Joseph Thomas "Coke" Escovedo (April 30, 1941 – July 13, 1986) was an American

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, who came from a prominent musical family including five musician brothers and his niece,

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

He played in various genres, including R&B,

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, with bands including

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

Malo Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places *Malo, Italy, a town *Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu * Malo (Solomon Islands), an island *Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States * ...

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

, and Azteca.

Early life

Escovedo was born in

Los Angeles, California 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' ...

, the son of Pedro Escovedo, a plumber and amateur musician, who had immigrated from Mexico at age 12, and Anita (). Escovedo grew up in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

region of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. He developed an early interest in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

through exposure gained from his father Pedro, an aspiring

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

singer, and eventually gravitated to drums and Latin percussion. Coke's older brother, fellow percussionist

Pete Escovedo Peter Michael Escovedo (born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg, California) is an American percussionist. "Pete Escovedo Biography & Awards" With his two brothers, Pete formed Escovedo Bros Latin Jazz Sextet, before Carlos Santana hired Pete and Coke ...

, recruited Escovedo for a local Latin jazz combo led by pianist Carlos Federico. The Federico combo evolved into the Escovedo Brothers Band, which also counted Pete, bassist brother Phil Escovedo, saxophonist-flautist Mel Martin and trombonist Al Bent among its regular members.

Career

Escovedo began to gain some notability in the San Francisco Bay Area Latin jazz scene and worked with jazz vibraphonist

(some of his finest work can be found on Tjader's album ''Agua Dulce''). Escovedo rose to even greater prominence in early 1971 when he first became a member of

, initially as a replacement for timbale player Jose "Chepito" Areas, who had been sidelined with medical issues. Escovedo was featured on Santana's ''

Santana III ''Santana'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Santana. The band's second self-titled album, it is often referred to as ''III'' or ''Santana III'' to distinguish it from the band's 1969 debut album. The album was also known as ...

'' (1971) album. Escovedo co-authored a hit song from that album, "

No One to Depend On "No One to Depend On" is a song by Latin rock band Santana, from their 1971 album, ''Santana III''. The main melody of the song is taken from "Spanish Grease", first recorded by Willie Bobo in 1965. It was written by Mike Carabello, Coke Escovedo ...

", which peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Years later the song would be covered by

Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

as part of her 1999 hit " Me, Myself and I" (#36 on Top 40 Mainstream chart). While in the Santana band, Escovedo performed at many high-profile concerts, including the historic closing of the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Stre ...

(appearing on the live recording and documentary film from that event). Santana drummer

Michael Shrieve Michael Shrieve (born July 6, 1949) is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second youn ...

has credited Escovedo for showing him how to incorporate some Latin percussion figures into his drum set playing during their time together. During

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

's transition period between the original and "New" Santana bands, Escovedo also performed with the Carlos Santana/Buddy Miles group, appearing on the 1972 release '' Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles! Live!'' Escovedo and Areas had been pioneering a new style on the traditional Cuban timbales. Though drawing on the influence of the extroverted timbale showman

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

, Escovedo took the explosive power of the Cuban drums even farther, adding spice to rock and soul music recordings by artists such as

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

, Cold Blood,

It's a Beautiful Day It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards. David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once p ...

, and

(with whom he was a featured soloist on their debut LP), as well as to freer jazz experiments with artists such as trumpeter

Luis Gasca Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

. In early 1972, Escovedo, following his vision of putting together "a band that could play anything", formed Azteca along with his brother Pete Escovedo. The band signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and released its self-titled debut album in December 1972. It reached No. 38 on the R&B chart in 1973. A second album, ''

Pyramid of the Moon The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics th ...

'', was released in the fall of 1973. Both albums prominently featured Escovedo's timbale playing and some of his compositions, as leader of an all-star cast of musicians, many of whom would become prominent solo artists. Despite garnering critical acclaim and playing high-profile concert tours, the big-band Azteca lineup was difficult to sustain. Their second release, ''Pyramid of the Moon'' failed to chart and by 1974, Escovedo left Azteca. In 1975, he began work on the first of his three solo albums, simply titled '' Coke''. This 1976 solo debut featured a spare, sophisticated soul/funk/jazz/Latin blend highlighting the talents of vocalist

Linda Tillery Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake i ...

(formerly of

The Loading Zone The Loading Zone was an American rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They issued two albums worth of material, with differing band lineups, before disbanding in 1971. Career They were formed in Berkeley, California in 1966 by singer-key ...

) and keyboardist-composer Herman Eberitzsch. A Top 100 R&B single, "Make It Sweet", resulted, along with a TV appearance on ''

Don Kirshner's Rock Concert ''Don Kirshner's Rock Concert'' is an American television music variety show that ran during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Don Kirshner and syndicated to television stations, initially through Viacom Enterprises, and later ...

''. Escovedo recorded two more albums: the pop-oriented '' Comin' at Ya!'' (featuring former Azteca vocalist

Errol Knowles Errol may refer to: People with the given name *Errol Barnett (born 1983), anchor and correspondent for CBS News *Errol Barrow (1920–1987), first Prime Minister of Barbados *Errol Brown (1943–2015), British-Jamaican songwriter, lead singer ...

) in 1976. 1977's '' Disco Fantasy'' proved critically and commercially disappointing and became the last album of solo material he released. Escovedo continued to perform in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond at the helm of a band that included former Malo guitarist

Abel Zarate Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd wh ...

in pursuit of a new record deal which never materialized. He also continued to do session work and to tour with the likes of Santana,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

and his niece

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

, finally relocating to the Los Angeles area in the 1980s.

Personal life

Coke Escovedo has five musician brothers: * Phil Escovedo played bass alongside Coke and Pete in the Escovedo Brothers Band, and also on sessions with Latin Jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader. *

also was a percussionist with Santana. His daughter

collaborated with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. *

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

is currently a prominent recording artist working in the Americana style of music. He and

Jon Dee Graham Jon Dee Graham is an American musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas, United States. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music conference in 2006. He was inducted into the Austin Mu ...

formerly led the True Believers. * Javier Escovedo was a member of the pioneering punk rock band The Zeros, as well as of the True Believers. * Mario Escovedo fronted critically acclaimed San Diego rockers The Dragons. Coke Escovedo also has a son,

Paris A. Escovedo Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

of the Escovedo Project, and 2 daughters, Sabrina L. Escovedo and

Antonia Escovedo Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * ''Antonia's Line'', orig ...

Death

Escovedo died of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

at the age of 45 on July 13, 1986.

Discography

Studio albums

References

Sources

* http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/2010/07/13/latin-jazz-conversations-pete-escovedo-part-1/ * http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/2010/07/14/latin-jazz-conversations-pete-escovedo-part-2/ * http://santanamigos.pagesperso-orange.fr/band.htm *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escovedo, Coke 1941 births 1986 deaths American percussionists Hispanic and Latino American musicians Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area American musicians of Mexican descent Santana (band) members 20th-century American musicians Deaths from cirrhosis Alcohol-related deaths in California