| RAY
ARMANDO
It's hard to believe that someone with as much musical depth and
history as Ray Armando has never released an album of his own. He
has worked with some of the brightest stars in jazz and Latin music
and is respected worldwide as an arranger and percussionist of the
highest caliber.
Mallet Hands, his debut album for CuBop, is a long overdue labor
of love that will surely put Armando on the map once and for all
as a true treasure of the Latin jazz genre.
Born on January 27, 1939 in Brooklyn, the young Armando would listen
closely to his father's Machito and Arsenio Rodriguez records and
to the voice of his mother, a professional singer, dancer, and actress.
While his dreams of becoming a baseball player were never realized,
he did manage to become skilled on the conga drums at an early age.
"I got involved with Latin percussion through my uncle at the
age of 8," he recalls. "My first real influence and teacher
was Mongo Santamaria. He lived across the street from my family
at that time." At the age of fifteen, he went on the road with
Elmo Garcia's Big Band. After paying his dues with Garcia, he went
on to work with the Mambo King himself, Tito Puente, with whom he
would play at the legendary Palladium in New York City. After his
stint with Puente, he continued his studies in percussion instruments
and guitar compositions, delving into elements of harmony, theory
and counterpoint.
"In between studies," he recalls, "I often free-lanced,
which consequently gave me the opportunity to travel the globe.
This included Europe, Japan, South America, and the Caribbean Islands.
I became exposed to the different facets of music in various cultures.
This enabled me to develop a new rhythmic concept that is both distinctive
and unique." His expertise was put to use in playing with and/or
arranging the works of such notables as João Gilberto, Antonio
Carlos Jobim, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Donald
Byrd, George Benson, Machito, Charlie & Eddie Palmieri, La Playa
Sextet, Barry White, Nina Simone, Santana, Bobby Hutcherson, Kenny
Burrell, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Oliver Nelson, Lionel Hampton,
Donny Hathaway, Sarah Vaughn, Richard "Groove" Holmes,
Grant Green, Lou Donaldson, Cal Tjader, Gilberto Sextet, and many
other notables. He has also participated in the creation of such
classic scores as The French Connection, Bionic Woman, and Kung
Fu, as well as working with Gato Barbieri on The Last Tango in Paris.
Mallet Hands is produced by the legendary Bobby Matos and features
all original compositions with a stellar line-up of players, including
Ben Clatworthy on tenor, George Griffin and Theo Sanders on piano,
Eddie Resto on bass, Enzo Tolesco on drums, and Robertito Melendez
and Jose "Papo" Rodriguez on bongos. Fans of CuBop labelmates
John Santos and Marlon Simon will be pleased with this welcome addition
to the growing stable of CuBop artists. |
