Paquito d'Rivera › Similar Artists

Hilton Ruiz - 100% match to Paquito d'Rivera

29 May 1952, New York City, New York, USA, d. 6 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Ruiz studied piano from an early age, performing public recitals as a small child. In the mid- to late 60s he worked as a professional musician in bands playing Latin American music. In the early 70s he turned to jazz, studying with Mary Lou Williams. Later in the decade he played on nume Read more

Poncho Sanchez - 78% match to Paquito d'Rivera

30 October 1951, Laredo, Texas, USA. The youngest of 11 children, Sanchez taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums and timbales before choosing the conga. He was raised in Norwalk, California, where he played with local bands although his first engagement was as a singer with an R&B band. Among the artists he listened to in these formative years were Machito, Tito Pue Read more

Arturo Sandoval - 77% match to Paquito d'Rivera

6 November 1949, Artemisa, Havana, Cuba. Starting out as a student of classical trumpet, Sandoval quickly turned to jazz and during the 70s attracted worldwide attention not only for the technical brilliance of his playing but also through the exhilarating Latin influence of his work. He was a founding member of the Orquestra De Música Moderna, which evolved into Irak Read more

Caribbean Jazz Project - 76% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Irakere - 72% match to Paquito d'Rivera

This pioneering Cuban jazz band, which began recording on an ad hoc basis in the late 60s, has been home to some of the country’s leading musicians. Irakere, which literally means ‘forest’, was the name of a drummer in Yoruba legend. The title was adopted by the band as a homage to the great drummer, and to reflect the percussive, Afro-Cuban emphasis of their mus Read more

Michel Camilo - 68% match to Paquito d'Rivera

4 April 1954, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Composing his first song at the age of five, Camilo was heavily influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and McCoy Tyner, as well as great classical composers for piano, and the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. He attended the National Conservatory of the Dominican Republic for 13 years and earned a professorship in music. At 16 Read more

Eddie Palmieri - 56% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Eduardo Palmieri, 15 December 1936, South Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, of Puerto Rican parentage. The self-avowed pioneering ‘oxygen cocktail’ of contemporary salsa, pianist, band leader, composer, arranger, producer Palmieri began playing the piano at the age of eight. He also played timbales, and wanted to specialize in the instrument, but changed his min Read more

Gonzalo Rubalcaba - 52% match to Paquito d'Rivera

27 May 1963, Havana, Cuba. Rubalcaba’s grandfather, Jacobo, was a danzon composer, and his father, Guillermo, a pianist. Playing piano from a very early age, Gonzalo took lessons from the age of eight and then studied classical music at Havana Institute of Fine Arts, where he earned a degree in music composition. He became a professional musician, forming Grupo Proyecto Read more

Mongo Santamaria - 52% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Ramón Santamaría, 7 April 1922, Jesús María district, Havana, Cuba, d. 1 February 2003, Miami, Florida, USA. Percussionist and band leader Santamaría (nicknamed Mongo by his father) arrived in New York at the end of the 40s. There he performed with the first charanga (flute, violins, rhythm section and voices band) to be organized in the ci Read more

Pete Escovedo - 52% match to Paquito d'Rivera

13 July 1935, Pittsburg, California, USA. Escovedo began playing saxophone in high school, but switched to vibraphone before choosing a variety of percussion instruments as his true métier. His first professional engagement found him in a band on the same bill as Count Basie, an event that prompted him to settle there and then on a career in music. In 1970, together w Read more

Chico O'Farrill - 43% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Arturo O’Farrill, 28 October 1921, Havana, Cuba, d. 27 June 2001, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. After playing trumpet in several Cuban-based bands throughout the 40s, O’Farrill moved to the USA where he concentrated on arranging. During the 50s his work was played and recorded by Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie among others, and he also co Read more

Cachao - 41% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Charlie Palmieri - 41% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Carlos Manuel Palmieri Jnr., 21 November 1927, Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, d. 12 September 1988, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. Known in salsa as ‘El Gigante de Las Blancas y Las Negras’ (The Giant of the Keyboard), Palmieri’s parents, Carlos Palmieri Manuel Villaneuva and Isabel Maldonado-Palmieri, migrated from Ponce Read more

Ray Barretto - 26% match to Paquito d'Rivera

29 April 1929, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, d. 17 February 2006, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Barretto was raised in East Harlem and the Bronx and was a prominent Latin band leader for many decades. However, he started his professional career as a jazz recording session conga player. To escape the ghetto he joined the army at 17. Infl Read more

Tito Puente - 24% match to Paquito d'Rivera

Ernesto Antonio Puente Jnr., 20 April 1923, Harlem Hospital, New York City, New York, USA, d. 31 May 2000, New York City, New York, USA. Born of Puerto Rican parentage, Puente began piano lessons when he was seven years old and around the age of 10 started tuition in drums and percussion, which became his forte. Around 1936, Puente commenced his professional career as a drum Read more