#87 Walfredo De Los Reyes Sr.- Cuban Master Percussionist
This episode came out on Damon's Birthday!!!! He was at Umass Amherst and was able to record a roundtable discussion with Thom Hannum, Colin McNutt & Ian Hale to be released at a later date. He just returned from the tour with Charlie Hunter as well as the DIY Musician Conference in Nashville where he was a featured speaker.
Damon will be celebrating his birthday with the Atomic Funk Project at the Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg for a special Prince vs. Michael Jackson show.
October 7th, Marcos will be having a benefit concert at The Acoustic in Black Rock (Bridgeport), CT. Stay tuned for more details coming in regard to that. Doors at 5pm, music starts at 6pm.
Gig Alerts this week. The Loft Party hosted by the Jazz Foundation of America.
This week's guest is Walfredo De Los Reyes Sr. He is a wealth of information and a master percussionist.
Music News this week..............
Five Productivity apps to help you get through 2018 and beyond. Robert Glasper calls out Lauryn Hill on the air. Then, Lauryn Hill responds to Robert Glasper's allegations.
The song leading in and out of the interview is "Es Diferente" by Walfredo and his All-Star Band.
Walfredo De Los Reyes, Sr. is an internationally renowned percussionist and drummer. Besides recording his own albums, he has recorded with artists in both Cuba and the United States such as Tito Puente, Rolando La Serie, Louie Bellson, Cachao, Alex Acuna, Tito Rodriquez, Chico O’Farrill, Jose Fajardo, Linda Ronstadt, and Steve Winwood.
Performing in Las Vegas for many years, Walfredo Sr. backed up performers Milton Berle, Wayne Newton, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Bernadette Peters, Rita Moreno, Juliet Prowse, Ben Vereen, and Dionne Warwick, to name a few.
Walfredo's father Walfredo De Los Reyes II, was a trumpet player with the Orquesta Casino de la Playa, which also featured Miguelito Valdés. Walfredo mentions Charanga, which is a style of cuban music. This is the YouTube and Spotify links to an Orquesta Casino de la Playa playlist.
Before there was the Casino de la Playa, there was the Los Hermanos Castro.
This is an example of the Conga (de comparsas) going down the street by Walfredo's house as a kid.
Walfredo ended up moving to NYC because of job opportunities for Miguelito with Xavier Cugat "The Mambo King". Miguelito was also a very close friend of Chano Pozo.
After moving to NYC, Walfredo attended the Music and Arts High School. More commonly known for its portrayal in the TV show Fame.
Walfredo says the "hang" for a lot of the latin percussionists was at the LaSalle Cafeteria which used to be located right near the Musician's Union around the corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Stephen Colbert Show is filmed (you can get free tickets).
Miguelito's band in NYC had percussionists Little Ray Romero and Manny Oquendo. This is the VIDEO referred to with Giovanni Hidalgo, Changito and Little Ray. The Oscar Valdes that Walfredo talks about was a member of Irakere and a mentor to him as well as learning from "Patato".
Walfredo refers to Arsenio Rodriguez as being the Count Basie of Afro-Latin orchestras. He also notes the simplicity of the conga playing.
Some of the artists to check out with mixing Latin and Jazz would be Machito, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Chico O'Farrill with Buddy Rich. Here is a SPOTIFY PLAYLIST of Machito with Charlie Parker, Chico O'Farrill and Buddy Rich.
This interview ends with Walfredo mentioning Steve Berrios being influenced by Elvin Jones.
