Bobby Matos (July 24, 1941 – November 11, 2017) was an American Latin jazz percussionist.

Life and career

Bobby Matos was born in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on July 24, 1941. He began playing music by hitting pots and pans in his grandmother's apartment. As a youth, he studied with

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

masters Patato Valdez and Mongo Santamaría. While playing all over New York, he was encouraged to play timbales by

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo,

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

''AllMusic'' was an American Latin jazz percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of ...

and Tito Puente and in the late 60s attended

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. Around this time, he recorded "My Latin Soul" for

Phillips International Records Phillips International Records is a sub-label of Sun Records started by Sam Phillips in October 1957. The design had the whole label as a blue and white Earth-globe with "Phillips" prominent between the words "Sam C." and "International Corp" o ...

, which made his reputation as a bandleader. Matos toured and recorded with artists Ben Vereen,

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

, Fred Neil, Jim Croce,

Joe Loco José Estevez Jr. (March 27, 1921 in New York City - March 7, 1988), professionally known as Joe Loco, was a Latin jazz and Latin pop pianist and arranger of Puerto Rican ancestry. Life Loco, maybe born José Estevez Jr. but officially known as ...

, Ray Rivera, Miriam Makeba, and scores of others. He had an extensive discography and 5 critically acclaimed albums with Ubiquity Records. One of his last record was "Gratitude" on Dawan Muhammadd's LifeForce jazz label. Bobby Matos died of cancer in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, on November 11, 2017, at the age of 76.

References

External links

Bobby Matos' websiteLifeForce Jazz website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matos, Bobby 1941 births 2017 deaths Musicians from the Bronx The New School alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni American jazz percussionists Ubiquity Records artists Artists from New York City Latin jazz musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state)