One of the cool things about jazz is that percussionists can front their own band instead of playing in relative anonymity. Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa and others were all band leaders whose forte was hitting things with other things. and so is our featured artist in this week’s Jazz for Nonbelievers: the great Tito Puente.
Back in 1981, Bill Murray’s character in Stripes warned that one day Tito Puente would no longer be with us and sadly in 2000 Tito passed away at the age of 77.
His parents were native Puerto Ricans living in New York City where Ernesto Antonio “Tito” Puente was born. Tito grew up primarily in Spanish Harlem. He served in the United States Navy aboard the escort aircraft carrier U.S.S. Santee for three years (and nine battles). His military service allowed him to study music at Julliard under the G.I. Bill.
Stripes isn’t Tito Puente’s only brush with pop culture. He has appeared in feature films such as Armed and Dangerous and The Mambo Kings. He was even a suspect in the “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” episodes of The Simpsons. His pop culture (non-jazz pop culture) presence grew in 1970 when Santana hit with “Oye Como Va” on the album Abraxas. Tito Puente composed and originally recorded that song in in 1963.
His son Richie Puente was the percussionist for the 70s Latin Funk band Foxy whose biggest hit was Get Off.
Ever since I stumbled across my first Arturo Sandoval CD, I’ve been a huge fan of Latin or Afro-Cuban jazz. The intricate percussion work coupled with the unapologetically in-your-face brass makes every song a party. The music just moves. Tito Puente was one of the pioneers of that style on the New York scene. Later his music was often classified as salsa. Save the salsa for your corn chips. Tito Puente was a jazz man.
All his music had a Latin flair but he recorded many of the jazz classics and played with many of the big names in jazz. In addition to being the King of the Timbales, Puente also knew his way around the marimba and vibes. I’ve tried to build this playlist to include all of Tito’s talents.
- A Tale of Revenge That May Have Inspired The Statue of Liberty - February 6, 2019
- Tom McGuire & the Brassholes’ Debut Album Body-Slams You With Glaswegian Soul - February 1, 2019
- Monday Mop Up: Explosive West Coast Funk from ORGŌNE, Irish Country, Cannibal Rockers, and some Wunderkinds - January 28, 2019
