José Estevez Jr. (March 27, 1921 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

- March 7, 1988), professionally known as Joe Loco, was a

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

and

Latin pop Latin pop (in Spanish and in Portuguese: Pop latino) is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. Originating in Spanish-speaking musicians, Latin po ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and arranger of Puerto Rican ancestry.

Life

Loco, maybe born José Estevez Jr. but officially known as Joseph Esteves, first played with an ensemble called Montecino's Happy Boys in 1938. In the early 1940s, he served as

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

's pianist before joining the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

from 1945 to 1947. He then freelanced with many of the top Latin ensembles of the time well into the 1950s, working with Polito Galíndez,

Marcelino Guerra Marcelino Guerra (26 April 1914 – 30 June 1996), nicknamed "Rapindey", was a Cuban singer, songwriter and guitarist. He spent much of his life in the United States and retired in Spain. As a vocalist, his primary role was ''segunda voz'' (ha ...

Pupi Campo Pupi Campo (May 1, 1920, in Havana, Cuba – December 12, 2011, in Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state ...

, and Julio Andino. He scored a hit of his own in 1952 with the tune "

Tenderly "Tenderly" is a popular song published in 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Written in the key of E as a waltz in time, it has since been performed in 4/4 and has become a popular jazz standard. Notable versions have ...

". Loco also did Latin arrangements of

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

s, and performed them with a quintet in many jazz venues that did not typically showcase Latin music.

Discography

* ''El Baión'' (Tico, 1954) * ''Loco Motion'' (Columbia 760, 1955) * ''¡Vaya! With Joe Loco'' (Columbia 827, 1956) * ''Joe Loco in the Philippines'' (Villar, 1961)

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

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 ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loco, Joe 1921 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists American jazz pianists American male pianists Columbia Records artists American male jazz musicians Tico Records artists American people of Puerto Rican descent

Life

Discography

See also

References