#207 Sammy Figueroa- Percussionist for Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, David Bowie & Many More!
The photo of Sammy was taken by Daniel Azoulay.
This episode is sponsored by Dream Cymbals.
This week’s guest is Sammy Figueroa. Sammy has long been regarded as one of the world's great musicians. As one of the music's leading percussionists he has played on countless records and is well-known for his versatility in a multitude of musical styles. Besides playing with some of the world's greatest pop stars, such as David Bowie, Chaka Khan and Mariah Carey, Sammy has also played with a multitude of distinguished jazz artists including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, George Benson, and many, many more.
When Sammy plays percussion he tells a story, creating a playful conversation with other musicians and taking the listener on a musical journey . As one of the world's greatest congueros he is currently considered to be the most likely candidate to inherit the mantles of Mongo Santamaria and Ray Barretto.
Sammy Figueroa was born in the Bronx and raised in Puerto Rico, the son of romantic singer Charlie Figueroa. After many years as New York's number one percussionist, in 2001 Sammy relocated to South Florida. It was there that Sammy discovered a rich treasure trove of amazing Latin jazz virtuosos from Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, and was inspired to find his voice as a solo artist. Putting a band together with the best players in town Sammy Figueroa and His Latin Jazz Explosion debuted at the Hollywood Jazz Festival and since then he has never looked back.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to the late great Tony Williams. Anthony Tillmon Williams was an American jazz drummer. Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis and pioneered jazz fusion. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1986.
Gig Alerts
Play On is an all-star music event airing primetime on CBS at 8/7C on December 15, 2020 and simulcast globally on YouTube. The Event will be co-hosted by Kevin Bacon and Eve. Showcasing spectacular artists at legendary venues, PLAY ON is here to celebrate the things that unite us: good food, great music, and a powerful hope that a more just and equitable world is possible. Together, we’re investing in positive and lasting change in communities across America.
Social Soundbyte
Shout-out to friend of the show Jason Trueting, of So Percussion who played percussion, chord stick and drum kit on several tracks for the new Taylor Swift album “evermore”.
The song featured (where you can hear the chord stick) is “marjorie”. Marjorie is a song that starts really clearly with a chord stick pulse that goes throughout.
The chord stick is an instrument Bryce Dessner designed for his piece for So, “Music for Wood and Strings.” And Aron Sanchez of Buke and Gase built the instrument (so has a new single with them out now too).
Added bonus, Taylor Swift donates $13,000 to two moms who are struggling to make ends meet this year. -Article
The other Social Soundbyte for this week is a new album by (friends of the show) Pete Lockett and Randy Gloss called “Stones in the Yard”.
Educational Spotlight
PASIC is accepting applications for new artists for the 2021 convention until Jan 19th.
Product Review
A groundbreaking new app gives classical musicians access to an enormous library of interactive sheet music. And soon, it’ll also have the ability to listen to your playing and turn pages on time.
The Enote app, created by musicologists and AI experts at a Berlin start-up, aims to “improve musicians’ lives” by bringing centuries of music into an intelligent, quality format. -Article
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording for this week is “Encounter” by Gato Barbieri from his Che Corazón album.
Music News
Over the past couple of weeks, a handful of organizations intended to help and move forward the progress of musicians and other entertainment workers have been mentioned on the show. Adding another one to that list this week in the Touring Professionals Alliance. The Alliance was started by a group of like-minded Tour and Production Managers who joined together to find ways to help our touring families as they struggle with unprecedented financial and emotional hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are pleased to announce the Touring Professionals Relief Kitchen (TPRK), a partnership with The LEE INITIATIVE focused on providing meals to Music Industry Professionals this holiday season!
The LEE INITIATIVE is a non-profit launched by Lindsey Ofcacek and Edward Lee to address issues in the restaurant industry; drawing a similar mission to us here at the TPA, as both the restaurant & touring industries have experienced profound losses & hardships during this unprecedented time.
The TPRK’s first initiative will feed Music Industry Pros in the major music cities Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, & New York on Tuesdays & Thursdays out of partner restaurants. Each restaurant will distribute 200 meal boxes a night, with each box serving two people.
Other organizations previously mentioned are:
Be An Arts Hero is an intersectional grassroots campaign comprised of Arts & Culture workers, Unions, and institutions in the United States pushing the Senate to allocate proportionate relief to the Arts & Culture sector of the American economy. They have a letter to the Senators that you can sign to aid in getting support to the arts sector of the economy.
NIVA. The National Independent Venue Association’s (NIVA's) mission is to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent venues and promoters throughout the United States.
The Artist Right’s Alliance (ARA). They are an alliance of working musicians, performers, and songwriters fighting for a healthy creative economy and fair treatment for all creators in the digital world. They work to defend and protect artists, guided by our Artists’ Bill of Rights, which outlines fundamental principles for today’s music economy.
Music Covid Relief a resource brought to you by partners in the U.S. Music Community to help music professionals access information and applications to receive benefits made available by the CARES Act (Phase III of the Coronavirus Stimulus bill signed into law March 27, 2020) and the “Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act” signed into law on April 24, 2020. The website will be continually updated as we receive information. Please keep checking back for more state by state information as it becomes available.
New York Philharmonic musicians have agreed to accept a pay cut across the next four years, including a 25 percent reduction through the 2023 fiscal year. The 178-year-old New York Philharmonic, which was forced to cancel the vast majority of its planned 2020 performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recently announced the four-year-long deal. Higher-ups with the symphony orchestra, as well as six-year New York Philharmonic associate principal trombone player and head of the negotiating committee Colin Williams, have confirmed the agreement, under which musicians will earn $2,214 weekly (75 percent of scale) until August 31st, 2023. -Article
Google suffered a massive outage early this morning affecting several of its services — leaving YouTube down for hours. Other affected services included Gmail, Google Assistant, and Google Drive. All of the services were down for around an hour in the early hours of Monday morning. Google acknowledged the issues affecting Gmail at 6:55 AM ET in a tweet. The hashtag #YouTubeDOWN began trending on Twitter shortly after the outage was reported. -Article
Thanks to continued COVID-19 concerns, the Super Bowl 2021 Halftime Show may take place in a ‘bubble’ environment separate from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Perhaps The Weeknd should have picked the Grammy Awards, after all. Earlier this week, Digital Music News learned that the NFL is now considering a separate Super Bowl 2021 Halftime Show ‘bubble’ to minimize the spread of COVID-19 during the big game. The concept remains early-stage, according to sources on the musical production side, though details on possible bubble venues and pre-event quarantining logistics are currently under consideration.
The bubble would allow the NFL to isolate players, coaches, and attending fans from the considerable staff required to stage the Halftime Show. Typically, the Super Bowl Halftime Show features dozens of musicians, dancers, and other performers on stage, with a massive support crew managing lighting, filming, broadcasting, and other logistics. -Article
The song leading into the interview is “…And Sammy Walked In” by Michel Camilo.
Sammy Figueroa Interview
As a kid Sammy worked at Sam Goody in NYC. He met Herbie Mann and after sitting in on a gig and building a relationship, Herbie took him on tour.
Sammy was born in the Bronx, NY. but lived on Park Ave for a bit with Herbie.
Sammy had a list of credits that blossomed from playing the Montreux Jazz Festival and then returning to NYC and playing with other artists.
He recorded with Chaka Khan on “I’m Every Woman”. Miles Davis heard that and then wanted to hire him. Sammy tells the story of how his relationship with Miles began with the help of Teo Macero.
Sammy recorded percussion on the song “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie. He talks about how he got to that session by knowing and working with Nile Rodgers, Chic and Sister Sledge beforehand.
Sammy tells the story of working with Bob Clearmountain for David Bowie’s album.
Because of “Let’s Dance”, Sammy continues to get royalty checks from that song and album.
Damon brings up Michel Camilo’s album, “On Fire” and Sammy talks about recording with Michel in a band called French Toast before recording on the aforementioned “On Fire” album.
Sammy met (friend of the show) Robby Ameen at the Sam Goody store he was working at.
Sammy hosts a radio show in Miami that can be streamed worldwide. 88.9 WDNA The Sammy Figueroa Show.
The Gato Barbieri album that Marcos mentions is above as the iconic recording of the week. He also refers to the Al DiMeola album Tour De Force.
Sammy talks about the recording process for the Tour De Force album.
Sammy talks about how he ended up with the Brecker Brothers. He mentions the album Dreams that evolved into the Brecker Brothers.
Sammy always comes back to Pop/Rock as what he likes playing, and lists a bunch of artists he has worked with.
Sammy talks about his particular sound as what was desirable to other musicians and producers that helped him keep getting calls to different studio sessions.
Sammy talks about his time with Chaka Khan and Damon asks about Ain’t Nobody. Marcos asks about the recording sessions and Sammy talks mentions the producer Jimmy Douglass. He then talks about his shaker incident.
Sammy talks about moving from NYC to L.A. and then to Miami. Once in Miami, he made an album that got nominated for a Grammy (as well as being nominated the following year with the next album Sammy made).
Marcos ended up playing with Sammy because of Jose Claussell.
Sammy uses Pearl Drums and Percussion, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets and Sabian Cymbals.
You can follow Sammy on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The music Sammy is listening to currently is hip hop and rap. He likes NoName and Smino. He also mentions Phoelix and Saba. He enjoys the music coming out of Chicago in general. He talks about Louis Winsberg as well. Sammy leaves us with Jarrod Lawson.
Sammy has been wearing the Blocc face shield in his attempt to stay safe.
The song leading out of the interview is called “Cuidado” from Sammy’s album called ‘Imaginary World’.
