In Mambo today, the first of a series of three about bandleader, composer and conguero Ray Barretto, alias ‘Mister Hard Hands’.
The Puerto Rican New Yorker was born in Brooklyn in 1929. During his military service with the American army in Germany, he played with jazz musicians – and kept this up on his return to New York City. Here, he played in a Latin jazz combo but ended up with the famous Latino musician Tito Puente in 1957.
The jazz-label Riverside asked Ray Barretto to form a so-called ‘charanga’: a Cuban type of ensemble with Afro-Cuban percussion, violins and flute. His first albums didn’t sell very well. But he was very successful with his ‘charanga moderna’ at the Tico label in 1962, reaching the US billboard’s top 20 with it.
Playlist
1 Hard Hands
Orquesta Ray Barretto
2 Night Ritual
Orquesta Tito Puente
3 La Moderna
Orquesta Ray Barretto
4 El Watusi
Orquesta Ray Barretto
5 Ritmo Sabroso
Orquesta Ray Barretto
6 A Puerto Rico
Orquesta Ray Barretto
7 A Gozar Timpero
Orquesta Ray Barretto
8 Chihuahua
Orquesta Ray Barretto
9 Guantanamera
Orquesta Ray Barretto
10 Swing La Moderna
Orquesta Ray Barretto
11 Guajira y Tambo
Ray Barretto
12 Guaguanco Pueblo Nuevo
Ray Barretto
13 A Maracaibo
Ray Barretto
14 Rareza en Guajira
Orquesta Ray Barretto
15 Descarga Criolla
Orquesta Ray Barretto
16 La Bruca Manigua
Ray Barretto
