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 ...
in New York City. He attended The High School of Music & Art. He learned percussion at an early age, and by 10 was playing
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) ...
and
timbales
Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...
professionally. When he was 12, he began to practice the
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...
so he could get to know a girl in school who played the flute, Irene Cathcart. He borrowed a flute, bought a Herbie Mann record, and started to teach himself. Years later, he recorded an album with Mann called ''Two Amigos''. He took lessons from
Hubert Laws
Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...
, who became his mentor.
In the 1970s, Valentin combined Latin music with jazz in bands with Bill O'Connell,
Lincoln Goines
Lincoln Goines (born 1953) is a double bassist and bass guitarist from Oakland, California.
Biography
A mainstay of the New York City jazz/Latin/studio scene since the early 1980s and noted for his versatility and fluid style, Goines' extensive ...
Sammy Figueroa
Sammy Figueroa (born November 16, 1948, The Bronx, New York) is an American percussionist. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces.
Selected Discography
Giovanni Hidalgo
Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist.
Early years
Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...
smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...
,
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 improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...
, and jazz-pop. He recorded his debut album with Ricardo Marrero in 1977. Over time he recorded with Noel Pointer,
Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter.
Music career
Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...
,
Lee Ritenour
Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s.
Biography
Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...
,
Chris Connor
Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer.
Biography
Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...
Eliane Elias
Eliane Elias BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian
Nnenna Freelon
Nnenna Freelon (born July 28, 1954) is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger.
Early life and education
Freelon was born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce to Charles and Frances Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was raised ...
. Until 1979, he was a schoolteacher.
For several years Valentin served as musical director for
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 ...
's Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars, and also toured with Manny Oquendo's Conjunto Libre. In 2000, he appeared in the documentary
Calle 54
''Calle 54'' is a 2000 documentary film about Latin jazz by Spanish director Fernando Trueba. With only minimal introductory voiceovers, the film consists of studio performances by a wide array of Latin Jazz musicians. Artists featured include Chuc ...
performing with Tito Puente's Orchestra.
For seven years in a row, he was chosen best jazz flautist by readers of ''Jazziz'' magazine. In 1985, he received a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nomination as best R&B instrumentalist. In 2003, he won a Grammy for ''Caribbean Jazz Project'', an album he did with Dave Samuels.
In March 2012, Valentin had a stroke which left him partially paralyzed and unable to perform. In 2015 he suffered a second stroke, and worked to overcome his disabilities in an extended care facility.
On March 8, 2017, Valentin died from complications of a stroke and
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...
in the Bronx at the age of 64. His lifelong "special friend", Irene, for whom he learned to play the flute, was at his side when he passed.
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...
, 1999)
* ''Primitive Passions'' ( RMM, 2005)
* ''World on a String'' ( Highnote, 2005)
* ''Come Fly With Me'' (Highnote, 2006)
* ''Pure Imagination'' (Highnote, 2011)
With
Steve Turre
Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For years, Turre has be ...
*''
The Spirits Up Above
''The Spirits Up Above'' is an album by trombonist Steve Turre recorded in 2004 and released on the HighNote Records, HighNote label.
Reception
The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow said "Trombonist Steve Turre pays tribute to his former employer, t ...
'' (HighNote, 2004)
With the GRP All-Star Big Band
* '' GRP All-Star Big Band'' (GRP, 1992)
With Scott Cossu
*''Islands'' (Windham Hill, 1984)
*''Switchback'' (Windham Hill, 1989)
*''Stained Glass Memories'' (Windham Hill, 1992)