Willie Bobo
Encyclopedia
Willie Bobo was the stage name
of William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), an American jazz
percussionist.
, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz
, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz
, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales
becoming his favoured instrument. He met Mongo Santamaría
shortly after his arrival in New York and studied with him while acting as his translator, and later at age 19 joined Tito Puente
for four years.
The nickname Bobo is said to have been bestowed by the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams
in the early '50s.
His first major exposure was when he joined George Shearing
's band on the album The Shearing Spell. After leaving Shearing, Cal Tjader
asked Bobo and Santamaria to become part of the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, who released several albums as the mambo craze reached fever pitch in the late '50s. Reuniting with his mentor Santamaria in 1960, the pair released the album Sabroso! for the Fantasy
label. He later formed his own group releasing Do That Thing/Guajira with Tico and Bobo's Beat and Let's Go Bobo for Roulette, without achieving huge penetration.
After the runaway success of Tjader's Soul Sauce, in which he was heavily involved, Bobo formed a new band with the backing of Verve Records
, releasing Spanish Grease, of which the title track is probably his most well known tune. Highly successful at this attempt, Bobo released a further seven albums with Verve.
In the early '70s, he moved out to Los Angeles
, He again met up with his long time friend Richard Sanchez sr. and his son Richard Jr. and began recording in the studio. He then worked as a session musician
for Carlos Santana
among others, as well as being a regular in the band for Bill Cosby
's variety show, Cos
. In the late '70s, he recorded albums for Blue Note
and Columbia Records
.
After a period of ill health, he died at age 49, succumbing to cancer
.
His son, Eric Bobo (Eric Correa), is a percussionist with crew Cypress Hill
. He also performed on the Beastie Boys
' 1994 album Ill Communication
as well as doing the 1994 Lollapalooza
tour with the group.
With Herbie Hancock
With Dannie Richmond
With Gábor Szabó
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), an American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
percussionist.
Biography
William Correa grew up in Spanish HarlemSpanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
, New York City. He made his name in Latin Jazz
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...
, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz
Afro-Cuban jazz
Afro-Cuban jazz is an early form of Latin jazz that mixes Afro-Cuban rhythms with harmonies and musical timbre typical of Bebop. It was developed in the early 1940s by both Cuban musicians and Jazz musicians, with Dizzy Gillespie, Mario Bauza, Machito and Stan Kenton among some of the most notable...
, in the 1960s and '70s, with the timbales
Timbales
Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
becoming his favoured instrument. He met 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...
shortly after his arrival in New York and studied with him while acting as his translator, and later at age 19 joined 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"...
for four years.
The nickname Bobo is said to have been bestowed by the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Williams wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, and recorded more than one hundred records...
in the early '50s.
His first major exposure was when he joined 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...
's band on the album The Shearing Spell. After leaving Shearing, 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...
asked Bobo and Santamaria to become part of the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, who released several albums as the mambo craze reached fever pitch in the late '50s. Reuniting with his mentor Santamaria in 1960, the pair released the album Sabroso! for the Fantasy
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...
label. He later formed his own group releasing Do That Thing/Guajira with Tico and Bobo's Beat and Let's Go Bobo for Roulette, without achieving huge penetration.
After the runaway success of Tjader's Soul Sauce, in which he was heavily involved, Bobo formed a new band with the backing of Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
, releasing Spanish Grease, of which the title track is probably his most well known tune. Highly successful at this attempt, Bobo released a further seven albums with Verve.
In the early '70s, he moved out to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, He again met up with his long time friend Richard Sanchez sr. and his son Richard Jr. and began recording in the studio. He then worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for 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...
among others, as well as being a regular in the band for Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
's variety show, Cos
Cos (TV series)
Cos was an American sketch comedy/variety TV series that debuted on the ABC Network in September 1976. It was hosted by comedian Bill Cosby and featured an ensemble cast who would perform sketches each week...
. In the late '70s, he recorded albums for Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
and Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
After a period of ill health, he died at age 49, succumbing to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
His son, Eric Bobo (Eric Correa), is a percussionist with crew Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
. He also performed on the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
' 1994 album Ill Communication
Ill Communication
Ill Communication is the fourth studio album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on May 24, 1994 via Grand Royal Records. It was remastered and made available on the Beastie Boys' Web site on July 7, 2009....
as well as doing the 1994 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tour with the group.
As leader
- Sabroso! (Fantasy, 1961)
- Do That Thing/Guajira (Tico, 1963)
- Bobo's Beat (Roulette, 1964)
- Let's Go Bobo! (Roulette, 1964)
- Spanish Grease (Verve, 1965)
- Uno, Dos, Tres 1.2.3 (Verve, 1966)
- Feelin' So Good (Verve, 1967)
- Juicy (Verve, 1967)
- Bobo Motion (Verve, 1967)
- Spanish Blues Band (Verve, 1967)
- A New Dimension (Verve, 1968)
- Evil Ways (Verve, 1968)
- Do What You Want To Do, Tomorrow Is Here (Sussex, 1971)
- Tomorrow Is HereTomorrow Is HereTomorrow Is Here is an album by American jazz percussionist Willie Bobo recorded in late 1976 and early 1977 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Richard S...
(Blue Note, 1977) - Hell Of An Act To Follow (Columbia, 1978)
- Bobo (Columbia, 1979)
- Lost & Found (Concord Picante, 2006)
As sideman
With Chico HamiltonChico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
- El ChicoEl Chico (album)El Chico is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1965 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "The influences of Latin jazz, bossa nova, and the avant-garde are mixed into the unusual...
(Impulse!, 1965) - The Further Adventures of El ChicoThe Further Adventures of El ChicoThe Further Adventures of El Chico is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1966)
With Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- Inventions and DimensionsInventions and DimensionsInventions and Dimensions is the third album by Herbie Hancock, recorded on August 30, 1963 for Blue Note Records. The album was also re-released in the mid-1970s as Succotash credited to Hancock and Willie Bobo.-Track listing:...
(Blue Note, 1964)
With Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond
Dannie Richmond was an American drummer who was best known among jazz fans for his work with Charles Mingus, and among pop fans for his work with Joe Cocker, Elton John and Mark-Almond....
- "In" Jazz for the Culture Set"In" Jazz for the Culture Set"In" Jazz for the Culture Set is the debut album led by the American jazz drummer Dannie Richmond recorded in 1965 and released on the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!, 1965)
With Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó
Gábor Szabó was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.-Biography:...
- SpellbinderSpellbinder (album)Spellbinder is an album by Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars stating "Szabo's read on jazz in the '60s was brilliant. He embodied all of its most popular aspirations...
(Impulse!, 1966)