Tito Puente

Ernesto Antonio Puente Junior , known as Tito Puente ( New York , the 20 of April of 1923 – New York , 31 May of 2000 ) was an American musician salsa and Latin jazz great influence in these genres. Known as “the king of the timpani” for his vigorous performances on this instrument, he was one of the great promoters of Latin American music in the United States . Universally considered the father of Latin salsa and jazz, he dedicated more than six decades of his life to making music, an activity in which he left a prolific work that includes more than a hundred albums recorded between1949 and 1994 .

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Awards
- 2 Cinematography
- 3 Death
2 Discography
3 Source

Biographical synthesis

He was born in the neighborhood known as El Barrio, in the Latin Harlem of New York City . His parents – Ernest Puente and Ercilia Puente – were Puerto Rican.

Until he was ten years old, little Tito only wanted to be a professional dancer, but after injuring an ankle while riding a bicycle , his vocation took a radical turn; he decided to study music composition and began playing with local bands. Considered a child prodigy by his family and friends, his first performance took place at an early age with the Los Happy Boys band at the Park Place Hotel, and shortly after, already in his teens, he joined Noro Morales and the Machito Orchestra .

After the hiatus of the Second World War (1939-1945) , which he spent in the navy, he resumed his musical career. He enrolled at the Juilliard School to study conducting, orchestration, and music theory, subjects from which he graduated in 1947 with top marks at the age of twenty-four. At that time he met Charlie Spivak , through whom Puente became interested in composition for big band .

During his stay at the Juilliard School , Puente played with José Curbelo , Pupi Campo and Fernando Álvarez and their Grupo Copacabana . In 1948 he formed his own band, the Picadilly Boys, soon known as the Tito Puente Orchestra, with which he recorded his first hit, Abaniquito , for the Tico Records company the following year. In 1949 he signed a contract with the RCA Victor house and recorded the single Ran Kan Kan .

He is often called the first “pure” salsa musician. He is known for the unique compositions that helped sustain his career for more than 50 years. Thanks to his technique in handling percussion he was known as “the King of the Timbales.”

Tito played at the Palladium, which was the house of the mambo, and together with Machito and Tito Rodríguez they made the mambo known worldwide. Tito almost took the title “Rey del Mambo” away from Dámaso Pérez Prado , a musician who collaborated a lot with Benny Moré , a Cuban singer and sonero living in Mexico.

During the 1950s, Puente’s popularity peaked and Caribbean music, such as mambo , son, and chachachá reached a wider audience. Then he dabbled in other styles like pop and bossa nova .

His appearances with the Cuban singer La Lupe with songs such as: “Salve full” became well known in many Latin-rooted countries, but his unmistakable sound when playing the timpani made him known worldwide, the same thing happened when Tito Puente played In Japan , inspiring a group of Japanese musicians to interpret the salsa genre, he would speak of the Orquesta de la Luz .

Awards

In 1992, he won the James Smithson Bicentennial Award and starred in the film The Mambo Kings alongside Celia Cruz .

He won a Grammy Award for his recording Mambo Birdland in the category of best traditional Caribbean music album at the first Latin Grammy Awards .

It also has a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1990, the National Medal of Arts received from the hands of President Bill Clinton in 1997, was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Old Westbury, and the daily New York Times chose their album Dancemanía as one of the 25 most influential albums of the 20th century.

Cinematography

He participated in several film productions, such as Salsa in 1988, The Mambo Kings in 1992 with Celia Cruz and Antonio Banderas and his last appearance would be made in a documentary by Fernando Trueba , called: Calle 54 in which he interprets his Latin jazz theme: “New arrival”, with an exciting conga solo performed by Giovanni Hidalgo , and the flute by Dave Valentin .

Although he was widely recognized as a musician, he also became more popular for television appearances such as on Sesame Street performing his songs “Ran Kan Kan” and “El timbalón”. He also made an appearance like himself in the remembered chapter in which he is accused of having murdered Mr. Burns, in the animated series The Simpsons , where he was going to teach music classes at the Springfield elementary school.

Death

In 2000, Tito Puente recorded the last album of his life with Eddie Palmieri , an album that went on sale on July 18, a few weeks after his death.

Puente died on 31 as maypole as 2000 in his hometown, New York (United States).

Discography

Throughout his vast career, Tito Puente recorded a total of 198 albums between his own productions and collaborations with other artists. Among his long-term albums recorded or reissued on Compact Disc in recent years are:

Mambo Beat: The Progressive Side of Tito Puente(1994)
Mambo and cha cha cha(1994)
The Best of Dance Mania(1994)
Barbarabatiri(1994)
Tito Puente’s Golden Latin Jazz All Stars(1994)
Top Percussion / Dance Mania(1994)
20 Mambos / Take Five(1995)
Fania Legends of Salsa Collection, Vol. 3(1995)
Party with Bridge(1995)
Jazzin(1995)
Mambo Mococo (1949-51)(1995)
Mambos with Puente (1949-51)(1995)
More Mambos on Broadway(1995)
Tea for Two(1995)
The Complete RCA Victor Revolving Bandstand …(1995)
Tito’s Idea(1995)
Yambeque: The Progressive Side of Tito Puente(1995)
Cha Cha Chá: Live at Grossinger’s(1996)
The King of Salsa(1996)
The King of Timbal(1996)
Special Delivery(1996)
The Very Best of Tito Puente and Vicentico ..(1996)
Greatest Hits(1996)
Latin jazz, vol. 4(1996)
Percussion’s King(1997)
Selection of Mambo and Cha Cha Cha(1997)
50 Years of Swing(1997)
Tito Meets Machito: Mambo Kings(1997)
Cha Cha Cha Rumba Beguine(1998)
Dance Mania ’98: Live at Birdland(1998)
The Very Best of Tito Puente(1998)
Tropical Timbalero(1998)
Yambeque(1998)
Absolute Best(1999)
Carnival(1999)
Original collection(1999)
Golden Latin Jazz All Stars: In Session(1999)
Latin Flight(1999)
Latin Kings(1999)
Best of the Best(1999)
Mambo Birdland(1999)
King(2000)
His Vibes and Orchestra(2000)
Cha Cha Cha for Lovers(2000)
Tribute to Beny Moré. Vol. 3(2000)
Two idols. His music(2000)
Tito Puente and his Mambo Orchestra(2000)
The Complete RCA Recordings. Vol. 1(2000)
The Best of the Concord Years(2000)
Finally (Finally)(2000)
Party with Puente! (2000)
Masterpiece(2000)
Mambo Mambo(2000)
Mambo King Meets the Queen of Salsa(2000)
Latin Abstract(2000)
Kings of Mambo(2000)
Cha Cha Cha for Lovers(2000)
The Legends Collection: Tito Puente and Celia Cruz(2001)
The Complete RCA Recordings, Vol. 2(2001)
RCA Recordings(2001)
Hot Bridge(2001)
The Best of …(2001)
King of Mambo(2001)
The King: Go ahead! Straight! (2001)
Cocktail Hour(2001)
King of Mambo (2001)
Herman Meets Bridge(2001)
Undisputed(2001)
Party(2002)
Diamond Collection(2002)
Tito Puente and Celia Cruz(2002)
Live at the Playboy Jazz Festival(2002)
King of Kings: The Very Best of Tito Puente(2002)
Hot Timpani! (2002)
Feelgood(2002)
Carnival of Hits(2002)
Caravan Mambo(2002)