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| Ray Barretto at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola -- located in The House of Swing, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall – presents conguero, bandleader and GRAMMY Award-winner, Ray Barretto, one of the most influential musicians performing Latin-jazz. Barretto is a groundbreaker and was the first U.S.-born percussionist to integrate the African-based conga drum into jazz. On his new CD, Time Was, Time Is (in stores September 13), Barretto takes Latin-jazz back to its roots while reflecting on how his past has brought him to where he is musically today. Showcased on more recording sessions than probably any other conguero of his era, Barretto continues delighting the world with his music! Holding down the After Hours spot is guitarist Ed Cherry, a first call musician, who was also the last full-time guitarist in the band of Dizzy Gillespie. For nearly 40 years, conguero, bandleader and GRAMMY Award-winner Ray Barretto has been one of the most influential musicians performing jazz with a Latin flair. His hard, compelling bebop style is classic jazz, yet he dresses it up with strong Latin and African rhythms. The first U.S.-born percussionist to integrate the African-based conga drum into jazz, Barretto was one of the early “crossover” artists in the genre and has performed and recorded with Gene Ammons, Lou Donaldson, Sonny Stitt, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Tito Puente, Red Garland, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey and even Charlie Parker for a short but crucial period. On his new CD, Time Was, Time Is (in stores September 13), Barretto is joined on this vibrant recording by Joe Magnarelli, trumpet/flugelhorn; Myron Walden, alto saxophone; Robert Rodriguez, piano; Sean Conly, bass; Vince Cherico, drums; and fellow percussionist Bobby Sanabria. To round out the classic tunes Barretto selected, he features one composition each from Rodriguez, Conly and Magnarelli, who co-wrote “A Caper for Chris” with Barretto. Two originals by Walden also are included. The striking musical fact about Barretto is that he came to Latin music through jazz despite his Puerto Rican heritage. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in Harlem and the Bronx, entertaining himself by listening to jazz on the radio. Somewhat restless, he joined the army at age seventeen and was sent to Europe, where he first came across the recordings of Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie, the early pioneers of the marriage between be-bop and the rhythms of the Caribbean. The music and his time in the army (as told in his liner notes to Time Was, Time Is) affected him strongly. After Barretto built up a solid reputation as a top rate studio percussionist he formed his first ensemble, Charanga La Moderna, in 1962, when legendary producer Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records asked him to form a charanga for a recording. Barretto’s long recording career had begun. By 1963 Barretto had been awarded a gold record for his huge hit, “El Watusi, ” which was influenced by the boogaloo. Known to be experimental, usually with great results, he released the psychedelic Acid, in 1968. Over the next decade, he became a member and eventually the music director of the famed Fania All-Stars, which included trombonist Willie Colon, vocalists Hector Lavoe and Ruben Blades, and pianist Larry Harlow. One of his albums with Blades, Barretto, was nominated for a Grammy. He won a Grammy in 1990 for a recording he made with Celia Cruz. In 1992 he formed his current ensemble, New World Spirit, which places a heavier emphasis on bebop jazz and has recorded frequently for the Concord label. The group released its third album, Portraits in Jazz and Clave, in early 2000. Barretto’s most recent CDs include Fuerza Gigante: Live In Puerto Rico (2004), and Homage To Art Blakey (2003). During this period, he performed with Eddie Gomez, Joe Lovano and Steve Turre among others. With the success of New World Spirit and his induction into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999, Barretto continues to refine improvisational jazz with the vitality of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, creating his own distinctive sound in the process. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |