Armando Peraza
Encyclopedia
Armando Peraza is a Latin jazz
percussionist. Through his long associations with jazz pianist George Shearing
, vibraphonist Cal Tjader
and guitarist Carlos Santana
, he has been internationally known from the 1950s through to the 1990s. Although primarily known as a bongocero and conguero, Peraza is also an innovative and accomplished dancer and composer. Peraza has been featured on classic recordings by Perez Prado
, Machito
, George Shearing
, Charlie Parker
, Tito Puente
, Cal Tjader
and Carlos Santana
.
Armando Peraza is one of a handful of Cuban percussionists who came to the United States in the 1940s and 50s. Other notable congueros who came to the U.S. during that time include Mongo Santamaria
, Chano Pozo
, Francisco Aguabella
, Julito Collazo
, Carlos Vidal Bolado
and Modetso Duran.
Peraza's work with Shearing, Tjader and Santana brought him international fame. He has been inducted into the Smithsonian Institution
's Hall of Jazz Legends and has had three official "Armando Peraza Days" by the City of San Francisco.
, Cuba
in 1924 (although the birth year is uncertain), he was orphaned by age 7 and lived on the streets, making a living selling vegetables. Peraza gained a reputation as a sportsman, and became proficient at baseball
and boxing
. At one time he was a boxing coach. A natural musician, a chance encounter at a baseball game led to his first professional gig with famous local bandleader Alberto Ruiz
. He then made his reputation as drummer and dancer playing with the cream of Havana's small bands or "conjuntos", the most famous being Ruiz's Conjunto Kubavana.
He left Cuba for Mexico in 1948 to tend to his sick friend, conga
drummer Mongo Santamaría
. They subsequently arrived in New York City in 1949, where after sitting in with Machito
's big band, Peraza was personally requested by the great Charlie Parker
to participate on a record date with Parker, Buddy Rich
and many others. He also recorded with Slim Gaillard
in New York in November 1949, a session that produced an exemplary virtuoso performance from Peraza on "Bongo City". He toured the entire U.S. with Slim Gaillard's band and ended up in San Francisco, where Gaillard owned the famous San Francisco nightclub named Bop City. After a period in Mexico, where he recorded with Perez Prado
and also recorded many soundtracks for the Mexican movie industry, he returned to the U.S. and settled in San Francisco, a city of such charm and beauty that he still lives there to this day. While located on the West Coast, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie
, Gaillard, toured extensively with Charles Mingus
and Dexter Gordon
and performed up and down California for the Mexican farm workers with Puerto Rican actor and musician Tony Martinez
(who played "Pepino" on the TV show The Real McCoys
). Armando also headed up an Afro-Cuban dance review at the Cable Car Village club in San Francisco, attracting a clientele from Hollywood that included Errol Flynn
, Marlon Brando
and Rita Hayworth
.
In 1954, while performing in San Francisco with pianist Dave Brubeck
, Peraza met Cal Tjader
, who was Brubeck's drummer at the time. The jazz writer Leonard Feather
recommended Armando to Fantasy Records
, along with Tjader to record an Afro-Cuban album, which was titled "Ritmo Caliente" and was groundbreaking in its use of Afro-Cuban rhythms with a Jazz sensibility and was followed up in 1957 with "Mas Ritmos Caliente". During this period, Peraza was introduced to British pianist George Shearing by bassist Al McKibbon
. Peraza joined Shearing's band for the next 12 years and was a collaboration that found Peraza at the forefront of a new wave of popularity for Afro-Cuban music. Shearing's music is now regarded as "light" in jazz terms, but the rhythms and harmonic structures Peraza introduced to the pianist's music were unerringly authentic. It was during his time with Shearing that Peraza emerged as a composer, writing and recording twenty-one songs for Shearing, such as "Mambo in Chimes", "Mambo In Miami","Ritmo Africano", "Armando's Hideaway", "This is Africa", "Estampa Cubana" and many others. These recordings were at the heart of the "mambo craze", which swept the U.S. and the world and Peraza became highly visible, which was a major achievement for an Afro-Cuban at that time.
Peraza's extraordinary technique and expressive power as a hand drummer became a feature of Shearing's performances. He toured the world over with Shearing but it was in America where he experienced persistent and institutionalized racism. An example of this was an incident in Miami during dates with Shearing and Peggy Lee
in 1959, Peraza and the other black members of the band were not allowed to stay at the same hotel as the white musicians. Shearing and Lee resolved the situation by threatening to pull out of the performance unless Peraza and the others were "allowed" to stay at their hotel. Shearing was one of the first racially integrated jazz groups, which was groundbreaking in its own right. While with Shearing, Peraza had the distinct opportunity to play with the classical symphonies of Boston
, Philadelphia, New York and Oklahoma City
. He also participated while with Shearing, in a command performances for Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
.
In 1959, Peraza joined Mongo Santamaría
for the classic Mongo album, one of the most important recordings of Afro-Cuban "folklore" music ever. It included conga drummer Francisco Aguabella
, another contemporary and friend of Peraza, and "Afro-Blue", a song that became a jazz standard once John Coltrane
had recorded it.
In the early 1960s, Peraza joined Cal Tjader's band for the next six years. He also was encouraged to perform and record in Southern California by his friend, jazz drummer Shelley Manne. Peraza performed throughout the area at such venues as Shelley's Manhole (owned by Shelley Manne) and The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. A highlight was performing with the Stan Kenton
Band for the opening of the Hollywood Bowl
. Through his friendship with Manne, he was introduced to Judy Garland
, who immediately signed Peraza to play in her orchestra for the The Judy Garland Show, a television series that ran from 1963 to 1964. In the fall of 1964, he recorded the seminal LP Soul Sauce with Tjader. The single "Guachi Guaro" won a Grammy Award
in 1965 and has recently enjoyed renewed popularity in both the London and Madrid
Acid Jazz
club scenes.
Although Peraza never desired nor welcomed the stress of being a bandleader in his own right, much preferring to be a featured performer, he did record one solo album in 1968. His Wild Thing LP on the Skye label, which was co-owned by Tjader, Gary McFarland
and Gábor Szabó
, features performances from pianist Chick Corea
and Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe
and flautist Johnny Pacheco
. He had previously been featured as a solo artist on the 1959 album ‘More Drums On Fire’. His performance on conga
and bongos
on the piece "Artistry In Rhythm" was widely lauded as a standard-setting masterpiece.
Adaptability and an open mind are the hallmarks of Peraza's approach, so that when Rock music took hold of the business in the late 60s, Armando was the first Afro-Cuban percussionist to add conga drums to a rock track, notably on Harvey Mandel
's Cristo Redentor album in 1968.
In 1972, at the age of 48, Peraza joined the Santana group, which was embarking on its most creative period and helped influence the band in melding the genres of Afro-Cuban, Jazz, Rock and Blues. Peraza remained with Carlos Santana
for nearly twenty years and played to millions around the globe, partnering with other outstanding percussionists like Chepito Areas, Mingo Lewis, Raul Rekow and Orestes Vilató
. The profile of Afro-Cuban percussion had never been higher. While with the Santana band, Armando wrote and co-authored a total of 16 songs which were recorded by Santana. The best known is probably "Gitano" from the album Amigos and has Peraza singing the lyrics he wrote himself. His jazz-inflected piece "Mandela" was recorded on the ‘Freedom’ album. Santana's recordings featured many outstanding performances from Peraza, notably his conga solos on "Hannibal" (‘Zebop!’), "Bambele" and "Bambara" (both ‘Viva Santana’), and "Mother Africa" (’Welcome’). Latin percussionist John Santos says that Peraza is "perhaps the greatest bongocero in the history of that instrument."
Peraza retired from Santana in 1990 at the age of 66, although he did travel to Santiago de Chile for a major concert with Santana in 1992 in front of a crowd in excess of 100,000.
As of the late 1990s through 2009 Peraza was in semi-retirement in San Francisco, California
with Josephine, his wife and partner of more than 30 years. He continues to hold workshops and play selective engagements and Jazz festivals around the world.
In 2005 he appeared on a recording by Bay Area
musician John Santos. Santos' "20th Anniversary" set included the piece 'El Changüí De Peraza', which highlighted Peraza's superb bongo playing. He returned to his native Cuba in 2002, his first trip to the island in more than 50 years and plans to return as many times as possible.
In July 2006, Peraza, at 82 years of age, made a rare appearance with the Santana Band for a three show performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival
in Switzerland. This was the first of a number of summer live appearances. Later, in August 2006, Peraza appeared at the San José jazz festival in California, sitting in with the Julius Melendez Latin Jazz Ensemble, as well as giving a drum clinics throughout California with Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo, both currently with Santana. Also in 2006, Peraza recorded with Bay Area pianist Rebeca Mauleon
's album "Descarga en California" (Universal/Pimienta). He also co-wrote a tune on the album titled "Cepeda Forever", honoring his longtime friend and baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda
.
In January 2007, Peraza received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Voices of Latin Rock. The tribute show was held at the historic Bimbo's nightclub in San Francisco, California and was attended by Carlos Santana
, who presented Peraza with an award. Also attending and performing were members of the group Malo
and a reunion of the original Santana band, with Chepito Areas, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie
and Michael Shrieve
. Every January, The Voices of Latin Rock, present the "Armando Peraza" award for achievement in the San Francisco/Bay Area. In February 2010, Armando was interviewed in his home for Japanese television. In January 2011, the BBC from London came to interview Armando for a documentary they are filming on the music of Santana, specifically, the early to mid-1970s, when Armando first joined the band.
Armando has a daughter Traci and three grandchildren: Adriel, Jalil and Jehireh. Armando's son-in-law, musician Tony Williams, is a talented writer, singer and composer, who is currently recording and performing with Kanye West. Tony has also written, recorded and performed with Jay-Z, notably in concert for President Barack Obama's inaugural celebration.
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AS CO-LEADER
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
percussionist. Through his long associations with jazz pianist George Shearing
George Shearing
Sir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
, vibraphonist Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
and guitarist Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, he has been internationally known from the 1950s through to the 1990s. Although primarily known as a bongocero and conguero, Peraza is also an innovative and accomplished dancer and composer. Peraza has been featured on classic recordings by Perez Prado
Perez Prado
Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Cuban bandleader, musician , and composer. He is often referred to as the 'King of the Mambo'.His orchestra was the most popular in mambo...
, Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
, George Shearing
George Shearing
Sir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
and Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
.
Armando Peraza is one of a handful of Cuban percussionists who came to the United States in the 1940s and 50s. Other notable congueros who came to the U.S. during that time include Mongo Santamaria
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...
, Chano Pozo
Chano Pozo
Chano Pozo was a percussionist, singer, dancer and composer who played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz...
, Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella was an Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist whose career began in the 1950s.-Biography:Aguabella was born in Matanzas, Cuba. In the 1950s, he left Cuba to perform with Katherine Dunham in the Shelley Winters film Mambo filmed in Italy...
, Julito Collazo
Julito Collazo
Julio "Julito" Collazo was a master percussionist.Collazo was born in Havana, Cuba. He began playing the ritual music of Santería on the batá drums at the age of fifteen. He moved to United States in the fifties to join in a world tour with the Afroamerican dancer Katherine Dunham and her Dance...
, Carlos Vidal Bolado
Carlos Vidal Bolado
Carlos Vidal Bolado was a Cuban conga drum musician and was one of the original Machito and his Afro-Cuban boys. Bolado holds the double distinction of being the first to record authentic folkloric Cuban rumba and the first to play congas in Latin jazz Carlos Vidal Bolado (1914–1996) was a...
and Modetso Duran.
Peraza's work with Shearing, Tjader and Santana brought him international fame. He has been inducted into the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's Hall of Jazz Legends and has had three official "Armando Peraza Days" by the City of San Francisco.
Biography
Born in Lawton Batista, HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in 1924 (although the birth year is uncertain), he was orphaned by age 7 and lived on the streets, making a living selling vegetables. Peraza gained a reputation as a sportsman, and became proficient at baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. At one time he was a boxing coach. A natural musician, a chance encounter at a baseball game led to his first professional gig with famous local bandleader Alberto Ruiz
Alberto Ruiz
Alberto Ruiz is a retired Spanish pole vaulter.His personal best jump was 5.61 metres, achieved in June 1986 in Manresa.-Achievements:-References:...
. He then made his reputation as drummer and dancer playing with the cream of Havana's small bands or "conjuntos", the most famous being Ruiz's Conjunto Kubavana.
He left Cuba for Mexico in 1948 to tend to his sick friend, conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
drummer Mongo Santamaría
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...
. They subsequently arrived in New York City in 1949, where after sitting in with Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
's big band, Peraza was personally requested by the great Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
to participate on a record date with Parker, Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
and many others. He also recorded with Slim Gaillard
Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout"...
in New York in November 1949, a session that produced an exemplary virtuoso performance from Peraza on "Bongo City". He toured the entire U.S. with Slim Gaillard's band and ended up in San Francisco, where Gaillard owned the famous San Francisco nightclub named Bop City. After a period in Mexico, where he recorded with Perez Prado
Perez Prado
Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Cuban bandleader, musician , and composer. He is often referred to as the 'King of the Mambo'.His orchestra was the most popular in mambo...
and also recorded many soundtracks for the Mexican movie industry, he returned to the U.S. and settled in San Francisco, a city of such charm and beauty that he still lives there to this day. While located on the West Coast, he worked with Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Gaillard, toured extensively with Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
and Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
and performed up and down California for the Mexican farm workers with Puerto Rican actor and musician Tony Martinez
Tony Martínez
.Gabriel Antonio Martínez Díaz was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1963 to 1966, playing in 73 career games.-External links:...
(who played "Pepino" on the TV show The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company...
). Armando also headed up an Afro-Cuban dance review at the Cable Car Village club in San Francisco, attracting a clientele from Hollywood that included Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
and Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
.
In 1954, while performing in San Francisco with pianist Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Peraza met Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
, who was Brubeck's drummer at the time. The jazz writer Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
recommended Armando to Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
, along with Tjader to record an Afro-Cuban album, which was titled "Ritmo Caliente" and was groundbreaking in its use of Afro-Cuban rhythms with a Jazz sensibility and was followed up in 1957 with "Mas Ritmos Caliente". During this period, Peraza was introduced to British pianist George Shearing by bassist Al McKibbon
Al McKibbon
Al McKibbon was an American jazz double bassist, known for his work in bop, hard bop, and Latin jazz.In 1947, after working with Lucky Millinder, Tab Smith, J. C. Heard, and Coleman Hawkins, he replaced Ray Brown in Dizzy Gillespie's band, in which he played until 1950...
. Peraza joined Shearing's band for the next 12 years and was a collaboration that found Peraza at the forefront of a new wave of popularity for Afro-Cuban music. Shearing's music is now regarded as "light" in jazz terms, but the rhythms and harmonic structures Peraza introduced to the pianist's music were unerringly authentic. It was during his time with Shearing that Peraza emerged as a composer, writing and recording twenty-one songs for Shearing, such as "Mambo in Chimes", "Mambo In Miami","Ritmo Africano", "Armando's Hideaway", "This is Africa", "Estampa Cubana" and many others. These recordings were at the heart of the "mambo craze", which swept the U.S. and the world and Peraza became highly visible, which was a major achievement for an Afro-Cuban at that time.
Peraza's extraordinary technique and expressive power as a hand drummer became a feature of Shearing's performances. He toured the world over with Shearing but it was in America where he experienced persistent and institutionalized racism. An example of this was an incident in Miami during dates with Shearing and Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
in 1959, Peraza and the other black members of the band were not allowed to stay at the same hotel as the white musicians. Shearing and Lee resolved the situation by threatening to pull out of the performance unless Peraza and the others were "allowed" to stay at their hotel. Shearing was one of the first racially integrated jazz groups, which was groundbreaking in its own right. While with Shearing, Peraza had the distinct opportunity to play with the classical symphonies of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Philadelphia, New York and Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. He also participated while with Shearing, in a command performances for Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
.
In 1959, Peraza joined Mongo Santamaría
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...
for the classic Mongo album, one of the most important recordings of Afro-Cuban "folklore" music ever. It included conga drummer Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella was an Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist whose career began in the 1950s.-Biography:Aguabella was born in Matanzas, Cuba. In the 1950s, he left Cuba to perform with Katherine Dunham in the Shelley Winters film Mambo filmed in Italy...
, another contemporary and friend of Peraza, and "Afro-Blue", a song that became a jazz standard once John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
had recorded it.
In the early 1960s, Peraza joined Cal Tjader's band for the next six years. He also was encouraged to perform and record in Southern California by his friend, jazz drummer Shelley Manne. Peraza performed throughout the area at such venues as Shelley's Manhole (owned by Shelley Manne) and The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. A highlight was performing with the Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
Band for the opening of the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
. Through his friendship with Manne, he was introduced to Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, who immediately signed Peraza to play in her orchestra for the The Judy Garland Show, a television series that ran from 1963 to 1964. In the fall of 1964, he recorded the seminal LP Soul Sauce with Tjader. The single "Guachi Guaro" won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1965 and has recently enjoyed renewed popularity in both the London and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
Acid Jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
club scenes.
Although Peraza never desired nor welcomed the stress of being a bandleader in his own right, much preferring to be a featured performer, he did record one solo album in 1968. His Wild Thing LP on the Skye label, which was co-owned by Tjader, Gary McFarland
Gary McFarland
Gary McFarland was an influential composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist, prominent on Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s, when he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz"...
and Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
, features performances from pianist Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
and Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe
Sadao Watanabe (musician)
is an influential Japanese jazz musician who plays the alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone and flute. He is known for his Bossa Nova recordings, although his work encompasses a large range of styles with collaborations from musicians all over the world. Sadao first began learning music at the age...
and flautist Johnny Pacheco
Johnny Pacheco
Johnny Pacheco is a Dominican producer, musician, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in American salsa music.-Early life:...
. He had previously been featured as a solo artist on the 1959 album ‘More Drums On Fire’. His performance on conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
and bongos
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
on the piece "Artistry In Rhythm" was widely lauded as a standard-setting masterpiece.
Adaptability and an open mind are the hallmarks of Peraza's approach, so that when Rock music took hold of the business in the late 60s, Armando was the first Afro-Cuban percussionist to add conga drums to a rock track, notably on Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel
Harvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...
's Cristo Redentor album in 1968.
In 1972, at the age of 48, Peraza joined the Santana group, which was embarking on its most creative period and helped influence the band in melding the genres of Afro-Cuban, Jazz, Rock and Blues. Peraza remained with Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
for nearly twenty years and played to millions around the globe, partnering with other outstanding percussionists like Chepito Areas, Mingo Lewis, Raul Rekow and Orestes Vilató
Orestes Vilató
Orestes Vilató is a Timbalero/Bongosero.He went to New York City at the age of 12, after his father was recruited to be in charge of international flights inaugurated by Cubana de Aviación...
. The profile of Afro-Cuban percussion had never been higher. While with the Santana band, Armando wrote and co-authored a total of 16 songs which were recorded by Santana. The best known is probably "Gitano" from the album Amigos and has Peraza singing the lyrics he wrote himself. His jazz-inflected piece "Mandela" was recorded on the ‘Freedom’ album. Santana's recordings featured many outstanding performances from Peraza, notably his conga solos on "Hannibal" (‘Zebop!’), "Bambele" and "Bambara" (both ‘Viva Santana’), and "Mother Africa" (’Welcome’). Latin percussionist John Santos says that Peraza is "perhaps the greatest bongocero in the history of that instrument."
Later career
As of the late 1990s through 2009 Peraza was in semi-retirement in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
with Josephine, his wife and partner of more than 30 years. He continues to hold workshops and play selective engagements and Jazz festivals around the world.
In 2005 he appeared on a recording by Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
musician John Santos. Santos' "20th Anniversary" set included the piece 'El Changüí De Peraza', which highlighted Peraza's superb bongo playing. He returned to his native Cuba in 2002, his first trip to the island in more than 50 years and plans to return as many times as possible.
In July 2006, Peraza, at 82 years of age, made a rare appearance with the Santana Band for a three show performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
in Switzerland. This was the first of a number of summer live appearances. Later, in August 2006, Peraza appeared at the San José jazz festival in California, sitting in with the Julius Melendez Latin Jazz Ensemble, as well as giving a drum clinics throughout California with Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo, both currently with Santana. Also in 2006, Peraza recorded with Bay Area pianist Rebeca Mauleon
Rebeca Mauleon
Rebeca Mauleón is an American pianist, composer, arranger and writer, specializing in salsa and other Latin American and Afro-Caribbean music.-Career:...
's album "Descarga en California" (Universal/Pimienta). He also co-wrote a tune on the album titled "Cepeda Forever", honoring his longtime friend and baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
.
In January 2007, Peraza received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Voices of Latin Rock. The tribute show was held at the historic Bimbo's nightclub in San Francisco, California and was attended by Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, who presented Peraza with an award. Also attending and performing were members of the group Malo
Malo
Malo was an American Latin-tinged rock and roll group. The San Francisco-based ensemble was led by Arcelio Garcia and Jorge Santana, the brother of Latin-rock guitarist, Carlos Santana....
and a reunion of the original Santana band, with Chepito Areas, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
and Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
. Every January, The Voices of Latin Rock, present the "Armando Peraza" award for achievement in the San Francisco/Bay Area. In February 2010, Armando was interviewed in his home for Japanese television. In January 2011, the BBC from London came to interview Armando for a documentary they are filming on the music of Santana, specifically, the early to mid-1970s, when Armando first joined the band.
Armando has a daughter Traci and three grandchildren: Adriel, Jalil and Jehireh. Armando's son-in-law, musician Tony Williams, is a talented writer, singer and composer, who is currently recording and performing with Kanye West. Tony has also written, recorded and performed with Jay-Z, notably in concert for President Barack Obama's inaugural celebration.
Discography
- Conjunto Kubavana - Rumba En El Patio (Tumbao 1994 - re-issue of recordings 1944-1947),
- Machito and His Orchestra w/Charlie Parker - Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite (Mercury 1948),
- Machito - Cu-Bop City (Roost Records 1949)
- Slim Gaillard - Laughing In Rhythm (Proper 2003 - CD box set reissue).
- More Drums On Fire (World Pacific 1959 – 2 tunes on various artists LP),
- The Soul Of Jazz Percussion (Warwick 1960 – 3 tunes on various artists LP)
- also released on CD as Donald Byrd & Booker Little "The Third World" (Collectables, 1999)
AS LEADER
- Wild Thing (Skye RecordsSkye RecordsSkye Records was a music label formed in early 1968 by vibist Cal Tjader, guitarist Gábor Szabó, composer/musician Gary McFarland, and music executive Norman Schwartz....
, 1968)
AS CO-LEADER
- ROAR (Tabu 1985)
with George Shearing
- Shearing In Hi-Fi (MGM 1955),
- ‘George Shearing Caravan’' (MGM 1955),
- An Evening With George Shearing (MGM 1955),
- The Shearing Spell (Capitol 1955),
- Velvet Carpet (Capitol 1956),
- Latin Escapade (Capitol 1956),
- Black Satin (Capitol 1957),
- In The Night (Capitol 1958 - George Shearing and Dakota Staton),
- Burnished Brass (Capitol 1958),
- Blue Chiffon’ (Capitol 1958),
- Latin Lace (Capitol 1958),
- George Shearing On Stage (Capitol 1959),
- Latin Affair (Capitol 1959),
- Beauty And The Beat (Capitol 1959 - George Shearing and Peggy Lee),
- On The Sunny Side Of The Strip (Capitol 1959),
- Satin Affair (Capitol 1959),
- White Satin (Capitol 1960),
- The Swinging's Mutual (Capitol 1961, George Shearing and Nancy Wilson),
- Mood Latino (Capitol 1962),
- San Francisco Scene (Capitol 1962),
- Love Walked In (Jazzland 1962 - George Shearing and The Montgomery Brothers),
- Rare Form (Capitol 1965),
- Latin Rendezvous'’ (Capitol 1965)