On Wednesday April 6th, The National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences announced a “restructuring” of The Grammy Awards, a move that included the elimination of the Latin Jazz Grammy. This unfortunate decision undermines the integrity of Latin Jazz and disregards its importance as a major piece of the cultural landscape in the United States. I would encourage all LJC readers to protest this decision and demand that NARAS reinstate the Latin Jazz Grammy immediately – you can do this by sending an e-mail to NARAS President and CEO Neil Portnow here – neil@grammy.com Get additional information and updates on LJC’s Support Page For The Latin Jazz Grammy.
In a commentary originally posted as a guest commentary for the National Institute For Latino Policy, percussionist, bandleader, and Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria spells out the reality of the April 6, 2011 Grammy “restructuring” that eliminated 31 award categories. The eliminated categories included the Latin Jazz award, a good representation of the choices that NARAS made when taking away categories – the majority of these 31 categories represented ethnic music. Pay close attention to Sanabria’s words here – there’s much more behind the “restructuring” than easily meets the eye. The hidden agenda behind NARAS’ decision speaks to racism, money, power, and more. Sanabria clearly points out the details here; take them to heart and then take action!
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There isn’t one person reading this who hasn’t seen or heard of the Grammys. You know, the TV show that comes on every February that gives out those gold trophies that are replicas of a vintage gramophone record player in miniature. Getting nominated for one changes one’s career. All of a sudden your visibility quotient goes up as a recording artist. People who never spoke to you are suddenly congratulating you and, the best part? The phone starts to ring for offers of work. Imagine what happens when you actually win one.
For most of us watching, the show is a form of simple escapism. We really don’t know how the award winners are selected and all we see, for the most part, are the current pop stars of the day performing on the telecast. As Latinos we notice that there aren’t many of us represented on the show except for the perfunctory appearances recently by artists like Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, J.Lo and, of course, everyone remembers when Ricky Martin shaked his bon bon way back in . . . what year was that? It’s great they have appeared as performers and presenters, but as conga legend Ray Barretto once said, “They got there under false pretenses.” In other words, they didn’t perform music that represents the depth of our cultural experience . . . they performed “pop music.”
You’re probably saying, “Who really cares? As has always been our history in this country, we’re lucky to get the crumbs and should be happy.” Right? WRONG!!!
Wake up hermanos and hermanas. It’s 2011 and as the statistics show, Latinos ARE the largest minority group in this country and we’re leading the charge in this multi-cultural Universe we call the USA. That’s the set up for several questions that beg to be answered.
Why has an artist like salsa pioneer, piano virtuoso, bandleader and nine-time Grammy winner Eddie Palmieri never been asked to appear on the telecast? Why hasn’t Los Tigres del Norte, a legendary band from Mexico that sells out stadiums to crowds of 40 to 50,000, not been asked to perform on the mainstream broadcast (as opposed to the Latin Grammys (which, by the way, are another can of worms)? You get it. I could go on and on.
The optimist would think, “Well, we’ve come this far, eventually we’ll get someone performing some music on the Grammy telecast that represents our “real” culture in one form or another . . . and didn’t Santana play a few years ago on the show?” But wait, it has happened before, way back in the ’80s and ’90s when Celia Cruz and Tito Puente appeared on the telecast. Linda Ronstadt shocked mainstream America by performing authentic mariachi music on the Grammy telecast and showing everyone she was proud of her Mexican heritage. Cuban Latin jazz and jazz piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba played piano on the Grammys. We were actually getting somewhere in terms of our musical contributions to this country being displayed in the music world’s biggest night, Grammy night.
So what happened?
Since November 2002, when current NARAS (The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) President Neil Portnow took office, not only have all things Latino been excised from the main telecast, but anything remotely displaying America’s cultural diversity has disappeared from it. No jazz, classical, or Latin music (in any of its diverse forms) have been featured since 2002. Mind you, this country’s cultural diversity has grown exponentially.
The mission statement of the Grammys, or NARAS states it was formed to honor, propagate, and nurture all forms of American born music. It also states that its mission is to also EDUCATE the general public about all these forms, not giving preference to one genre over the other.
As Frank Sinatra said at the first Grammy Awards in 1959, “Remember ladies and gentlemen, it’s about excellence, not popularity.” Following this mandate, the Grammys’ two previous Presidents before Portnow, Michael Greene (a former saxophonist with Frank Zappa) and Michael Melvoin (a jazz pianist and Sephardic Jew who speaks fluent Spanish) grew the Academy to 109 robust categories celebrating America’s musical/cultural heritage and diversity and brought the membership to an all time high of 28,000. Categories like Latin Jazz, Zydeco, Cajun, Hawaiian, Native American, Polka, Norteño, Ranchera, Classical, Contemporary Jazz, Traditional and Contemporary Blues and Gospel, Instrumental Country, as well as many others which were added during these two progressive-minded Presidents’ tenures and displayed our magnificence as a collective culture.
But then something happened. Portnow became President after Greene was forced to resign following a now famous speech he gave during the telecast criticizing the Bush administration for cutting arts programs. Greene, a musician-friendly President (practically the entire NARAS membership is made up of musicians), was now replaced by a major label-friendly President.
Portnow used to work as the West Coast Vice President of Jive Records, a division of Zomba. Since 2001, independent recording companies, many run by musicians themselves, or by Mom & Pop operations, began getting nominated for Grammys and, in many cases, winning them. Since these labels are a haven for truly creative artists who buck the tide of commercialism, they began being perceived as a threat to the major labels.
Why? Because getting nominated and, if you’re graced with winning one of those little miniature gramophones as I stated before, changes careers but, more importantly, increases CD sales. Having a progressive jazz rock group like Steely Dan win Record of the Year over Eminem in 2001 sent shudders through the pop music community. In 2008 jazz piano legend Herbie Hancock won Record of the Year over Amy Winehouse and Kanye West. I guess you can imagine what happened when they didn’t hear their names announced.
It all culminated this past February with more Grammys being won by Indie record companies last year than in any other year. In addition, Esperanza Spalding (a jazz artist who at the most had sold between 10,000 to 15,000 units) won the coveted Best New Artist of The Year Grammy over Justin Beiber last year as well.
Before you start saying, like most people did, “Esperanza who?,” you have to keep in mind that the Grammys is a peer-based award. It isn’t a popularity contest like American Idol or the American Music Awards. We, the members of the Academy, voted as Ole’ Blue Eyes stated, for excellence. Spalding is a virtuosic bassist, vocalist, composer, a musician par excellence. It was easy for us as members of the Academy to vote for her. It was also the first time a true musician won over an entertainer in that category.
What was the reaction? A few days after this unprecedented event, Steven Stoute, a music industry insider-lobbyist, whose client list includes Jay Z, took out a $40,000 full page ad in the New York Times insulting the Academy for its decision and insulting Esperanza Spalding by stating that Justin Beiber should have won. Talk about sour grapes!
When one insults the Academy one is, in fact, insulting the membership. Of course, you heard and read about Justin Beiber fans going viral with their insults at Ms. Spalding, even going the extra mile and hijacking her Wikipedia page by writing the vilest of commentary.
What did our Grammys President do? Absolutely nothing. No press statement or press conference defending the membership and its decision, no teaching moment for the young Beiber-heads letting them know that the Grammys are a peer based award and not a popularity contest> Nothing.
Lobbyist Stoute has been notorious for his criticism of the Academy and his transparent views. Just look him up on the internet and you’ll be shocked at some of the things he has said. To him, if Jay Z is going to appear on the Grammy telecast then he should be guaranteed a Grammy. The fact that President Portnow is an ex-record company exec and was reaching out to someone who is working for major artists and labels who insulted the Academy raised eyebrows from coast to coast with the membership. The joke on the Hip Hop scene was that Stoute was trying to hijack the Grammys. It gets better Read on.
All of a sudden, on April 6th this year, NARAS sent out an e-mail blast to all of its 21,000 members (a 7,000 member drop, by the way, from previous years) telling us there was a major announcement about the Grammys and to follow the link they had posted. Guess what? They cut 31 categories, downsizing the awards from 109 to 78. All the categories I mentioned before and more, categories that celebrated this country’s incredible musical diversity, were cut. Over 70percent of these categories represent ethnic and race- based styles of music. Any human resources department at a major corporation would have recommended in the strongest of terms: don’t do this or you’ll have a torrent of protest from Black and Latino communities.
There was no warning, no asking the 21,000 members, no asking the Grammy Chapter City Governors who represent the membership in all 12 Grammy Chapter cities. Nothing, nada. They just went ahead and did it. In a meeting that President Portnow held with the New York City Chapter on April 11th, he stated that the Grammys have become “…too big of a musical collage.” Really?
Their rationale? They said they consolidated categories to give more parity because it’s become too easy to get a Grammy. Really? I’ve been fortunate to have been nominated four times and, believe me, it’s probably the hardest thing to attain in the music business. Ask anyone.
Portnow said everyone still has a chance — all they did was “streamline” everything. Really? Now a contemporary jazz CD (like Kenny G) has to compete against a Latin jazz CD (like me), against a traditional jazz CD (like Wynton Marsalis). Guess who is not going to win? It’s like having a mariachi CD competing against a salsa CD competing against a merengue CD. Completely different genres all competing against each other in one category. The kicker is, if you were dreaming about Eddie Palmieri ever getting on the main telecast, you can now totally forget about it.
You may be asking at this point: “How could they do this without asking the membership?” NARAS’ answer? They formed a secret sub-committee right after Herbie Hancock won in 2008. That committee met for 18 months in order to form a plan to downsize the Grammys. Nice of them not to tell the membership!
Who was on this ultra secret sub-committee of twelve? NARAS refuses to say despite the fact that, according to the Academy’s By Laws, they have to disclose this information upon the request of any NARAS member. But, of course, if they did it wouldn’t be secret anymore.
What NARAS has done is initiate the largest act of cultural insensitivity in the history of arts organizations. They have, in fact, erased us, silenced us, from the Awards.
Since April 6th there has been an upheaval of protest led by committed members of the Latin jazz community on both coasts like John Santos, Bobby Matos, Sandy Cressman, Wayne Wallace, Clay Leander, yours truly and many others. Press conferences have been held in San Francisco, New York City, and Los Angeles. Major artists like Carlos Santana (the first to speak out), Eddie Palmieri, Paul Simon, Bill Cosby, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, Herbie Hancock, Larry Harlow, Ruben Blades, Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, and others have publicly protested this outrageous ill-advised action by NARAS and asked, in solidarity, for the return of all the 31 cut categories, not just the Latin Jazz category.
What did our President do? As reported by Rolling Stone magazine, he actually reached out to industry lobbyist Stoute to have a discussion about diversity and better representation of Hip Hop in the Grammys. Nice guy. It would have been nicer if he reached out to us to discuss the reinstatement of the categories.
What has been the NARAS response? On June 15 at the Academy’s New York offices, President Portnow told long time NARAS member, Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O’Farrill, NARAS Latin Music committee President Elvira Franco, BMI Latin Music Head and newly-elected New York. Chapter Governor Porfirio Piña, and others, after a four hour meeting, that he admits they made a mistake but they will not re-instate the categories. Oh, but maybe we’ll consider it for next year. Nice guy. In a simultaneous meeting held in San Francisco over which NARAS Vice President of Awards, Bill Friemuth presided and that was attended by several Board of Trustees members (including new Trustee Sheila E.), he told John Santos, Wayne Wallace, Sandy Cressman, Pete Escovedo and others present the exact same thing. Another nice guy.
What are the consequences of this infamnia?
First, the entire mission of the Grammys has been compromised because the 31 categories that were cut represent the most marginalized communities and music. In effect, they will never be recognized and exposed to larger audiences. You will never see an Indie artist like Esperanza Spalding or Arcade Fire (they record for a small Mom & Pop label in North Carolina and won the Best Record of the Year at the last Grammys) win a Grammy ever again.
Second, the major record labels have, in effect, attained a monopoly on the Grammys. This is the case since they have eliminated all of the competition.
Third, the lives of thousands of musicians who have spent thousands of dollars on recordings, and the small record labels they either own or record for, in the hope of getting a Grammy nomination and possibly a win, are now destroyed since they can’t enter an appropriate category.
Fourth? The Grammys have sent a clear message to the entire world: WE DON’T CARE ABOUT CULTURAL DIVERSITY.
What is even more insulting to Latinos is that our category, Latin jazz, was installed after a long, hard struggle. Musicians like Eddie Palmieri and John Santos as well as noted jazz writers, historians, ethnomusicologists, and consultants began fighting for it many years ago. The roots of it go back to 1975 when Salsa (the Tropical Music category in the Grammys) was finally installed through the efforts of legendary pianist Larry Harlow when he was a New York Chapter Governor. Finally in 1994, after 19 years of asking and campaigning, we finally got the Latin Jazz category. The following year, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval was the first winner of this coveted and respected prize. On April 6, 2011 they summarily took it away, I repeat, without warning, without a heads up or a legitimate excuse.
Portnow and company state that the cut categories were not getting the minimum number of submissions, which is 25. When I asked Vice President of Awards Friedmuth at the April 11th meeting how many submissions Latin jazz was getting, he replied, “The average number of submissions for the Latin jazz category each year for the last five years has been 31.” So, what gives? We met the criteria.
NARAS has also instituted a new rule stating that now any category that only receives between 25 and 39 submissions will only get three nominations. Forty and over will get the full five as was the case with previous rule. We still have made the criteria and yet the category was cut! So, what gives? We met the criteria!
Even if low submissions were indeed the case in any category, it is the duty of NARAS to let representatives in all these categories become aware of the problem so that it can be rectified. That’s if there is one.
Remember, their mission is not only to celebrate excellence but to propagate, nurture, and educate. During previous NARAS administrations, outreach was done and all categories were healthy with submissions. In this regard, the current administration has dropped the ball and just took out the hatchet without warning. Nice guys.
A curious fact that no one seems to be addressing is that NARAS will save between half a million to a million dollars by cutting these categories. Those trophies, the medals (you get a gold medal from Tiffany & Co. when you get nominated plus an engraved certificate), the six screeners that are assigned to each category that listen to all submitted recordings in each category and are placed in a first class hotel for three days with all expenses paid, the two tickets every nominee gets, the mailings, press, etc, etc., etc., all that costs money.
Add to that the purchase, instead of leasing, of a new office building to house the administrative offices, while rent of over half a million dollars yearly is still being paid on the building that used to house the old Grammy offices. Top this off with 7,000 members who have left the organization (a full quarter of the membership) as well as rumblings about certain Grammy chapter offices in various cities being closed, and one can see what may be the real reason these categories were cut. How quaint that the money is being saved by cutting out cultural diversity. I repeat, over 70 percent of the cut categories are ethnic and race based.
What does all of this have to do with you, the reader, and why you should be afraid?
Because it’s yet another example of how we are being wiped off the face of the earth as far as recognition is concerned. It is another sign of the homogenization and corporatization of culture going on at all levels in our society. Welcome to today’s new form of racism. It even has a politically correct name, “cultural insensitivity.” In other words, even though you’ve been invited to the party, no one will speak to you because in their minds you don’t even exist. First we get Ken Burns ignoring us in baseball, then in the Civil War, then in WW II, and finally in Jazz.
Looks like the Grammys have followed suit.
Want to help? Go to www.grammywatch.org and sign the growing petition to reinstate the 31 cut categories. You can write directly to Grammy President/CEO Neil Portnow at neil@grammy.com and give him your thoughts.
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Don’t let this attack on Latin Jazz go unnoticed – send your e-mail in support of the Latin Jazz Grammy today. You can start with a message to NARAS President and CEO Neil Portnow, his e-mail address is: neil@grammy.com Make sure that you sign the petition to get the Latin Jazz Grammy reinstated – you can find it HERE. Get additional information and updates on LJC’s Support Page For The Latin Jazz Grammy.
Persistence, dedication, and musicality are all important qualities that lend to an artist’s success in the music world. Individuals are never quite born with their musical tools in tact, and the stark reality of the art form exists – it’s a lot of work. While this fact persuades many people from digging too deeply into a musical lifestyle, it encourages others, who tackle the challenge aggressively. The road towards a life in music remains filled with challenges, requiring musicians to be completely dedicated to their task. While the benefits may not always be apparent, persistence and dedication builds into musicality, a trio of tasks that will serve musicians well. With these three qualities in hand, accomplishment and success will lie ahead in any musician’s future.
Pianist and composer Silvano Monasterios has spent year honing his craft while building an impressive list of musical successes. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Monasterios spent his youth deep in the world of classical piano at the Jose Angel Lamas Conservatory while immersing himself in jazz at home. By the age of 18, he was performing and recording professionally with Venezuelan artists and in 1989, he won an award for best soloist at the Miami Jazz Festival. The award provided him with a scholarship to Miami-Dade College, so Monasterios moved to the States to attend the school. Throughout his time at the school, he won a number of honors at home and at many jazz festivals, building up to a performance at the Playboy Jazz Festival. In 1998, Monasterios released his first album as a leader, Roads Not Taken, earned his notice across the United States and beyond. As his career began to take root, Monasterios worked with a number of high profile artists, ranging from Arturo Sandoval to Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, and beyond. He returned to school in 2002, working towards his Masters Degree at the University of Miami. During his time at the University Of Miami, Monasterios was honored by Downbeat with several wins in the Student Music Awards, including Best Jazz Instrumental Soloist and Original Song. Monasterios joined with some veterans of the modern jazz world, bassist Mark Egan and drummer Paul Wertico to release a trio recording in 2007, Jazz Impressions. The same year, Monasterios contributed two compositions and performed on percussionist Sammy Figueroa’s album Magician. This album earned Monasterios some high honors, as it was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album in the 2008 Grammy Awards and led to an award from the Miami New Times naming Monasterios as “Best Jazz Musician.” Continuing to record and perform consistently, Monasterios recently released a new album, Unconditional, which finds him exploring modern jazz through Latin settings. With more music simply flowing from his piano, Monasterios is growing into a leader with a distinct sound.
With a list of accomplishments behind him, Monasterios remains dedicated to the expansion of his musical vision. His latest release, Unconditional, shows a mature musicianship reflective of his hard work; the music resonates with a modern and insightful depth that is both uplifting and contemplative. In honor of Monasterios’ persistence and dedication to musical growth, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to his music. In several live clips, Monasterios and his group, Fourth World, explore the many sides of his compositions. With a broad palette that is sometimes bold, sometime gentle, and other times introspective, Monasterios creates some beautiful music here, worth checking out – enjoy!
———- Silvano Monasterios & The Fourth World Ensemble Performing “Veranda”
Silvano Monasterios & The Fourth World Ensemble At The Van Dyke Cafe
Silvano Monasterios & The Fourth World Ensemble Performing “Simplicity”
Silvano Monasterios & The Fourth World Ensemble Performing “Jerusalem”
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Want more from Silvano Monasterios? Check out these recordings below! Unconditional
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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
In the aftermath of the Louisiana Grammy meeting this past week, quite a bit of attention has been shed upon the Cajun and Zydeco music community and their rising protest against NARAS. Grammy Watch has summarized the rising concern among the Cajun and Zydeco community HERE. The amount of press around the issue has died down a bit, but this issue is far from over – if you haven’t, sign the petition to reinstate the Latin Jazz Grammy and encourage friends to do the same. Don’t forget, for all the breaking news around the Grammy debacle, keep your eyes on Grammy Watch.
One album has been burning up my iPod this week – Ninety Miles, a serious exploration of Latin Jazz by saxophonist David Sanchez, trumpet player Christian Scott, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, all backed by Havana based bands. Sanchez already has some serious Latin Jazz credibility, while Scott and Harris have made me a believer through their performances – this album is a 2011 must-hear. Music journalist Larry Blumenfeld wrote a great piece on the group and their recording this past week for The Wall Street Journal, where he talks to the three musicians who recount some experiences in Cuba. Get a taste of the group through the article and then check out this album! You can read it HERE.
If you’re in the CARIBBEAN this week . . . MICHEL CAMILO WHEN: Tuesday 6/28/11 WHERE:Teatro Nacional
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $500 – $2,000
If you’re in CENTRAL AMERICA this week . . . ARTURO O’FARRILL
With Saxophonist Jay Rodriguez WHEN: Tuesday 6/28/11 WHERE:Teatro Degollado
Calle Degollado entre Hidalgo y Morelos, Centro Histórico
Gudalajara, Mexico TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: 150 – 400 pesos
With Saxophonist Jay Rodriguez WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Voila
Ejército Nacional #843-b Esq. Molier, Col. Polanco 11560
Mexico City, Mexico TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 500 – 550 pesos
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . MANANTE WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Rose Theater
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje El Suche, Miraflores
Lima, Peru TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 30 soles
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ WHEN: Friday 7/1/11 WHERE:Kongresu nams
K.Valdemāra 5
Rīga, Latvia TIME: 7:00 P.M. TICKETS: 15.00 – 40.00
If you’re in CANADA this week . . . AMANDA MARTINEZ WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:The Living Arts Centre
4141 Living Arts Drive
Mississauga, ON
Canada TIME: 7:30 P.M. TICKETS: FREE
EDMAR CASTANEDA WHEN: Monday 6/27/11 WHERE:Sony Centre
1 Front Street East
Toronto, ON
Canada TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $45 – $79
ELIO VILLAFRANCA WHEN: Monday 6/27/11 WHERE:4th Stage – National Arts Centre
53 Elgin Street, at Confederation Square
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $16.95
HILARIO DURAN
Big Band With Special Guest Jane Bunnett WHEN: Tuesday 6/28/11 WHERE:Alix Gooldin Performance Hall
907 Pandora Avenue
Victoria, BC
Canada TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
PABLO MENENDEZ & MEZCLA WHEN: Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE:The Distillery District
55 Mill Street
Toronto, ON
Canada TIME: 6:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . AFRO-BOP ALLIANCE WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:McGowan Patio – Mount St. Mary’s University
16300 Old Emmitsburg Road
Emmitsburg, MD TIME: 8:30 P.M. TICKETS: FREE
ANDREA BRACHFELD WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Cabana
89 South Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 P.M. TICKETS: FREE
CHILCANO 2.0 WHEN: Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 11:55 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
CIDINHO TEIXIERA WHEN: Sunday 7/3/11 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m., & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
CONRAD HERWIG’S LATIN JAZZ ALL-STARS WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 – Sunday 7/1/11 WHERE:Blue Note – New York
131 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 – $35
CURTIS BROTHERS WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival
Division Street at Park and Central Avenues
Peekskill, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
EDMAR CASTANEDA
With Django Reinhardt Gypsy Jazz Festival WHEN: Friday 7/1/11 – Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE:Birdland – New York
315 West 44th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $40
EDWARD PEREZ WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
EVA CORTES WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
GABRIEL ALEGRIA AFRO-PERUVIAN SEXTET WHEN: Friday 7/1/11 – Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
GABRIELE TRANCHINA WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Whole Foods
300 Bergen Town Center
Paramus, NJ TIME: 6:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
HECTOR DEL CUERTO
Eternal Tango Orchestra WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Damrosch Park – Lincoln Center Plaza
62nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues
New York, NY TIME: 6:30 p.m. TICKETS: $17
JOHN BENITEZ
Latin Jazz Jam Session WHEN: Sunday 7/3/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
LARRY HARLOW
Latin Legends Band WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE: Soundview Park
Bronx River, Lafayette, Metcalf, & Bronx River Avenues
Bronx, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
PABLO MAYOR WHEN: Tuesday 6/28/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
RAFI MALKIEL WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE: Strathmore Hall
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, MD TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . PAULINHO GARCIA WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Picollo Mondo
1642 E. 56th Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 6:00 p.m.
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ANNA ESTRADA WHEN: Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE:Savannah Jazz
2937 Mission Steet
San Francisco, CA TIME: 6:30 P.M. TICKETS: $10
BENNY VELARDE SUPER COMBO WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
BILL CABALLERO WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Voz Alta
1754 National Avenue
Barrio Logan, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
BRIAN ANDRES & THE AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ CARTEL WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:The Cigar Bar and Grill
850 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 9:30 p.m.
BOBBY MATOS WHEN: Thursday 6/30/11 WHERE:Farmer’s Market
6333 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
GILBERT CASTELLANOS WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:El Camino
2400 India Street
San Diego, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
WHEN: Friday 7/1/11 WHERE:Dizzy’s
2nd Avenue & J Street
San Diego, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
LOUIE CRUZ BELTRAN WHEN: Saturday 7/2/11 WHERE: Steamer’s
138 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
LUIS CONTE WHEN: Tuesday 6/28/11 WHERE:Hollywood and Highland Center
6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
For better or worse, musicians that stay in the business over several decades experience a number of changes. In some cases, they get to experience the wide variety of talent that emerges and develops within their area and all over the world. They hear musical evolution and push their musicianship to follow the developments with artistic integrity. They become mentors, teachers, role models, and experienced veterans that help push the music into the next generation. At the same time, they see clubs close and opportunities fall by the wayside. Finances get better and worse, rarely remaining steady over the course of time. Sustenance through decades of musical work is peppered with the ups and downs of the music business; this type of perseverance needs to be recognized and admired.
Percussionist and bandleader Benny Velarde spent sixty years on the Bay Area’s Latin music scene, feeling the effect of many changes. Born in Panama City in 1929, Velarde developed a love for music, fueled by the extensive presence of Cuban recordings and bands around him. When his family moved to the United States in 1945, Velarde discovered Tito Puente, Machito, and Tito Rodriguez, inspiring him to play percussion with a local group. Velarde’s growing skills garnered a wide spread reputation and soon a number of local bands were hiring him, ranging from Salvador Guerrero to Alonzo Polio. He connected with Manny and Carlos Duran, forming a popular group before leaving for a year in New York. Once Velarde returned from the big apple, pianist Manny Duran recommended him to rising jazz star Cal Tjader. Forming the core of Tjader’s new Latin Jazz combo, Velarde performed extensively with the vibraphonist and recorded several classic albums, including Mambo With Tjader and Latin Kick. When Tjader restructured his group, Velarde, Duran, and the rest of Tjader’s former group found a regular gig at San Francisco’s Copacabana club. As Duran moved onto other opportunities, the gig evolved into Velarde’s first moment as a bandleader. The resultant group, Benny Velarde Y Sus Pachangueros was a popular mainstay throughout the sixties, complemented by a full performance schedule as a sideman and periodical recording sessions. In 1970, Velarde formed a larger group, his Super Combo, for a regular gig at The Boogaloo, setting the configuration that would carry him throughout the rest of his career. Many of the Bay Area’s best musicians would play in the Super Combo over the next thirty years, including John Calloway, Mark Levine, John Santos, and many more. In 2003, the Super Combo released it’s single recording, the must-hear release Viva Velarde, an exciting mixture of salsa and jazz. The scene thrived at times and withered at others, but Velarde’s expertise kept the Super Combo working regularly until Velarde’s retirement in 2008.
Sixty years of performance is a massive contribution to a scene, and the San Francisco Latin music scene has been lucky to have Velarde for so many years. His iconic presence insured quality and knowledge in countless performances throughout the Bay Area. Although Velarde has been in retirement for a few years, he still emerges for occasional performances, including a special tribute at Yoshi’s on June 29th, 2011. In Part One of our interview with Velarde, we discussed his love for music in Panama, his step into music in San Francisco, and his first connection with Cal Tjader. We continued in Part Two, digging into Velarde’s time with Tjader, the busy nature of San Francisco’s music scene in the fifties and sixties, as well as his emergence as a bandleader. Today, we finish our conversation with Velarde, coming up to the present with the Super Combo, Viva Velarde, and more.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You had the Super Combo going and kept it going for over twenty years . . .
BENNY VELARDE: I started the Super Combo in 1970 and I had it going for a while. I just retired, but I had it until 2008 . . . well, I still have it.
LJC: The band must have changed quite bit over the years, but who were some of the mainstays that played with you over the years?
BV: I had Mark Levine play with me, and so many guys that I can’t remember all of them. I remember Mark because we became pretty good friends. Chico Ochoa played with me. A Panamanian pianist that developed a little bit of a name after that played with me too – Carlos Frederico. I really can’t remember too many of the guy’s names, but there were a lot of changes over the years.
LJC: I know that the Bay Area music scene changed quite a bit over those years; was there ever a struggle to find work?
BV: Like any other band, sometimes you get a lot of gigs and sometimes you don’t get that many. The band started getting a little well known and I started getting some gigs for the band. That’s how I kept it up. In the seventies and the eighties, there was more work than there is now. After the nineties, the clubs on Broadway, they changed it around. There used to be music all over but then they came out with the topless bars and that was it. All the clubs with music started going down. That’s when the Copacabana was also sold, in the late sixties. I kept working with the band for quite a while, all the time. I was pretty lucky about having gigs on the weekends. I had the good fortune of keeping it up until 2008.
LJC: That band released one album, Viva Velarde, in 2003; how did that album come together?
BV: One of the guys that played with me was working in a recording studio, Disher Music and Sound. Ross Wilson worked at this studio – he played with me for a long time . . . he still plays with me. He talked to the owner, and I met the owner; we got along pretty good. He told Ross that we could use the studio whenever the studio wasn’t booked. So we started to record this album. We did it little by little; it took us about a year to get it out. He didn’t charge us or anything. He told us that once the recording was released, Ross could pay for the studio time little by little. So that’s what we did, that’s how we put the album out.
LJC: You retired in 2008, but you were in the Bay Area Latin music scene for a long time, what are your thoughts about working in the Bay Area?
BV: I was living here and I got used to the area. I knew that I had to stay here once I came back from New York. I formed a band – first the sextet and then starting in the seventies, I had the Super Combo. That’s how I started playing here. Then I got the opportunity to travel a few times with the band. I was just living here, and people started calling me to play gigs. I wasn’t going anywhere once I started playing with my band.
LJC: How would you compare San Francisco’s Latin music scene now with the fifties or sixties?
BV: In those times, during the seventies, eighties, and the beginning of the nineties, there were a lot of clubs that were hiring Latin bands. Then all of a sudden, the change came over. Some other bands started forming and these bands would play for almost no payment at all. They weren’t getting the money that we were used to getting. I kept going, and the clubs had to keep paying me the money that they were paying me. But a lot of bands that were starting at that time, they were playing for nothing. That’s why a lot of other bands that were coming around, that were good bands, they disbanded. All these other bands were taking over, and they were playing for less money than we were making. That made it difficult to play sometimes, because clubs didn’t want to pay me – I had my price and when they called me, they had to pay my price. The ones that ruined the business are the bands that are playing now that play almost for nothing.
LJC: You’ve got this gig at Yoshi’s on the 29th – can you tell us a little bit about it?
BV: The guy that started this thing was Chuy Varela, the DJ at KCSM. He came over to talk to me and he said that he wanted to do this concert in honor of me, for sixty years that I’ve played music in the Bay Area. He was the one that started all this. He should get all the credit, I didn’t even know that they gig was going to happen until he came over to talk to me and ask me if I was O.K. with it. That’s why this gig is going to happen, because of Chuy Varela.
It’s going to be my band, The Super Combo; I’m going to be playing with the band. The guys that play in my band – we still get together sometimes when something like this comes up. Also, Al Bent, who used to play with me, is going to be forming another group with some musicians that used to play with me. I believe quite a few more guys that I’ve known and that have played with me are going to be there.
———- SUPPORT BENNY VELARDE IN A TRIBUTE CONCERT!
Velarde will be coming out of retirement for a special appearance with his Super Combo on June 29, 2011 at Yoshi’s Oakland. This performance will not only provide a chance to see a legend live on stage, but also an opportunity to help him out. The proceeds from the concert will go towards Velarde’s medical bills from a recent surgery. Come on down and help out Velarde by hearing a fantastic night of music! Velarde’s reissued classic Viva Velarde will also be on sale. BENNY VELARDE SUPER COMBO WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
Experience changes a young musician, and in many cases, it eventually turns them into bandleaders. Their early entries into music are all about exploration; they need to learn the fundamentals of music and how to work with other artists. Along the way, they find their way around the business of music and hopefully find a way to thrive in their chosen lifestyle. After a number of years, these pursuits become old hat and a musician needs other stimulation to keep them motivated. Some musicians might dig deeper into their artistry while others might seek new collaborators; in most cases though, they almost always end up in the role of bandleader. Experience necessitates this move, but it doesn’t guarantee success; longevity depends upon the individual.
Percussionist Benny Velarde built up a strong skill set through experience on the Bay Area music scene, and after a high profile tenure with Cal Tjader, became an important bandleader. Born in Panama, Velarde was inspired by the music in the city around him and the Cuban bands that he heard on the radio. The young Velarde fueled his passion for music, sneaking into nightclubs to hear some of Cuba’s most important artists before his family moved to San Francisco in 1945. In the United States, Velarde heard Tito Puente, Machito, and more, driving him to play percussion with a local high school band. The group’s performances spread the word of Velarde’s skills and soon he was working with local bands led by Salvador Guerrero and Professor Cano. He soon joined together with the Duran Brothers, pianist Manny and bassist Carlos, in a group that held a regular gig and earned some attention. Looking to gain more valuable experience in Latin music, Velarde spent a year in New York. Upon his return, Manny Duran recommended him to Tjader, who quickly hired the percussionist. Velarde spent four years performing with Tjader the Bay Area and beyond, as well as recording several important albums, such as Mambo With Tjader, Latin Kick, and more. When Tjader changed in his line up in the late fifties, Velarde and the rest of his former Tjader and mates found a regular gig in San Francisco. By this time, the city’s Latin music scene had picked up, and Velarde found himself with a busy schedule, working a number of club gigs, dances, and after hours venues. He soon started leading his own groups, first heading up an ensemble called Benny Velarde Y Su Pachangueros and later Benny Velarde Y Su Super Combo. As Velarde built a steady performance schedule and a string of recordings, he became an important mainstay on the Bay Area scene.
While Velarde’s time with Tjader sent him into the national spotlight, his work as a bandleader established him as an essential piece of the Bay Area Latin music scene. His work with the Super Combo would inspire a generation of musicians and carry Velarde into the twenty-first century. In Part One of our interview with percussionist and bandleader Benny Velarde, we looked at his early interest in music as a child in Panama, his first steps into music in San Francisco, and his audition for Cal Tjader. Today, we discuss Velarde’s time as a member of Tjader’s group, his work as a percussionist at the height of San Francisco’s Latin music scene during the fifties, and his emergence as a bandleader.
———- BENNY VELARDE: I started with Cal Tjader in 1962 or 1963; we started playing quite a bit. I played with Cal for almost four years, until around November of 1966 or 1967. The Blackhawk Club was our home base at that time. I remember Pete and Coke Escovedo coming to hear us. That’s when they started to form a group.
LATIN JAZZ CORNER: What was it like working with Cal? That was early in his exploration of Latin music – was it awkward?
BV: No, no, no. He was a good drummer too, aside from playing vibes. He had the knowledge about drums. The only thing that he didn’t know at that time was that Latin music is played with what we called clave. So I started teaching Cal about the clave, and he caught it right away. We were friends for a long time; I never had any problems with him. Actually, I learned a lot from Cal – how to be a professional, how to behave, and how to just concentrate on the music. I learned a lot when I played with Cal.
LJC: You formed another group after working with Cal . . .
BV: When Cal disbanded the group that we were in, we got called to play in a club that was opening at that time that was called The Copacabana. They heard about the Duran brothers and myself, so they called Manny to form a group. We called all the guys that were formerly with Cal Tjader to form that group at The Copacabana. It was situated on Broadway near Powell. I played there with Manny for a couple of years.
After we played there for a couple of years, Manny got called to play in another club, so he was going to quit The Copacabana. The owners of the Copacabana called me and told me that if I wanted to stay there and form my own band, I could stay. Of course, I grabbed the opportunity. That’s how I made my first band – it was called Benny Velarde Y Sus Pachangueros. At the beginning, it was just Benny Velarde. But that music called the pachanga started developing and people were into it. Then I renamed the band. I played there for almost ten years. I played there from 1960 until 1969. I was there and we were playing four nights a week – from Thursday through Sundays.
In those times also there were after-hours clubs that had you playing from 2 to 6 in the morning. I started playing in one of those clubs; it was called Streets Of Paris. It was on Jones and Mason, near Market. I would finish playing at the Copacabana around 2:00 and then we had a gig at The Streets Of Paris, starting at 2:30 and going until 5 in the morning. I had those gigs on the weekend; we used to play there Fridays and Saturdays. On Sunday afternoons, there was another dancehall in Oakland that was called The Sands Ballroom. They would hold tardeadas, bands playing in the afternoon, from 2:00 until 6:00 in the afternoon. There was a piano player from Mexico, his name was Chico Ochoa. He had a big band there and he called me up to play with him on Sunday afternoons. So I would be at the Copacabana from Thursday through Sunday, after hours at The Streets Of Paris on Friday and Saturday, and at The Sands Ballroom on Sunday afternoons.
LJC: You also did some studio work for Fantasy Records during the sixties – what were some of your favorite sessions from that time?
BV: I did a lot of recording with Cal Tjader of course. Then they hired me to do an album, which I did in 1964; it was called Ay Que Rico. It had a lot of the music from the Pachangueros. I also did a couple of 45s with different people. There was this guy that used to own a label and he wanted to record me on a long-playing record. He put a 45 out but when we were ready to start the long-playing record, he died. So we never got the chance to do it.
LJC: When did you form the Super Combo?
BV: After I finished playing at the Copacabana, I went to play at a club that a friend of mine used to own; it was called The Boogaloo. It was on Geneva Avenue, across from The Cow Palace. This friend of mine wanted me to play there and form a bigger band. That was when I first started with my big group; it was called The Super Combo. That became the name that I used through the rest of my life with the big band. I started playing with that band at this club called The Boogaloo.
There was another club that was called the Italian Village. It used to be on Columbus, by where Bimbo’s is now, a block before that. They wanted to compete with Bimbo’s, but they went broke. So they closed the club. Then this friend of mine that owned The Boogaloo, had to close his club on Geneva Avenue. He had problems with his partner, so they closed it up. Then they moved to the place that used to be the Italian Village. So we moved there with them and he hired us to play on Saturday nights. We used to play there on Saturday nights for quite a while.
LJC: You did another album in 1972 called La Clave that was more of a Latin funk recording – what was the story behind that?
BV: In 1972, I was also playing with a band at Cesar’s club. Cesar opened up a club on Broadway and Green Street. When we played there, this guy came over and he wanted to use Cesar’s band to record. But Cesar didn’t want to do it. So the guy talked to me and told me about it. He asked if I wanted to do it, and I said, “Yea, sure, why not?” I used some of the guys that were playing with me in Cesar’s band and we did this recording.
The recording was going to be promoted with this guy from Argentina that was pretty famous; he did a lot of music for movies – Lalo Schifrin. Anyway, he was supposed to be in this band and do this album. But they had a conflict of interests I guess, and he only played a couple of tunes on the album. They didn’t even put his name or anything on the album. When they released it, he wasn’t even finished with his part. They had to release it, because they needed to make some money on the album. I guess they wanted to at least put it out and gain back some of the funds that they invested. Lalo played a couple of tunes. We were actually booked to go to France, but when he had all these problems, all of that fell through.
Come back tomorrow to read the final piece of our interview with percussionist and bandleader Benny Velarde, where we’ll bring his career up to the present day, including looks at his album Viva Velarde and the San Francisco Latin music scene. Don’t miss it!
———- SUPPORT BENNY VELARDE IN A TRIBUTE CONCERT!
Velarde will be coming out of retirement for a special appearance with his Super Combo on June 29, 2011 at Yoshi’s Oakland. This performance will not only provide a chance to see a legend live on stage, but also an opportunity to help him out. The proceeds from the concert will go towards Velarde’s medical bills from a recent surgery. Come on down and help out Velarde by hearing a fantastic night of music! Velarde’s reissued classic Viva Velarde will also be on sale. BENNY VELARDE SUPER COMBO WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
When recounting musical legacies, history books show a partial picture, capturing major trends but neglecting the wider scene. We tend to associate musical movements with towering historical figures, but forget that individuals can’t create vast styles on their own. Every musical legacy has a hidden history, filled with names and faces that spent years working hard on their own artistic statements. Behind every major historical figure in Latin Jazz, there are countless musicians that filled their local scene with the evolving sounds. Sometimes these musicians found their way into society’s collective consciousness and sometimes they didn’t, but their stories all deserve to be heard.
Percussionist and bandleader Benny Velarde played a big role in the history of Bay Area Latin music over several decades, consistently creating strong music that sits both in and out of the history books. Born in Panama City in 1929, Velarde grew up with a declared love for music, despite a lack of professional musicians in his family. He heard Cuban music over the radio and soaked up the sound of the music scene around him. Still underage, Velarde regularly snuck in Panama City nightclubs to hear visiting Cuban bands, coming into contact with some of the island’s greatest musical figures. Despite an interest in learning the saxophone, Velarde’s family couldn’t afford lessons for him, but he continued listening intently. Velarde and his family moved to San Francisco in 1945, bringing him into contact with the music of Tito Puente, Machito, and more. Inspired to perform, he started playing percussion and soon joined together with a group of fellow high school musicians. Soon after graduation, Velarde’s reputation spread among the scene and he soon found himself traveling throughout the Bay Area to perform with Salvador Guerrero and Professor Cano. These opportunities led to more work around San Francisco, and Velarde soon joined together with pianist Manny Duran and bassist Carlos Duran in a regular gig at Ziro’s club. Looking to build upon his experience with Latin music, Velarde spent a year in New York soaking up the sounds of the scene. Upon his return to San Francisco, Manny Duran recommended him to established bandleader but Latin music newcomer Cal Tjader. The vibraphonist auditioned Velarde and soon invited him to join his band, raising Velarde’s profile and giving him invaluable professional experience.
Velarde’s early experiences with music etched a certain sound in his head, helping him become a valuable piece of San Francisco Latin music’s unwritten history. As Velarde became a member in Tjader’s early Latin Jazz group, his participation in several key recordings and performances solidified his page in the history books. In Part One of our interview with Velarde, we discuss his exposure to music in Panama, the beginnings of his musical career in San Francisco, and his transition into Cal Tjader’s Latin Jazz group.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You were born in Panama City; did you grow up around music?
BENNY VELARDE: Not exactly. I was born in Panama, and as a kid, I always loved music. In those times, we didn’t have television or anything; it was all radio. My mother would put the shortwave radio on to stations in Cuba. We would listen to a lot of music from Cuba and a lot of the musicians from Cuba would come to Panama in those times.
I’m going back to the time when World War II started; there were a lot of Cuban musicians in Panama because they were making money. I used to sneak in to see them when they were playing in clubs just to listen to them.
I still liked music and I wanted to play saxophone, but we didn’t have a chance because my mother didn’t have that much money. I started on percussion once I came into the United States in San Francisco. Then I started buying Tito Puente, Machito, and Tito Rodriguez records and the music from that time in New York. That’s how I got into music.
LJC: You mentioned seeing some Cuban bands in Panama, who were some of the bands that you saw?
BV: In those times, one of the biggest musicians was Miguelito Valdes. There was another band from Cuba that came to Panama quite often – Casino De La Playa. Another one was Sonora Matancera. There was another very famous singer, Orlando Guerra; he used to be called Cascarita. He came to Panama quite often. To me, Orlando Guerra and Miguelito Valdes were the two biggest singers.
LJC: Were there groups from around Panama playing as well?
BV: Oh yea, there were bands from Panama. There was one led by Armando Boza, he had a pretty good band in those times. There were quite a few good groups that were around.
LJC: Were they playing Cuban music?
BV: In those times, Cuban music was the one type of music that was mostly going around South America and Central America. Cuban musicians were the ones that had the most fame.
LJC: So you were interested in playing the saxophone . . .
BV: I wanted to study saxophone, but I didn’t get a chance; I didn’t get to go to the conservatory or anything because you needed money. The teaching wasn’t free. We didn’t have any money so I couldn’t do it. That’s why I started thinking that I would play a little percussion.
LJC: You moved to the United States in 1945. What brought your family to the Bay Area?
BV: We came to the Bay Area for personal reasons. My mother and father wanted to get a divorce. In those times, getting a divorce in countries like Panama or Costa Rica was a big scandal. That was the reason that we immigrated. At that time, I was fifteen years old and I didn’t have a choice to stay in Panama or come here. I was a minor, so I had to stay with my mother. That was the reason that me and my brother came over.
LJC: When you got to the States, you said you got into Puente, Machito, and the New York groups . . .
BV: The most famous ones that were happening were Tito Puente, Machito, Charlie Palmieri, and Tito Rodriguez. Those were the bands that I was listening to; there were other bands of course, but those were the biggest ones. I started listening to them in the late forties – 1948 or 1949. I bought the records that they were making, and I started listening to them when I was in high school on Mission Street.
We got together with some of the other Latinos that were there and we formed a little group to play. That’s how I started getting a little better on percussion instruments like bongó and congas. I started picking up those instruments. When I graduated from Mission High School, word got around and I started playing some gigs with that little group from Mission Street.
At that time in San Francisco, there were a couple of Mexican bands that would play what was known at the time as Latin music. I started playing gigs with a guy named Salvador Guerrero who was living in Berkeley and had a big band. They would hire me on weekends to play in places like Watsonville, Sacramento, Stockton, and stuff like that. I was in another band as well with a guy named Professor Cano; he was an invalid and he used to play saxophone. It was the same thing; I used to play all over with them. That’s how I got experience playing percussion.
LJC: So you were still a teenager playing on the San Francisco music scene in the fifties.
BV: Yea. I was studying at that time in City College.
In the fifties I started playing with a guy from San Salvador, his name was Alonzo Polio. He had a band in San Salvador, but he was living here is San Francisco. He had a job at a club called Jai Lai; it was a restaurant, but it opened as a nightclub after 9:00. He was working with a quartet when he heard that I played some percussion; so then he called me and asked if I wanted to play.
You had to be in union to play, because the union was very strong in those times. So when he told me about the gig, I went to the union. I went to join the union and I did. I started playing with him and we were there almost four or five times a week. I played with him for two or three years.
There were a couple friends of mine that started to bring a lot of attention to Latin music – the Duran brothers, Manny Duran and Carlos Duran. We formed a quintet and after I finished playing with Alonzo Polio, we started playing. There was a club in San Francisco called Ziro’s nightclub, it was located on Geary Street. There was also a club on California Street called The Weekender. The Duran brothers and I started playing at Ziro’s, trying to compete with the people that were working at The Weekender – a group with Armando Peraza. It was a competition between them and us. We did that for a couple of years, but then the club went broke or something.
LJC: Were there groups from New York, like Puente or Machito that would come out to play in San Francisco?
BV: Yea. The first one that came over was Tito Puente. He came over to a ballroom in Oakland.
LJC: The fifties was a golden age of Latin music in San Francisco – were there a lot of opportunities to play?
BV: During the late forties, there were the Mexican bands. There was a big band that played Saturday nights at a place on Valencia Street called Sapian Hall. It was a place that they used to rent on weekends to bands. This guy was playing here; he was one of the first ones that I saw, going to dances and stuff. During the early fifties, there weren’t many bands around that I remember.
On Broadway and San Francisco, there was a club called The Castleview – there was a Mexican piano player playing there, Pablito Molina; he had a quintet also. He was playing there four or five nights a week. Another local group that was coming up in the late fifties was Jeff Torres – he had a quintet also. Pete and Coke Escovedo, they also started having a group during the fifties.
I decided in the early fifties that I should go to New York. So I went to live in New York around 1952. I went because of the music – I wanted to see it and study it. I spent about a year in New York watching that. When I came back, that’s when Cal Tjader called me up.
Tjader was playing with George Shearing at that time. They traveled to New York and Cal went to The Palladium to hear Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez play. He got bit by the Latin sound. When he came back over to the Bay Area, he called Manny Duran because he wanted to form a Latin Jazz group. He thought that there weren’t any percussionists around. Manny Duran mentioned me so I auditioned for him and that was how I started playing with that famous group.
———-
Come back tomorrow for Part Two of our interview with percussionist and bandleader Benny Velarde where we’ll dig into his time with Cal Tjader, his groups with the Duran brothers after his tenure with Tjader, and his beginnings as a bandleader. Don’t miss it!
———- SUPPORT BENNY VELARDE IN A TRIBUTE CONCERT!
Velarde will be coming out of retirement for a special appearance with his Super Combo on June 29, 2011 at Yoshi’s Oakland. This performance will not only provide a chance to see a legend live on stage, but also an opportunity to help him out. The proceeds from the concert will go towards Velarde’s medical bills from a recent surgery. Come on down and help out Velarde by hearing a fantastic night of music! Velarde’s reissued classic Viva Velarde will also be on sale. BENNY VELARDE SUPER COMBO WHEN: Wednesday 6/29/11 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
Very few artists actually look at music from a completely new and unique perspective, so those individuals should be cherished. Most artists look that history of Latin Jazz, learn from the lessons of the masters, and take those approaches a step further. This approach certainly constitutes important work, and it has led to the overall progression of the style. This music that results from this approach is not completely new though, it is built upon the long history of Latin Jazz. The claim of something totally different can only be made by a select few that have seen the world through an individual perspective and expressed it with the aesthetics of Latin Jazz. These musicians stand apart from the crowd, and they deserve celebration.
Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal has spent the last seventy-five years turning the Latin Jazz world upside down with his innovative approach to the music. Born in Olho d’Água and later raised in Lagoa da Canoa, Pascoal spent his childhood fascinated with the sounds of nature. After spending years building instruments from natural and found objects around him, Pascoal followed his father’s lead, taking up the accordion when he was seven. He moved to Recife in 1950, and through an association with the popular accordion player Sivuca, he found work as a musician at the Jornal do Commercio Radio. During his time in Recife, Pascoal began playing piano, and by the time that he moved to Rio in 1958, he was performing consistently in nightclubs. Inspired to get further into his music career, Pascoal moved to São Paulo in 1961, where he joined the Sambrasa Trio with Airto Moreira on drums. By 1966, Pascoal joined Airto in the Quarteto Novo, playing piano and his newly found instrument, the flute. The group broke new ground in Brazilian music and became quite popular, with innovative performances and pieces from Pascoal. He joined Airto and vocalist Flora Purim in the United States in 1969, recording several albums that influenced both Latin Jazz and fusion audiences. At the same time, he captured the attention of jazz icon Miles Davis, who featured Pascoal on the album Live-Evil. Pascoal moved back and forth between Brazil and the United States over the next few years, recording several important albums as a bandleader, including Musica Livre De Hermeto Pascoal and Slaves Mass. Through these high profile albums, Pascoal’s reputation grew around the world, leading to performances at acclaimed festivals such as São Paulo’s International Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Pascoal performed regularly during the eighties and nineties, stretching his compositions to include pieces with symphony orchestra and the Som da Aura, music based upon the sound of the human voice. Always a constant source of creativity, Pascoal composed one piece every day between June 23rd 1996 through June 22nd 1997, which became the massive Calendario do Som. In 2002, Pascoal discovered vocalist Aline Morena, who became his collaborator in music and life, joining him on several albums and performances up to the present day. With decades of music behind him, Pascoal has contributed countless beauty and depth to Brazilian Jazz that the rest of the world is still trying to follow.
Pascoal celebrates his seventy-fifth birthday next month on July 22, 2011, marking a life dedicated to creating some of the most important and innovative music in Brazilian Jazz, breaking new ground at every turn. Whether you’re a longtime Pascoal fan or a newcomer to his music, take the opportunity to celebrate his work by listening to some classic recordings over the next month. In honor of Pascoal’s 75th birthday and his major contribution to Brazilian Jazz, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to the music of Hermeto Pascoal.
———- Hermeto Pascoal Performing At The Montreux Jazz Festival In 1979
Hermeto Pascoal Performing “Viagem” In 1986
Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo Performing “Fátima” In 1980
Hermeto Pascoal Performing “Irmãos Latinos” In 1999
Hermeto Pascoal In Duet With Aline Morena In Tokyo 2004
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Want more from Hermeto Pascoal? Check out these recordings below! Slaves Mass
———- CELEBRATE HERMETO PASCOAL’S 75TH BIRTHDAY BY PLAYING HIS MUSIC
Long time Pascoal pianist and historian Jovino Santos Neto has compiled an incredible gift to celebrate Pascoal’s 75th birthday – a free e-book with 41 scores of Pascoal compositions. There’s no catch here – this is a FREE DOWNLOAD of music to 41 of Pascoal’s compositions. Any musician with even a passing interest in Pascoal’s music should check this out, it’s a fantastic collection. Thanks to Jovino for compiling this amazing gift!
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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
NARAS continues to make the rounds with their Grammy Awards 101 meetings, a shallow attempt to explain their recent “restructuring,” an act that eliminated 31 awards, including the honor for Best Latin Jazz Album. This Tuesday, they will be in Lafayette, Louisiana, trying to explain why this year’s Grammy Awards won’t include a statue for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album. You can get the details on that meeting in a recent article from The Times HERE. After receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the DC Jazz Festival, pianist Eddie Palmieri held a press conference admonishing NARAS for their actions and calling for the return of these 31 categories – get the full scoop on that meeting HERE. For the latest information on the struggle to reinstate all 31 Grammy categories, including the Latin Jazz award, keep an eye on Grammy Watch.
The Capitalbop blog got a chance to check out Palmieri’s smoking hot set at the National Mall as part of the DC Festival last week, and they talk about it in a blog post this week. You can find it HERE.
NPR Music celebrated the first half of the year with a list of the year’s 25 best albums so far, a wide reaching collection of albums that includes contributions from jazz artists Gretchen Parlato and Ben Allison – you can check that list out HERE. In the much more jazz focused piece of NPR Music, A Blog Supreme, Patrick Jarenwattananon gave us his favorite 25 jazz albums from the first half of 2011, a list that includes Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!! from Bobby Sanabria & The Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra and Ninety Miles from Stefon Harris, David Sanchez, Christian Scott. Take a look at that list HERE.
As you can see in the new releases section below, Ninety Miles, a collaboration between vibes player Steffon Harris, tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, and trumpet player Christian Scott comes out this week. The album was recorded in Havana with some of the island’s top jazz musicians and fuses some of the best contemporary energy between the island and New York. In anticipation of this release, NPR has featured Ninety Miles in their First Listen feature, giving you the ability to stream to the complete album. This recording is a must-hear for 2011 Latin Jazz fans, an inspiring collaboration. So take the leap now and check this one out – you can stream it HERE.
Pianist Arturo O’Farrill took the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to Havana for the annual jazz festival last December, a fact that we’ve covered quite a bit, especially in our extensive interview with the pianist. The impact of that trip has long reaching implications though, from the underlying political message to the foundation of a new music school in Havana. NPR had another conversation with O’Farrill about the trip as part of their Weekend Edition show the other day, providing yet more perspective on the trip. You can listen to that interview HERE.
If you’re in CANADA this week . . . AMANDA MARTINEZ WHEN: Friday 6/24/11 WHERE:Palmerston Library
560 Palmerston Avenue
Toronto, ON
Canada TIME: 7:00 P.M. TICKETS: $10
HILARIO DURAN
Big Band With Special Guest Jane Bunnett WHEN: Tuesday 6/21/11 WHERE:Esplanade Theatre
401 1 Street Southeast
Medicine Hat, AB
Canada TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $25
WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:Eric Harvie Theatre
07 Tunnel Mountain Drive
The Banff Centre, Banff, AB
Canada TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $25
WHEN: Saturday 6/25/11 WHERE:Broadway Theatre
715 Broadway Avenue
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Canada TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $28 in advance; $33 on day of show
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ANNETTE A. AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS WHEN: Wednesday 6/22/11 WHERE:Tosca’s
4038 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, NY TIME: 7:00 P.M.
WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:Apt 78
4447 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 P.M.
WHEN: Friday 6/24/11 WHERE:Garden Cafe
4961 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 P.M.
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 6/26/11 WHERE:Birdland
315 West 44th Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
CHILCANO 2.0 WHEN: Saturday 6/25/11 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 11:55 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
CIDINHO TEIXIERA WHEN: Sunday 6/26/11 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m., & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
EDDIE PALMIERI WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:B.B. King’s
243 West 42nd Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30 in advance; $35 on day of show
ERIC KURIMSKI
With Sofia Rei Koutsovitis WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
GRUPO LOS SANTOS WHEN: Tuesday 6/21/11 WHERE:Chris’ Jazz Cafe
1421 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
JOHN BENITEZ
Latin Jazz Jam Session WHEN: Sunday 6/26/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
MILTON NASCIMENTO WHEN: Friday 6/24/11 WHERE:Rose Theater
Broadway at 60th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $120
NINETY MILES PROJECT
Featuring David Sanchez, The Curtis Brothers, and more! WHEN: Tuesday 6/21/11 WHERE:S.O.B.’s
204 Varick Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 P.M. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: $25
Featuring David Sanchez, The Curtis Brothers, and more! WHEN: Wednesday 6/22/11 WHERE:Rodney Square
11th & Market Streets
Wilmington, DE TIME: 8:00 P.M. TICKETS: FREE
PEDRO GIRAUDO JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Wednesday 6/22/11 WHERE:Jazz Standard
116 East 27th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
SAMUEL TORRES WHEN: Wednesday 6/22/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
SOFIA REI KOUTSOVITIS
With Eric Kurimski WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane Street
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
YOSVANY TERRY WHEN: Tuesday 6/21/11 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m., 10:30 p.m., & 12:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 with 2 Drink Minimum
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . EL MOVIMIENTO WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:The Listening Room
209 10th Avenue S # 200
Nashville, TN TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER, $5 minimum
JAMES SAUNDERS & CONJUNTO
Elkhart Jazz Festival WHEN: Friday 6/24/11 WHERE:Lerner Theater
410 South Main Street
Elkhart, IN TIME: 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $50
Elkhart Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 6/24/11 WHERE:Civic Plaza
Main Street
Elkhart, IN TIME: 12:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30
Elkhart Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 6/24/11 WHERE:Civic Plaza
Main Street
Elkhart, IN TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $50
PAULINHO GARCIA WHEN: Friday 6/24/11 WHERE:Katerina’s
1920 W. Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
WHEN: Sunday 6/26/11 WHERE:Little Bucharest Bistro
3661 N. Elston Avenue
Chicago, IL TIME: 7:00 p.m.
PONCHO SANCHEZ WHEN: Saturday 6/25/11 WHERE: Andrews Park
201 W Daws Street
Norman, OK TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . BILL CABALLERO WHEN: Thursday 6/23/11 WHERE:Voz Alta
1754 National Avenue
Barrio Logan, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
BRIAN ANDRES & THE AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ CARTEL WHEN: Saturday 6/25/11 WHERE:Disco Volante
347 14th Street
Oakland, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $5
WHEN: Sunday 6/26/11 WHERE:Park Chalet
1000 Great Highway
San Francisco, CA TIME: 2:00 p.m.
GILBERT CASTELLANOS WHEN: Wednesday 6/22/11 WHERE:El Camino
2400 India Street
San Diego, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
PACIFIC MAMBO ORCHESTRA WHEN: Monday 6/20/11 WHERE:Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
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A full time dedication to music is an honorable way for a person to spend their life, and their legacy should be honored at every turn. When an individual focuses their complete energy upon artistic growth and the extension of a musical tradition, they take the road less traveled, insuring a life outside the mainstream. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t always celebrate individualism, and the noble choice of a life in music generally doesn’t come with financial and social rewards. Although the majority of popular culture remains blissfully unaware, every musician that records and performs extensively does leave a legacy behind for us to enjoy. These legacies speak volumes about culture, history, and artistic forward motion, so it’s vitally important for people with a connection to these artists to find ways to keep their work alive.
Drummer and bandleader Bobby Sanabria has made a point of honoring the history of many important Latin Jazz masters during his career, while creating a memorable legacy of his own. His passion for history and great performance has filled him with an in-depth knowledge of the great Latin Jazz performers and their vast accomplishments. Sanabria’s knowledge doesn’t stay locked inside him though; he takes every opportunity to share this important information with the world. From the outstanding tribute albums Kenya Revisited Live!!! and Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!! to modern interpretations of the Latin Jazz big band on Afro-Cuban Dream … Live & In Clave!!! or Big Band Urban Folktales, Sanabria shows the world the beauty of the Latin Jazz tradition. His own legacy is deeply apparent through his work as an educator at both The Manhattan School Of Music and The New School. Through his work with both schools’ Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestras, Sanabria has shared an in-depth look at Latin Jazz with generations of young musicians. The young musicians that have graduated from his ensembles not only carry a connection to the past Latin Jazz masters, but also they hold the benefits of Sanabria’s knowledge, passion, and extreme musicality. Sanabria has created a reputation for excellence in his craft, built upon music that both honors the contributions of the past while looking into the possibilities in the future.
Sanabria’s legacy is intimately intertwined with the lessons of the Latin Jazz masters, and fortunately for the world, he proudly carries those lessons into the twenty-first century. On Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!!, Sanabria shows the power of those lessons, as he leads a student group – The Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra – through a set of Puente classics that shimmer with a vibrant modern relevancy. This is simply another step in his work as an educator though – a legion of modern jazz musicians are taking Afro-Cuban Jazz into the world based upon the depth of Sanabria’s teaching. In Part One of our interview with Sanabria, we looked at the impact of Puente upon his early life as a musician, the background of Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!!, and some Puente history. Part Two of our interview delved into Sanabria’s relationship with Puente, the lack of acknowledgement that he saw Puente receive during his time at Berklee, and the state of Latin Jazz in education today. Today, we talk about Sanabria’s work as an educator, the importance of Puente’s legacy, and more.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: Were most of the guys on the Kenya Revisited Live!!! album long time members of the band?
BOBBY SANABRIA: Yea, I had worked with them. It took me at least two years to get them to sound like that. I needed o get the drummers up to speed, playing the way that I needed them to play – aggressively and super on-point. Disciplined too. Jazz drummers want to keep a pattern and then they want to do fills. But in this music, they needed to stay on the time. Then I had to show them how to do a fill and keep it in clave, it can’t be just arbitrary fills. That was the key.
BS: Oh yea, I used to get e-mails all the time with students asking me to join the ensemble. They have to audition. It’s a very popular ensemble.
For me, it’s interesting to go across the country and see the growing interest at the high school and college level – and even on the junior high level – of band directors, attempting to teach this music to kids. That’s where someone like me comes in – I can coach them. I just did a thing with the University Of Wisconsin in Eau Clair Big Band -we recorded two Michael Mossman charts for a new album that they’re doing. It’s a great band, but they just lacked the experience in the style. We had to deal with the phrasing and everything else. They were good musicians though, so they were quick learners.
LJC: Do you find that it’s tough to get young people into Puente’s legacy?
BS: It’s tougher with younger kids, because they’re used to this technological society, where they see everything on videos. They have no respect for the history, which is unfortunate. That’s the way that they’ve been taught. They obviously only get to see one thing, which is rap and rock, unless they’re down south, where they get exposed to rap, rock, and country. They don’t have an appreciation for multi-culturalism, because they haven’t been exposed to it.
My generation was the last generation that got exposed to jazz in subliminal ways – cartoons or T.V. Shows. Listening to the theme from “McHale’s Navy” – it was written by Quincy Jones! The first time that I heard tensions written for brass was in the Johnny Quest theme!
LJC: I found it really interesting that you had the swing tunes on Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!!, which shines a different light on his legacy – what’s your take on Tito doing a swing tune?
BS: He was a jazz musician. He thought like a jazz musician when he wrote or he played timbales. Obviously, he tempered that with his knowledge of clave, but he thought like a jazz musicians through and through. Even when he was playing a swinging guaracha for dancers, there were always little solo spots for somebody. That comes from the jazz aesthetic. He tempered that in the early sixties and seventies, and then got back to it when he started the Latin Jazz Ensemble.
The creation of the Latin Jazz Ensemble was done out of necessity, to get gigs and get booked. It was kind of a happy coincidence. Martin Cohen talked to Tito about forming a small group to promote LP products through a tour in Europe and Japan. That was the impetus of it. The band for that tour was Potato, Johnny Rodriguez, a piano player, and a bass player – the band was called the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble. That was the beginning of it. That was the beginning of Tito touring in jazz festivals. The funny thing is that he should have been doing that already, but then again, it’s the same thing, the way that Latinos are invisible in this country.
It all goes back to my days at Berklee – nobody knew who Tito Puente was. There were two staff members who knew about Tito – Tony Texeira, he was Portuguese from Boston. He had played with Puente subbing as well as Xavier Cugat. He was a great jazz musician and a hardcore guy. The other guy was Keith Copeland, who was my mentor. What Mr. Williams was to Tito, Keith Copeland was to me. Keith Copeland was the protégé of Alan Dawson, who was responsible for the way that modern jazz drumming is taught today.
LJC: Now you’ve got a lot to pass onto your students today . . .
BS: I was very fortunate, because I was always the youngest guy in the bands that I played in. I would be with these hardcore older musicians that would be merciless. They told you right away if what you played stunk. A lesser person would have gone into therapy! I went through my own Vietnam, as did all my contemporaries, which was good.
Sometimes people think that I’m harsh with my students, but I temper my harshness with a lot of love. You can hear it on the recordings. I always get phones calls and e-mails after the fact – “Mr. Sanabria, thank you for everything that you taught me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but you were right. If I could get through you, I can get through anything!”
My students are out there playing with everybody now. Just look at Arturo O’Farrill’s Orchestra, it’s made up of some of my ex-students. Trombonist Tokunori Kajiwara and saxophonist David DeJesus (who also plays in my band, as well as the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra) – they both play in that group. John Koz is another one; he’s playing with Michael Buble in the trumpet section. Tenor saxophonist Ivan Renta was a student of mine at The New School. Kathy Rodriguez-Harrold is playing saxophone with Beyonce. Trombonist Doug Beavers was a student of mine at The Manhattan School Of Music. You know who was my first bass student at The New School, 18 years ago? Avishai Cohen. You know who was the piano player? Jason Linder. Isn’t Afro-Cuban music a big part of what they do now? They got that with me. The fact that they are great musicians, that’s all due to their talent and hard work, I just exposed them and guided them early on in their careers. My students are all over the place, I’m proud of all of them.
LJC: It’s interesting, because in the case of some of these musicians, you can hear the influence of Afro-Cuban music, but it’s not right in the forefront of their sound. Do you hear some of these musicians taking the mambo big band tradition and keeping them going?
BS: Jason has a big band that has some element of that. But no, these guys are not coming from that. They haven’t had the experience of playing for dancers, like I did when I was growing up. When I play in my quartet, my big band, or my nonet, there’s one underlying aesthetic. We could be playing the most avant-garde type of piece, but I want it to have the same power and intensity of a dance band. That means hard groove.
I hope that when people are listening to my music, they don’t think, “Bobby is into this retro thing.” It’s not that. Anybody that listens to Afro-Cuban Dream … Live & In Clave!!! or Big Band Urban Folktales, would see that thought is sadly mistaken. What I want to show is that these things are the foundation of today’s music. I also want to show how these things that are 50 or 60 years old – even older in some cases – and how they’re timeless. And how they can be redone in very creative ways, like what we did with the Kenya album.
With the Kenya album, it would be stupid to simply recreate that music exactly the way it was with the original charts. That might be what someone else would do. That’s what people thought that I was going to do when they originally heard that I was going to do the concert. When they heard the concert though and heard the music, they saw that wasn’t the fact. You hear the elements of the original piece, but then it diverts into this whole other thing. They’re incredible vehicles for jazz improvisation.
It’s the same thing with Puente. You’ll hear the subtle differences. In “Elegua/Chango,” the voicings are thicker and they’re more modern. I assigned the arrangement to baritone saxophonist Danny Rivera, who plays in my big band and just graduated with his master’s degree from The Manhattan School Of Music. He said, “What do you want me to do Bobby?” I said, “Just keep the essence of the piece and find a spot in there for the muted trumpet to play. But beef up the voicings. Puente only used four saxophones, so you’ve got an extra alto. There’s some extra note choices, so make them sound as massive as humanly possible.” You tell an arranger what you want, but you have to give them liberty, in terms of creativity. If you listen to the original version and the new version, they’re strikingly different. Why would you just recreate the whole thing the way that it was originally done, it’s just nostalgia. My aesthetic is to honor the past; don’t just remember it, but bring it into the future also. You can do that with a lot of different kinds of music.
The most magical musical performances can be exploding within a certain area, and sometimes the world stays blind to these creative miracles. Before the Internet catapulted us into the Internet age, one could attribute some of this disconnected musical knowledge to distance. It’s a musician’s job to know about great artists though, and one has to wonder how some oversights were made. Evidence points to the fact that some music was purposely ignored, for reasons outside of musical relevance. Now that we have access to a world of music at our fingertips, excuses for a lack of awareness simply don’t exist. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge and appreciation around some music still exists, as if things never changed.
Drummer and bandleader Bobby Sanabria experienced a blind eye to New York’s amazing musical scene when he attended Berklee College Of Music in the seventies. He grew up inspired by the jazz tinged dance music that was resonating through New York streets from artists like Tito Puente, Machito, and more. When Sanabria chose to pursue his musical studies at a higher level, he expected the musical community at Berklee to share his appreciation for New York’s master musicians. To his surprise, the name Tito Puente was completely unknown to his peers and teachers, and they simply lacked knowledge of Latin rhythms. His fellow students immersed themselves in the popular music of the day, such as Weather Report and Tower Of Power, building serious chops around these approaches. While Sanabria studied these artists as well, he kept his ears wrapped around Latin Jazz and salsa artists, going out of his way to build relationships with these musicians. Even at a young age, Sanabria was the expert, sharing his passion for Latin music with his peers. When a student developed an interest in Latin music, they would find themselves at Sanabria’s dorm, listening and discussing the intricacies of the music. Things have changed at Berklee over the years – there’s a thriving Latin music education program there now – but Sanabria’s experience at the time speaks a lot to the under appreciation of Latin music at has plagued our country for years.
Sanabria has dedicated himself to making sure young people are aware of New York’s Latin music legacy through his work at The Manhattan School Of Music and The New School, a fact evidenced on Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!!. This recording, and the previous release by Sanabria and The Manhattan School Of Music’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Kenya Revisited Live!!!, serve as models for the immense possibilities for Latin Jazz in education. In Part One of our interview with Sanabria, we looked at the impact of Puente upon Sanabria’s early musical life, the background behind Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!!, and details about Puente’s legacy. Today, we discuss Sanabria’s relationship with Puente, his experience with Latin music during his college years at Berklee, and the state of Latin Jazz in education today.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: It’s interesting that Tito was such a well-versed musician, but we have this image of him as a party musician.
BOBBY SANABRIA: Yea, and a clown. That was something that he did at the end of his life. I talked about that with him. I asked him, “Why do you do that? You don’t have to do that anymore. You don’t have to act like a clown.” He said, “Well, a lot of that comes from Gene Krupa.”
In the old days, when you soloed, especially as the drummer, you would sell the solo with facial expressions and things like that. Also, when they take a picture of you, they get a good shot. Whether he was sticking out his tongue or he had his hands twirling above him, they would get a good picture. When you look at films of the old jazz drummers, in movies and things like that, they’re always twirling sticks. That still continues today with heavy metal drummers – they’re twirling sticks while they’re doing double bass drum patterns.
It’s a form of entertainment. Beneath that entertaining that Tito would do though, is some heavy, heavy musicianship.
BS: A lot of people are asleep on that, but that’s one of the reasons that that album has become a cult classic, because of those duets that we do on there.
LJC: Tell me a little bit about how you built your relationship with Tito.
BS: I met Tito when I was a freshman at the Berklee College Of Music. He was playing at a place called The Harbor House, way out in Revere, Massachusetts, which was out by the Atlantic coast shoreline. You had to take a long train ride and a bus ride. No one else wanted to go with me from the dorm. I just went.
So I got there and I was watching the band. Jose Madera was in the band, Louie Bauza was there, and all those guys. I was kind of nervous, but somehow I summoned the courage to go up there and say, “Maestro Puente, could I sit in?” He said, “Sure, what do you play?” I said, “Timbales.” He goes, “Timbales?!?” Then he turned to the guys in the band and said, “Hey guys, guess what this guy plays? Timbales!” Then all in unison, they go, “Wow, timbales!” You’re talking about a bunch of road weary veterans. He goes, “Sure, come on up.”
They played a vamp or something like that, but I started playing and then I raised my hand with four fingers. The look on his face, you could see, he was thinking, “Wow, this kid knows what fours are.” Most Latin percussionists aren’t used to the idiosyncratic codes of the jazz world – trading eights, trading fours, trading twos, blues form, rhythm changes, etc . . . They’re just used to playing on montunos. So when I raised my fingers to signal fours, he knew exactly what I meant. He nodded his head in agreement and we started trading fours. I don’t know if it was good or not, but the crowd liked it and he liked it. Ever since then, we became friends. When I told him that I was studying at Berklee, he perked up, because it reminded him of himself when he was younger. In the audience at the time was Jose Massó, the great DJ from Boston. That’s how we became friends. When he got this album in the mail, he sent me a short little e-mail – “Remember the Harbor House?”
Every time that Tito would come into town, I would try to get guys to come see him from the school. None of the students there knew anything about Tito. My roommate in my sophomore year knew about Tito; he was Italian and he was from Long Island. His father was a tenor player, and his father knew who Tito was. His father was a jazz player. So my roommate knew who Tito was, but he didn’t know him as deeply as I knew him. We’d be listening in our dorm room, and he was into it. He finally came with me to a concert that Tito and Machito did with Sonny Stitt and Willie Bobo as guests at Symphony Hall in Boston in 1977. But he was the only one that came. I was going around to people in my dorm asking, “Hey, do you want to go to a Tito Puente concert?” People coming back with, “Tito Puente . . . he’s a singer, right?”
I was in that milieu in Berklee, I was kind of like a stranger in a strange land. I was the only advocate for this type of music. I remember one of my teachers told me, “Can you bring me some records?” He was the head of the percussion department. So I brought him Riot by Joe Bataan, Either You Have It Or You Don’t, The Sun of Latin Music by Eddie Palmieri, The Many Moods Of Tito Puente, and Rumba Caliente by Tipica ’73. It was like he had just landed on Mars, he had never heard anything like that before. He said, “Yea, this is some really cool stuff.” I was looking at him, waiting for him to say something else. He said, “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but this is some really cool stuff.” That was it!
It was funny, it turns out that when I went to Berklee, I was the sophisticated one. Here I am the kid from the South Bronx projects, and I’m thinking, “Oh man, I don’t know anything. I’m not worldly at all and I’m going to be meeting people from all different parts of the world.” But they knew nothing about my culture in New York. Everybody was into Weather Report, Tower Of Power, The Mahavishnu Orchestra – I was into that too, but they knew nothing about Tipica ’73, Puente, or Machito – absolutely nothing. So that was the beginning of me being an educator. It really was – people were knocking on my door asking, “Are you the guy with the Latin records?” I said, “Yea.” People were asking, “Can I come in and listen to some stuff with you?” So I’d sit there and explain the music to them; in my own primitive way, I’d explain what was going on.
It just goes to show you the lack of knowledge or ignorance in the general public to the world that we took for granted in Afro-Cuban based music in New York City at the time. In New York City, there were twenty or thirty clubs in Manhattan. All the outer boroughs had clubs, catering halls, dances thrown at churches, and more. You had about a hundred bands working constantly, which is pretty amazing. Some of them were at different levels, but you’re talking about bands doing three or four gigs a night, seven days a week.
I had a long extended lunch with Rene Lopez, the lay ethnomusicologist and historian, and Charlie Palmieri. I said to Charlie, “Charlie, nobody knows, the teachers, nobody; they don’t know anything about you, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, nothing. I’m talking nothing.” He looked straight at my face and said, “Listen kid, once you get past New Haven, Connecticut, on I-95, people start saying, Tito who?”
LJC: How do you see that comparing and contrasting to what you do at The Manhattan School Of Music and The New School today? People probably understand the music more now, but is there still an outsider mentality to it?
BS: Oh yea, of course. The difference now is that all the high school and college band programs are trying to get into it little by little. The problem is that the band directors don’t know anything about the music. Their job is to try to get the kids into the music as fast as humanly possible, so their teaching is flawed many times in terms of the music, the understanding of clave and its mechanics. You see it with some of these high school and college bands – the rhythm sections are atrocious a lot of times, or very weak. If they’re good, they lack that certain extra thing that makes them sound like a really pro rhythm section. That happens a lot too when they play straight-ahead jazz.
As each year goes by, kids today are more and more disconnected from jazz, because it isn’t part of the mainstream anymore. Before, when I was a kid, if I wanted to learn how to swing, I’d go to a nightclub. I’d go to a local nightclub and see a local band play – you might be lucky and see someone like Art Farmer playing with some local guys. They would be swinging hard and taking no prisoners. Now you can’t do that – you have to go to a jazz club where you have to pay a lot of money. You can go to YouTube, which can be a great teaching tool, but it’s different when you actually go there. Then you can ask the musicians questions.
The thing is, on the college and high school level, if you have experienced teachers that know the history of the music – that’s the key, knowing the history – then you can really get deep and get the rhythm section to sound the way that they need to in order to be the foundation for the type of ensemble it is, a small band or a big band. Once that is in place, then it’s easier with the horns. The horn players have great training on the college level, but their coming from the legato bebop feel and Afro-Cuban feel is coming from that rhythmically on point staccato and marcato feel – a powerful rhythmic drive type of feel. There are certain feels between bands and styles too. That comes with learning about the history.
You’ve got to get deep inside the music and really study it, really have the rhythm section on point. That was why the Kenya Revisited Live!!! album sounded so good. It took me years to get those guys to sound like that.
Come back tomorrow for Part Three of our interview with drummer and bandleader Bobby Sanabria where we’ll dig further into the making of Tito Puente Masterworks, Live!!! and the details of Puente’s legacy. Don’t miss it!
On Wednesday April 6th, The National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences announced a “restructuring” of The Grammy Awards, a move that included the elimination of the Latin Jazz Grammy. This unfortunate decision undermines the integrity of Latin Jazz and disregards its importance as a major piece of the cultural landscape in the United States. I would encourage all LJC readers to protest this decision and demand that NARAS reinstate the Latin Jazz Grammy immediately – you can do this by sending an e-mail to NARAS President and CEO Neil Portnow here – neil@grammy.com Get additional information and updates on LJC’s Support Page For The Latin Jazz Grammy.
You’re probably saying, “Who really cares? As has always been our history in this country, we’re lucky to get the crumbs and should be happy.” Right? WRONG!!!
The optimist would think, “Well, we’ve come this far, eventually we’ll get someone performing some music on the Grammy telecast that represents our “real” culture in one form or another . . . and didn’t Santana play a few years ago on the show?” But wait, it has happened before, way back in the ’80s and ’90s when Celia Cruz and Tito Puente appeared on the telecast. Linda Ronstadt shocked mainstream America by performing authentic mariachi music on the Grammy telecast and showing everyone she was proud of her Mexican heritage. Cuban Latin jazz and jazz piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba played piano on the Grammys. We were actually getting somewhere in terms of our musical contributions to this country being displayed in the music world’s biggest night, Grammy night.
As Frank Sinatra said at the first Grammy Awards in 1959, “Remember ladies and gentlemen, it’s about excellence, not popularity.” Following this mandate, the Grammys’ two previous Presidents before Portnow, Michael Greene (a former saxophonist with Frank Zappa) and Michael Melvoin (a jazz pianist and Sephardic Jew who speaks fluent Spanish) grew the Academy to 109 robust categories celebrating America’s musical/cultural heritage and diversity and brought the membership to an all time high of 28,000. Categories like Latin Jazz, Zydeco, Cajun, Hawaiian, Native American, Polka, Norteño, Ranchera, Classical, Contemporary Jazz, Traditional and Contemporary Blues and Gospel, Instrumental Country, as well as many others which were added during these two progressive-minded Presidents’ tenures and displayed our magnificence as a collective culture.
All of a sudden, on April 6th this year, NARAS sent out an e-mail blast to all of its 21,000 members (a 7,000 member drop, by the way, from previous years) telling us there was a major announcement about the Grammys and to follow the link they had posted. Guess what? They cut 31 categories, downsizing the awards from 109 to 78. All the categories I mentioned before and more, categories that celebrated this country’s incredible musical diversity, were cut. Over 70percent of these categories represent ethnic and race- based styles of music. Any human resources department at a major corporation would have recommended in the strongest of terms: don’t do this or you’ll have a torrent of protest from Black and Latino communities.
Third, the lives of thousands of musicians who have spent thousands of dollars on recordings, and the small record labels they either own or record for, in the hope of getting a Grammy nomination and possibly a win, are now destroyed since they can’t enter an appropriate category.
Add to that the purchase, instead of leasing, of a new office building to house the administrative offices, while rent of over half a million dollars yearly is still being paid on the building that used to house the old Grammy offices. Top this off with 7,000 members who have left the organization (a full quarter of the membership) as well as rumblings about certain Grammy chapter offices in various cities being closed, and one can see what may be the real reason these categories were cut. How quaint that the money is being saved by cutting out cultural diversity. I repeat, over 70 percent of the cut categories are ethnic and race based.
Persistence, dedication, and musicality are all important qualities that lend to an artist’s success in the music world. Individuals are never quite born with their musical tools in tact, and the stark reality of the art form exists – it’s a lot of work. While this fact persuades many people from digging too deeply into a musical lifestyle, it encourages others, who tackle the challenge aggressively. The road towards a life in music remains filled with challenges, requiring musicians to be completely dedicated to their task. While the benefits may not always be apparent, persistence and dedication builds into musicality, a trio of tasks that will serve musicians well. With these three qualities in hand, accomplishment and success will lie ahead in any musician’s future.
. The same year, Monasterios contributed two compositions and performed on percussionist Sammy Figueroa’s album 
. This album earned Monasterios some high honors, as it was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album in the 2008 Grammy Awards and led to an award from the Miami New Times naming Monasterios as “Best Jazz Musician.” Continuing to record and perform consistently, Monasterios recently released a new album, 
, which finds him exploring modern jazz through Latin settings. With more music simply flowing from his piano, Monasterios is growing into a leader with a distinct sound. /silvano monasterios unconditional.jpg)
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For better or worse, musicians that stay in the business over several decades experience a number of changes. In some cases, they get to experience the wide variety of talent that emerges and develops within their area and all over the world. They hear musical evolution and push their musicianship to follow the developments with artistic integrity. They become mentors, teachers, role models, and experienced veterans that help push the music into the next generation. At the same time, they see clubs close and opportunities fall by the wayside. Finances get better and worse, rarely remaining steady over the course of time. Sustenance through decades of musical work is peppered with the ups and downs of the music business; this type of perseverance needs to be recognized and admired.
, an exciting mixture of salsa and jazz. The scene thrived at times and withered at others, but Velarde’s expertise kept the Super Combo working regularly until Velarde’s retirement in 2008.
LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You had the Super Combo going and kept it going for over twenty years . . .
BV: In those times, during the seventies, eighties, and the beginning of the nineties, there were a lot of clubs that were hiring Latin bands. Then all of a sudden, the change came over. Some other bands started forming and these bands would play for almost no payment at all. They weren’t getting the money that we were used to getting. I kept going, and the clubs had to keep paying me the money that they were paying me. But a lot of bands that were starting at that time, they were playing for nothing. That’s why a lot of other bands that were coming around, that were good bands, they disbanded. All these other bands were taking over, and they were playing for less money than we were making. That made it difficult to play sometimes, because clubs didn’t want to pay me – I had my price and when they called me, they had to pay my price. The ones that ruined the business are the bands that are playing now that play almost for nothing. 
BV: The guy that started this thing was Chuy Varela, the DJ at KCSM. He came over to talk to me and he said that he wanted to do this concert in honor of me, for sixty years that I’ve played music in the Bay Area. He was the one that started all this. He should get all the credit, I didn’t even know that they gig was going to happen until he came over to talk to me and ask me if I was O.K. with it. That’s why this gig is going to happen, because of Chuy Varela.
will also be on sale.
Experience changes a young musician, and in many cases, it eventually turns them into bandleaders. Their early entries into music are all about exploration; they need to learn the fundamentals of music and how to work with other artists. Along the way, they find their way around the business of music and hopefully find a way to thrive in their chosen lifestyle. After a number of years, these pursuits become old hat and a musician needs other stimulation to keep them motivated. Some musicians might dig deeper into their artistry while others might seek new collaborators; in most cases though, they almost always end up in the role of bandleader. Experience necessitates this move, but it doesn’t guarantee success; longevity depends upon the individual.
, 
, and more. When Tjader changed in his line up in the late fifties, Velarde and the rest of his former Tjader and mates found a regular gig in San Francisco. By this time, the city’s Latin music scene had picked up, and Velarde found himself with a busy schedule, working a number of club gigs, dances, and after hours venues. He soon started leading his own groups, first heading up an ensemble called Benny Velarde Y Su Pachangueros and later Benny Velarde Y Su Super Combo. As Velarde built a steady performance schedule and a string of recordings, he became an important mainstay on the Bay Area scene.
BENNY VELARDE: I started with Cal Tjader in 1962 or 1963; we started playing quite a bit. I played with Cal for almost four years, until around November of 1966 or 1967. The Blackhawk Club was our home base at that time. I remember Pete and Coke Escovedo coming to hear us. That’s when they started to form a group.
After we played there for a couple of years, Manny got called to play in another club, so he was going to quit The Copacabana. The owners of the Copacabana called me and told me that if I wanted to stay there and form my own band, I could stay. Of course, I grabbed the opportunity. That’s how I made my first band – it was called Benny Velarde Y Sus Pachangueros. At the beginning, it was just Benny Velarde. But that music called the pachanga started developing and people were into it. Then I renamed the band. I played there for almost ten years. I played there from 1960 until 1969. I was there and we were playing four nights a week – from Thursday through Sundays. 
LJC: You also did some studio work for Fantasy Records during the sixties – what were some of your favorite sessions from that time?
LJC: You did another album in 1972 called 
When recounting musical legacies, history books show a partial picture, capturing major trends but neglecting the wider scene. We tend to associate musical movements with towering historical figures, but forget that individuals can’t create vast styles on their own. Every musical legacy has a hidden history, filled with names and faces that spent years working hard on their own artistic statements. Behind every major historical figure in Latin Jazz, there are countless musicians that filled their local scene with the evolving sounds. Sometimes these musicians found their way into society’s collective consciousness and sometimes they didn’t, but their stories all deserve to be heard.
BENNY VELARDE: Not exactly. I was born in Panama, and as a kid, I always loved music. In those times, we didn’t have television or anything; it was all radio. My mother would put the shortwave radio on to stations in Cuba. We would listen to a lot of music from Cuba and a lot of the musicians from Cuba would come to Panama in those times.
BV: In those times, one of the biggest musicians was Miguelito Valdes. There was another band from Cuba that came to Panama quite often – Casino De La Playa. Another one was Sonora Matancera. There was another very famous singer, Orlando Guerra; he used to be called Cascarita. He came to Panama quite often. To me, Orlando Guerra and Miguelito Valdes were the two biggest singers.
LJC: You moved to the United States in 1945. What brought your family to the Bay Area?
We got together with some of the other Latinos that were there and we formed a little group to play. That’s how I started getting a little better on percussion instruments like bongó and congas. I started picking up those instruments. When I graduated from Mission High School, word got around and I started playing some gigs with that little group from Mission Street.
LJC: Were there groups from New York, like Puente or Machito that would come out to play in San Francisco?
Very few artists actually look at music from a completely new and unique perspective, so those individuals should be cherished. Most artists look that history of Latin Jazz, learn from the lessons of the masters, and take those approaches a step further. This approach certainly constitutes important work, and it has led to the overall progression of the style. This music that results from this approach is not completely new though, it is built upon the long history of Latin Jazz. The claim of something totally different can only be made by a select few that have seen the world through an individual perspective and expressed it with the aesthetics of Latin Jazz. These musicians stand apart from the crowd, and they deserve celebration.
. Pascoal moved back and forth between Brazil and the United States over the next few years, recording several important albums as a bandleader, including 
and 
. Through these high profile albums, Pascoal’s reputation grew around the world, leading to performances at acclaimed festivals such as São Paulo’s International Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Pascoal performed regularly during the eighties and nineties, stretching his compositions to include pieces with symphony orchestra and the Som da Aura, music based upon the sound of the human voice. Always a constant source of creativity, Pascoal composed one piece every day between June 23rd 1996 through June 22nd 1997, which became the massive 
. In 2002, Pascoal discovered vocalist Aline Morena, who became his collaborator in music and life, joining him on several albums and performances up to the present day. With decades of music behind him, Pascoal has contributed countless beauty and depth to Brazilian Jazz that the rest of the world is still trying to follow./hermeto pascoal slaves mass.jpg)
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from Bobby Sanabria & The Manhattan School Of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra and 
from Stefon Harris, David Sanchez, Christian Scott. Take a look at that list /stefon harris david sanchez christian scott ninety miles.jpg)
A full time dedication to music is an honorable way for a person to spend their life, and their legacy should be honored at every turn. When an individual focuses their complete energy upon artistic growth and the extension of a musical tradition, they take the road less traveled, insuring a life outside the mainstream. Unfortunately, our culture doesn’t always celebrate individualism, and the noble choice of a life in music generally doesn’t come with financial and social rewards. Although the majority of popular culture remains blissfully unaware, every musician that records and performs extensively does leave a legacy behind for us to enjoy. These legacies speak volumes about culture, history, and artistic forward motion, so it’s vitally important for people with a connection to these artists to find ways to keep their work alive.
and 
or 
, Sanabria shows the world the beauty of the Latin Jazz tradition. His own legacy is deeply apparent through his work as an educator at both The Manhattan School Of Music and The New School. Through his work with both schools’ Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestras, Sanabria has shared an in-depth look at Latin Jazz with generations of young musicians. The young musicians that have graduated from his ensembles not only carry a connection to the past Latin Jazz masters, but also they hold the benefits of Sanabria’s knowledge, passion, and extreme musicality. Sanabria has created a reputation for excellence in his craft, built upon music that both honors the contributions of the past while looking into the possibilities in the future. 
BS: He was a jazz musician. He thought like a jazz musician when he wrote or he played timbales. Obviously, he tempered that with his knowledge of clave, but he thought like a jazz musicians through and through. Even when he was playing a swinging guaracha for dancers, there were always little solo spots for somebody. That comes from the jazz aesthetic. He tempered that in the early sixties and seventies, and then got back to it when he started the Latin Jazz Ensemble. 
The most magical musical performances can be exploding within a certain area, and sometimes the world stays blind to these creative miracles. Before the Internet catapulted us into the Internet age, one could attribute some of this disconnected musical knowledge to distance. It’s a musician’s job to know about great artists though, and one has to wonder how some oversights were made. Evidence points to the fact that some music was purposely ignored, for reasons outside of musical relevance. Now that we have access to a world of music at our fingertips, excuses for a lack of awareness simply don’t exist. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge and appreciation around some music still exists, as if things never changed.
BOBBY SANABRIA: Yea, and a clown. That was something that he did at the end of his life. I talked about that with him. I asked him, “Why do you do that? You don’t have to do that anymore. You don’t have to act like a clown.” He said, “Well, a lot of that comes from Gene Krupa.” 
LJC: You knew Tito; he was on 
So I got there and I was watching the band. Jose Madera was in the band, Louie Bauza was there, and all those guys. I was kind of nervous, but somehow I summoned the courage to go up there and say, “Maestro Puente, could I sit in?” He said, “Sure, what do you play?” I said, “Timbales.” He goes, “Timbales?!?” Then he turned to the guys in the band and said, “Hey guys, guess what this guy plays? Timbales!” Then all in unison, they go, “Wow, timbales!” You’re talking about a bunch of road weary veterans. He goes, “Sure, come on up.” 
I was in that milieu in Berklee, I was kind of like a stranger in a strange land. I was the only advocate for this type of music. I remember one of my teachers told me, “Can you bring me some records?” He was the head of the percussion department. So I brought him 
by Joe Bataan, 
, 
As each year goes by, kids today are more and more disconnected from jazz, because it isn’t part of the mainstream anymore. Before, when I was a kid, if I wanted to learn how to swing, I’d go to a nightclub. I’d go to a local nightclub and see a local band play – you might be lucky and see someone like Art Farmer playing with some local guys. They would be swinging hard and taking no prisoners. Now you can’t do that – you have to go to a jazz club where you have to pay a lot of money. You can go to YouTube, which can be a great teaching tool, but it’s different when you actually go there. Then you can ask the musicians questions. 
