Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZBARRETTO, Ray(b 29 April 1929, Brooklyn NY; d 17 February 2006) Conga drummer, bandleader, songwriter, arranger. Played while in US Army in Germany; jammed with jazz musicians in NYC, turned pro and joined Eddie Bonnemere's Latin Jazz Combo, then two years with José Curbelo's band; to Tito Puente '57 for four years replacing Mongo Santamaria. Sessioned on R&B singles and as a sideman with Lou Donaldson, Gene Ammons, Red Garland '57-8; then the Riverside jazz label decided to do a Latin album '61 and asked Barretto to form a charanga: Pachanga With Barretto was his first LP as a leader, tracks written by Héctor Rivera. This was an adventurous move by label boss Orrin Keepnews; the album didn't sell well partly because Riverside and the Latin market were unfamiliar with each other, but Barretto used many of the sidemen forming his own band Charanga Moderna: the follow-up was Latino '62, with guests Alejandro 'El Negro' Vivar (1923-79) on trumpet, José 'Chombo' Silva on tenor sax (both alumni of the influential '50s Cuban Jam Session albums on Panart), Alfredo Valdés Jr on piano; the LPs were repackaged '73 as two-disc Carnaval on Fantasy, reissued '93 on CD. Barretto sessioned with Kenny Burrell, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, George Benson, the Rolling Stones, Bee Gees, Average White Band in the '70s and many others, but his most important work was for the Latin audience: he retained authenticity while stretching the charanga format by including brass. Charanga Moderna '62 on the Tico label was on the market for several months before the track 'El Watusi' reached the top 20 of the USA pop chart '63: that this crossover success was short-lived he blamed on poor management. Other LPs on Tico were On Fire Again '63, The Big Hits Latin Style '63 (crossover attempts with 'If I Had A Hammer', etc), La Moderna de Siempre '64 (straight charanga), Guajira y Guaguancó '64 (with jam session flavour, including Pedro 'Puchi' Boulong on trumpet), compilation Lo Mejor de Ray Barretto '74. He went to UA hoping for better distribution, became a 'little artist in a huge bowl'; LPs included Viva Watusi! '65, Señor 007 c.'65 (movie themes), El Ray Criollo '66, Latino Con Soul '66 (lead singer Adalberto Santiago); the notable CD compilation Descarga Criolla '92 featured tracks from the '65-6 UA period. Barretto was voted Best Conga Player of the Year for '75 and '76 in Latin NY magazine annual poll, but had tired of gigging in clubs and was pessimistic about reaching a larger audience with pure salsa; his band carried on as Guararé (debut LP Guararé '77 on TR label with lead vocals by Ray de la Paz) and Fania issued the compilation Energy To Burn '77. Meanwhile he formed a large jazz/rock/Latin fusion group and recorded for Atlantic: Barretto Live: Tomorrow was made '76 at NYC's Beacon Theatre with two trumpets, trombone, two reeds and Blades. Indifferent fusion LPs were Eye Of The Beholder '77 (produced by the Crusaders; Joe Sample and Wilton Felder played on it) and Can You Feel It '78. The fusion group flopped and he later said of the period with Atlantic, 'I let them dictate which way to go with my music. As a result, I neither made it with non-Latinos or with Latinos.' He won the '77 Latin NY titles for Musician of the Year and Best Conga Player of the Year. Gracias '79 on Fania was a live LP, probably from the Beacon concert, versions of earlier hits including Santiago. He produced Guararé's eponymous '79 LP on Inca, with de la Paz on lead vocals and pianist Oscar Hernández. Ray switched to Concord Picante for a series of Latin-jazz albums including Handprints '91, Ancestral Messages '93 and Taboo '94, but returned to solid salsa for his final release on Fania, outstanding Grammy-nominated Soy Dichoso '92, with lead vocals by ex-Grupo Fascinación member Alfredo 'Tito' González. In an interview '94 he said that he'd been forced out of salsa; perceived as too old, none of the dance halls would hire his band. He toured/recorded with Fania All Stars from '68 into the '80s, and a 30th anniversary reunion tour '94; he continued in the Latin-jazz vein with Grammy-nominated sextet album My Summertime '96 on Owl/Blue Note. |