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Ray Barrett: Ray Barretto
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In late 1972, percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto found himself in a major transition between bands. He created a string of commercially and artistically successful salsa albums on the Fania label starting in 1968. Then his singer, Adalberto Santiago, left the band in 1972 to form Tipica ‘73 - and he recruited four more members of Barretto’s band. Barretto needed time to find replacements and rebuild his signature sound, but he wanted to continue recording. Instead of forcing a stagnant product, Barretto convinced Jerry Massuci, head of Fania, to let him record a Latin Jazz album. The album was recorded in the middle of the night, with an assortment of new Barretto collaborators such as drummer Billy Cobham and flautist Art Webb.
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While Ray Barretto's congas have graced more recording sessions than virtually any other conguero of his time, he has ... led some refreshingly progressive Latin jazz bands over the decades. His records often have a more tense, more adventurously eclectic edge than those of most conventional salsa groups, unafraid to use electronics and novel instrumental or structural combinations, driven hard by his rocksteady, endlessly flexible percussion work. This no doubt reflects Barretto's wide range of musical interests and also the fact that he came to Latin music from jazz, rather than the usual vice versa route for Latin-descended musicians. Indeed, he has said that he learned how to play swing-style before he came to master Latin grooves. Puerto Rican by extraction, Barretto took up the congas while stationed in Germany during an Army hitch. He began working with American jazz musicians upon his return to New York, eventually replacing Mongo Santamaria in the Tito Puente band for four years, beginning in the late '50s.
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At 8:00 P.M. Ray Barretto takes the stage. He starts off with a Jazz Band configuration of: congas, piano, standup bass, drums, trumpet and alto saxophone. The first song is a Cuban standard, “Taboo.” The intro is an anticipatory and sensual alto solo, weaving sultry melodic phrases. The trumpet joins in with dynamic high and low accompaniment. Ray develops the Latin rhythm on his congas as the drummer features the Latin accents on the crown of the ride cymbal. The alto saxophone continues to play dreamy and ethereal melodic development.
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Ray Barretto, who was a long-time resident of Warwick, NY, who passed at the age of 76 this past February, was one of the pioneers of both the Latin jazz and salsa movements. As a master percussionist he can be heard on over 50 albums in a career spanning more that 40 years. He¹s recorded and performed with all the greats of latin and jazz music¹s including Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, The Fania All-Stars, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Red Garland and Cannonball Adderley to name a few. In 1961 he had a hit record with "El Watusi" and received a Grammy in 1990 for his collaboration with the singer Celia Cruz. Just before he passed Barretto was honored as one of the National Endowment for the Arts Masters of 2006 at the Jazz Educators Conference in New York City. This award is considered to be the nation¹s highest jazz honor.
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Ray Barretto was born on April 29, 1929 in New York City. His parents were immigrants from Puerto Rico, part of a great wave from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean that would transform East Harlem into el barrio. And growing up in East Harlem, Barretto absorbed both his mother’s love of music from back home, and the swinging big band jazz of the era. Bandleaders like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Chick Webb were still the rage then, but by the time the 17-year-old Barretto joined the Army in 1946, the bebop revolution was in full swing. A new guard of musicians led by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and others were launching a full-scale frontal assault on the jazz establishment, but Barretto was stuck in an Army barracks in Germany as part of the postwar occupation force.
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The third arrangement starts with a conga solo from Ray Barretto. This is sensational playing with dynamic extremes of loud and quiet showcasing excellent fingertip and palm control. The strong 4/4-tempo is hard and succinct while the horns are soothing in unison harmonic development. The alto solo builds to crescendo then returns to a soothing and gentle melodic attack. The band simmers as the alto dances melodic flourishes and arpeggios over the tight rhythm section. The band builds dynamic musical pastels of color as the alto wails over the collaborative musical painting.
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