Tito Puente: A Fifty-Year Retrospective

USA: Tito Puente: A Fifty-Year Retrospective of ‘El Rey’ April 20 - 22, 2017 Hostos Center… https://t.co/qR45TTeFgj

— JazzWorldQuest (@JazzWorldQuest) 7 de março de 2017

Tito Puente: "Quatro"

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

Over the years, Tito Puente's Latin-jazz albums for RCA have been in and out of print. The 2001 Complete RCA Recordings, Vols. 1 and 2 (6 CDs each) are going for hundreds of dollars each—if you can find them. Now, to celebrate the late percussionist-bandleader's 90th birthday, RCA has released Tito Puente, Quatro: The Definitive Collection—a box that features four of his most dynamic albums for the label remastered on four CDs plus a fifth with bonus material from the sessions.

The music not only documents Puente's rhythmic mastery and passion for section precision but also reflects the enormous cultural contribution made by  New York's sizable Puerto Rican community in the '50s.   

Puerto Rico was transferred over to U.S. control after the Spanish-American War of 1898, which all but ended Spain's run as a Caribbean colonizer. In March 1917—to ensure America's claim to the island was unmistakable during growing global tensions—the U.S. granted citizenship to all residents of the protectorate. Two months later, when Congress passed the Selective Service Act, about 20,000 Puerto Ricans were drafted during World War I.

Citizenship also meant the ability to migrate freely to the U.S. But for the next 30 years, most Puerto Ricans remained on their native island, since sufficient work could be found in the country's expansive sugar-cane economy.

But after World War II, Puerto Rico's economy shifted from agrarian to manufacturing for export as new markets opened—thanks to a government policy known as Operation Bootstrap. In the process, the population began shifting en masse to the cities as new industries and better-paying jobs emerged.

As the island's population grew and costs climbed, there weren't enough better-paying jobs to meet demand, and younger Puerto Ricans saw opportunity in the U.S, in New York where previous generations had settled. The migration was significant. Relocation to the U.S. from the island averaged only 1,800 annually between 1930 and 1939, but from 1950 to 1959, the migration rate jumped to 43,000 yearly. [Photo above taken in Puerto Rico by Louise Rosskam]

Puente was born in New York in 1923 to parents who had migrated in the first wave soon after the island's change of legal status in 1917. He served in the Navy in World War II, and the G.I. Bill enabled him to study for free at Juilliard. In the late '40s and throughout the '50s, Puente recorded extensively, and his music was embraced by Puerto Rican emigrees—particularly those living in Spanish-Harlem and the Bronx.

With the advent of the 12-inch LP in the mid-'50s along with the mambo and cha-cha-cha, the number of Latin dance halls in New York grew—arousing greater interest in Latin-jazz by a swelling population of Puerto Rican and non-Latin teens. Puente was signed to RCA in 1956 and began recording extensively for the label.

The results included four dynamic albums that brought the sound of New York's ballrooms like the Palladium into homes—turning his LPs into house-party favorites. Interest also spread as Jewish families spent summers in the Catskill Mountains north of the city and bands like Puente's appeared there. House bands at resorts that were made up of New York musicians were soon being asked by dancers to play mambos and cha-cha-chas.

The four heat-seaking albums in this RCA box are Cuban Carnival (1956), a Latin-jazz opus that emphasized frenzied percussion and horns; Night Beat (1957), which leaned into jazz a little more with Doc Severinsen on trumpet; Dance Mania (1958), a tribute of sorts to the Palladium and the fiery beats and competitive steps developed on the dance floor; and Revolving Bandstand (1960), featuring two bands in one studio—Puente's with a Latin rhythm section and trombonist Buddy Morrow's, with a jazz section. The bands were arranged to exchange ideas in thier respective idioms.

The fifth CD features worthy alternate takes—including takes #1 through #7 of Pa' Los Rumberos from Cuban Carnival. The song's evolution here, complete with false starts, illustrates just how tough this music was to get right—even for seasoned pros.

I'm not sure why RCA didn't choose to remaster and better organize Tito Puente: Complete RCA Recordings from 2001. When originally released, the two box's notes had missing or incomplete personnel listings and there was an overall lack of crisp organization. Perhaps Sony will re-issue all of the Puente RCA material as part of its ongoing series of complete box sets. If so, I'll let you know.

Nevertheless, by listening to these four remastered albums one after the next plus the bonus material, you witness Puente's ascension in the Latin-jazz movement as it shifted from exotica in the mid-'50s to impossibly complex music—putting the band on par with contemporary orchestras led by Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson. And if you close your eyes, you might even imagine immaculately dressed couples moving sensually around the dance floor, inventing new steps to Puente's hypnotic and unforgiving percussion and brass.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Tito Puente, Quatro: TheDefinitive Collection (RCA), a five CD set, here. 

JazzWax clips: Here are samples from the new box...

From Cuban Carnival....

Cha-Cha-Cha De Pollos

From Dance Mania...

Varsity Drag

From Revolving Bandstand...

The Continental

Used with permission by Marc Myers

Tito Puente: 'El Rey'

on December 10, 2008
A dynamic percussionist, veteran bandleader, masterful arranger and an irrepressible showman, Tito Puente Sr. is forever remembered as El Rey — the King of Latin Music. In more than 50 years of fusing American jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, Puente was central to the ongoing popularity of Latin music in the U.S.

Puente was born and raised in "El Barrio" of East Harlem, a Manhattan neighborhood infused with the rhythms of its Puerto Rican and Cuban population. Though influenced by the culture that surrounded him, his childhood musical aspirations were also informed by the big band swing of Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey on the radio. Though Puente studied piano, he was quickly drawn to percussion, much to the annoyance of his neighbors; their complaints eventually convinced Tito's mother to send him to drum lessons.

Just as Puente was attempting to integrate Afro-Cuban rhythms with the popular music of the era, the big bands of the early '40s were growing interested in the "Spanish tinge," incorporating congas, bongos and timbales into their ensembles. Fortunately for Puente, he grew up among members of Machito's orchestra, one of the first groups to successfully hybridize jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. When the drummer of the Machito Orchestra was drafted during World War II, Puente got his big break playing timbales. During his two-year stint with Machito, he developed his characteristically flamboyant style, convincing the bandleader to move the timbales to the front of the orchestra so Puente could play and dance at the same time.
AFP/Getty Images Tito Puente, performing in 1983.


After serving time in the U.S. Navy, Puente attended The Julliard School under the GI Bill. At the same time, the Mambo and the Cha-Cha-Cha were sweeping the dance clubs of New York City. This was especially true in a midtown venue called the Palladium Ballroom, where Tito Puente's first bands often headlined. Fortuituously, the Palladium was also located near important jazz venues like Birdland. Often, jazz musicians from nearby clubs sauntered over to check out the still-unfamiliar Latin rhythms, fostering an exchange of ideas between bebop practitioners and Latin musicians such as Puente.

With early hits as "Ran Kan Kan" and "Para Los Rumberos," Tito often stirred the Palladium to a frenzy. But even as early as the late '50s, Tito was more than just a dynamic performer. His groundbreaking series of percussion-only albums demonstrated his profound capacities as an arranger and his revolutionary talent as a musician. Puente continued to fulfill that promise throughout his career, continually expanding the boundaries of Afro-Caribbean music in a huge and diverse discography.

Puente continued to play with incomparable enthusiasm and vigor until 2000, when he died of complications following a heart attack. He was 77.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98051981

Five Legends of Latin Jazz

Frank "Machito" Grillo was a singer and maracas player from Cuba who moved to New York after traveling there while on tour with a Cuban ensemble. Soon he began leading his own band, the Afro-Cubans, who performed Cuban songs that were arranged by American jazz composers. The Afro-Cubans became one of the foremost Latin jazz ensembles in history, and featured the top jazz artists of all time, including Dexter Gordon and Cannonball Adderley. Machito's large ensemble setting of Latin jazz is upheld by the Machito Orchestra, led by his son Mario, and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. Read my profile of Machito, one of the fathers of Latin jazz.

Mario Bauzá developed his trumpet skills in Cuba, and learned the subtleties of jazz in New York City. His collaborations with the great Latin musicians, including his brother-in-law Machito, as well as the top bebop musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, lit the fuse for an explosion of Latin jazz in the 1940s and 50s. Read my profile of Mario Bauzá.

Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Tito Puente aspired to be a dancer until he injured his leg as a boy. Inspired by jazz drummer Gene Krupa, he began to study percussion, and soon became the most famous timbales player on the scene. Puente's talent and charisma as a performer allowed his orchestra to become the preeminent Latin jazz group. Read Tito Puente's full profile.

Ray Barretto learned to play percussion on the head of a banjo while stationed in Germany as a U.S. soldier. It was then that he decided to devote his life to music, and upon returning to New York, he became one of the most sought after conga players. As a bandleader he won the hearts of Latin music and jazz audiences. Read my full profile of Ray Barretto.

Eddie Palmieri began his music career as a drummer. When he switched to piano, he kept a percussive approach, and incorporated the harmonies of Thelonious Monk. This made his band, which famously included two trombones, one of the most hard-hitting and experimental Latin jazz small groups around. Read my profile of Eddie Palmieri.
http://jazz.about.com/od/introductiontojazz/tp/Five_Latin_Jazz_Legends.htm