilton through his multiple trips to Puerto Rico in the mid to late 70’s-He was a kind gentle,caring soul who will be forever missed.
Wazzup Luis!
Couldn’t agree with you more about the importance of Ruiz AND Dalto. Stylistically and historically very significant in the history of Jazz AND Latin Jazz. I know you’ve heard it, Paquito D’Rivera’s 1st solo album; ‘Blowin’, features BOTH of them! What a killa debut record that is, one of many favorites from the Pac-man!!
Luis - I wish that I had the opportunity to hear Hilton live, it was probably quite an experience. Another album that I really enjoy is his Live At Birdland album - you can just hear the energy in the band during that performance. I can only imagine the reality of being there. It must have been a great experience.
That’s pretty cool that you got to know him as well. I’ve heard many stories about what a nice guy he was, it’s really too bad that his life ended in that way.
I totally agree with you and Chazro - Ruiz and Dalto . . . two towering figures in Latin Jazz. I’ll have to revisit something with Dalto on it. Maybe the Paquito album, but I did something on him recently. Any other ideas? I’m open to suggestion!
Dalto was the original piano player in Tito Puente’s Latin Jazz Ensemble-Some of their early records (hint:On Broadway-I played it endlessly in the early 80’s)
Of his solo records,Urban Oasis would be the best choice-Pretty good cast of characters:Andy Gonzalez,Nicky Marrero,Patato on it.