#310 Marcos Torres- Percussionist, Producer, Educator and More!
Photo of Marcos taken by Augusto Vasquez.
This week’s guest is Marcos Torres. A versatile percussionist, producer, and Grammy Award-Winning engineer, Marcos has been at the forefront of creating a fresh new sound within the Salsa genre for over a decade. His respect for the tradition and trajectory of this music, as well as his love and knowledge of Hip-Hop, R&B, and aptitude for sound curation as a whole, have led to him to help push the boundaries of the genre as we know it today.
Born into a musical family of Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage, Marcos was gifted a bongo at the age of three, and never looked back. He has since turned into one of his generation’s most respected and sought after percussionists, performing with salsa superstars La India, Tito Nieves, Ismael Miranda, Jerry Rivera, Obie Bermudez, and the legendary Issac Delgado among many others.
He is currently working out of New York City in varied roles as a percussionist, producer and engineer with rising artists from across Latin America including Jeremy Bosch, Fer Casillas, Tania Matus and Flaco Navaja.
The song leading into the episode is “De La Fria a La Caliente” by the Buena Vibra Sextet from the ‘Flor De Verano’ album.
Damon and Marcos talk about how the podcast was created.
Marcos explains why (and when) he stepped away from the podcast full time.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Marcelo Woloski! Marcelo is a 2 time-Grammy and Latin Grammy winning multi-percussionist, producer and composer. His broad array of sounds, versatility, masterful skill, charismatic personality and creativity has made him the to-go person for recording artists, producers and arrangers throughout the globe. As described by Journalist Raul Da Gama Woloski is a musician and percussion colourist who employs an enormous aural palette to express himself.
Currently based in beautiful Barcelona, Berklee College of Music graduated percussionist was based in New York City for 12 years becoming a regular member, recording multiple albums, and touring the world with groups like Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda, and the group of Sofía Ribeiro.
Voted “Percussionist of the year 2017” by Bateristica Magazine and “Most creative performer” by Sala Musik Festival 2020, Woloski’s performing and recording credits include Susana Baca, Ruben Blades, Marta Gomez, Laura Mvula, Paquito D’Rivera, Becca Stevens, Lalah Hathaway, Chris Potter, and The Kronos Quartet among others.
Marcelo’s work as a composer can be heard on his debut album Mundo Por Conocer, which features 27 musicians from 12 different countries, as well as his songs Palermo and Bardis released by Snarky Puppy, and his Mini-documentary about racial justice “Justice Now” (shown at 1927 Art Gallery - Athens,Greece - 2021).
Happy Birthday to Jhair Sala! Jhair is a world-class and in-demand percussionist who regularly performs with the Pedrito Martinez Group. Sala’s unique style represents a new-school approach to Afro-Peruvian and Afro-Cuban musical styles.
When the Peruvian-born Jhair Sala was barely three-years-old, he sat with his father beating on wooden boxes known as cajons. At that tender age, Sala’s inherent percussive talents were pushing through. His family moved to New Jersey when he was six, and his passion for percussion continued to grow.
Jhair Sala's first teacher was Lucho Gomez, who taught him proper finger, hand, and palm techniques for cajon and other percussion instruments. During his teens, he performed with his mother's band on The Mariela Valencia Show, which gave him an opportunity to travel all over the world and absorb a variety of cultures and musical traditions.
Once settled in the USA, Jhair Sala had the opportunity to study percussion with his idol, Pedrito Pablo Martinez. Under Martinez’s guidance, he absorbed Cuban music and gained fluency on congas, bongos, timbales, and Bata. Subsequent lessons with Roberto Chino Bolaños readied him for his first significant American appearance.
Performing with the group Kambalache Negro, Jhair Sala revealed a unique perspective on soloing and grooving. His career took off and he began performing with bands and artists that include: Desmond Child, Patience Dabany, Hector Tricoche, Andy Montañez, Pedrito Pablo Martinez, Justo Betancourt, Xiomara Laugart, Brenda K. Star, Osmany Paredes, Jimmy Bosch, Adalberto Santiago and Ismael Miranda, Nino Segarra, Raulin Rosendo, Paquito Guzman and many others.
Jhair Sala gained a reputation as a first-call accompanist. One of his first recording collaborations was with Mongo Santamaria's oldest daughter, Ileana, who produced the album I Know What I Want. Sala’s session credits also includes albums with Patience Dabany, Osmany Paredes, Edmar Castañeda, Mariela Valencia, Kambalache Negro,Ropa Vieja, Afrodita, Yerba Buena, and Ibboru, among others.
Jhair Sala is comfortable in all Latin genres, attributing his versatility to a close study of such masters as Pedrito Martinez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Little Johnny Rivero, Paoli Mejias, Karl Perazzo, Chino Bolanos, Mariela Valencia, Carlos Sala, Lucho Gomez, and Juanchi Vasquez.
Happy Birthday to Brad Dutz! Brad has been a fixture of the Los Angeles music scene since his arrival in 1982. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader, Dutz has recorded 34 albums under his own name and appears on countless others as a sideman. Twenty albums feature Dutz’ compositions exclusively. Dutz is equally at home in jazz, classical, traditional, and avant-garde styles; he brings virtuosity and artistry to all musical situations, regardless of size, function, or genre. Trademarks of Dutz’ style include mastery of a vast array of percussion instruments, eclectic influences from experimental jazz to folk music from across the globe, and unexpected ensembles of high-level virtuosos in his community.
Happy Birthday to Andy Smith! Andy is a Musician, Educator, and Composer, He is recognized internationally, having enjoyed a diverse career for over two decades. His recent projects include CD recordings, Finally Here with Angel Roman and Mambo Blue, and Transparency featuring Latin Jazz group Batuquê Trio (batuquetrio.com). Andy’s recent compositions include: Vento no Ritmo (Wind in Rhythm) for flute trio with leg rattles commissioned by Deanna Hahn-Little; Fora da Caixa, an experimental graphic score for percussion trio; Two Maracatu for Drum-set Duo (a popular youtube video features Andy with drummer Marcus Finnie); and Brazilian Suite for Tambourines, premiered at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 2017 will include new works for 10-Can Percussion and Caixa Trio.
Gig Alerts
The Southern Percussion Ensemble, led by (friend of the show) Tim Greene, is having auditions for the ensemble.
Scary Pockets with David Ryan Harris and Ariel Posen will be touring this coming spring. Get your tickets when they come to your area! Friend of the show, Rob Humphreys will be playing drums on this tour.
Marcos and Damon shout out their respective upcoming gigs.
Educational Spotlight
The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) is accepting applications for interested parties to present or perform for next year’s convention.
Iconic Recording
Marcos picked out the album, ‘Vortex’ by Eddie Palmieri. Damon picked the tune, “Whirlwind”.
Music News
The first article talks about merch splits. Merch splits at bigger clubs and arenas might come with staff to work the merch tables and handle inventory, but bands in smaller spaces either sell the merch themselves or hire their own seller. Sometimes the venue doesn’t even provide a table or lighting.
“I am a-OK with someone getting paid for a day’s worth of work,” Barham says. “So if there’s people who are actually earning that 20%, awesome, fantastic. I want them to get paid and they deserve to get paid out of the stuff they sold.” -Article
Friend of the show, Ari Herstand, put out a video on what the touring landscape looks like, post-pandemic.
Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary are continuing to grapple with congressional scrutiny (and fan pushback) following the much-publicized Eras Tour ticketing fiasco, as lawmakers are now demanding a “staff briefing” with the company. -Article
According to Ticketmaster, an ‘unprecedented‘ number of fake tickets were scanned at the event. That caused their systems to become overwhelmed, which led to hundreds of actual ticket holders being told their tickets were counterfeit. Angry fans who were denied entry began trying to climb stadium fencing and were detained by security. -Article
Marcos Torres Interview
The song leading into the interview is “Acercate” by Jeremy Bosch.
Marcos has been recording on and producing Jeremy Bosch’s new forthcoming album.
He also talks about working with friend of the show, David Rivera.
Marcos talks about some of the transitions he made during 2020 and into 2021.
Marcos talks about the various types of self care he tried and talks about what worked for him.
Tai-chi was the one that worked best. Yoga was a close second. Meditation was on that list too.
Damon mentions that mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes and some states are legalizing it.
Marcos performed at the Blue Note with the group Sonido Solar. You can get the NEW ALBUM HERE.
Marcos talks about some of the guests at the Blue Note.
Marcos talks about approaching different genres as a percussionist, as well as being secure in your own playing.
Marcos defines “serving the song” with Damon’s help.
Damon mentions the interview with J.J. Johnson and ways to think about groove.
Marcos talks about a few of the ensembles that Luisito Quintero leads/plays in.
Marcos talks about how important Robert Vilera was to him. He also mentions his extensive credits.
Marcos talks about future plans. Specifically music for healing or sound therapy and even Reiki energy healing.
Damon talks about how (friend of the show) the late “Doc” Gibbs was involved in that as well.
Marcos talks about some of the musicians he is in the middle of working with from Gonzalo Grau, David Rivera and even Flaco Navaja.
Marcos uses Latin Percussion instruments, and shout-out to all the friends that let him borrow instruments.
You can follow Marcos on Facebook and Instagram.
Shout-out to Ernesto Diaz and friend of the show Eguie Castrillo. Props to the Berklee College of Music community and the “Connecticut Mafia” and Wesleyan community.
The song leading out of the interview is the conga solo Marcos took one night at the Blue Note with Sonido Solar.
