Exploring Jazz Music One Musician at a Time

"Seven for Saturday" is a great way to see some of the legendary men and women of jazz in action.

This time around it's Tito Puente, Sr., (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000)!

A dynamic percussionist, veteran bandleader, masterful arranger and an irrepressible showman, Tito Puente Sr. is forever remembered as El Rey — the King of Latin Music. In more than 50 years of fusing American jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, Puente was central to the ongoing popularity of Latin music in the U.S.

Though influenced by the culture that surrounded him, his childhood musical aspirations were also informed by the big band swing of Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey on the radio. Puente studied piano, but he was quickly drawn to percussion, much to the annoyance of his neighbors; their complaints eventually convinced Tito's mother to send him to drum lessons.

The 1950s were the beginning of his popularity. He helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds, like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha, to mainstream audiences (he was so successful playing popular Afro-Cuban rhythms that many people mistakenly identify him as Cuban). "Dance Mania (Legacy Edition)", possibly Puente's most well known album was released in 1958. Later, he moved into more diverse sounds, including pop music, bossa nova and others, eventually settling down with a fusion of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres that became known as "salsa" (a term that he disliked).

Infomation from npr.org and wikipedia.org