Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican ancestry. His main instruments were the

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 ...

and the

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

. He was a long-time member of

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

's Conjunto La Perfecta, which he left in the 1970s to co-lead the Conjunto Libre.

Life and career

Oquendo grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and began studying percussion in 1945. He worked in the bands of Tropical and Latin music ensembles such as Carlos Valero, Luis del Campo, Juan "El Boy" Torres, Luciano "Chano" Pozo, José Budet, Juanito Sanabria,

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 ...

, José Curbelo, and

Pupi Campo Pupi Campo (May 1, 1920, in Havana, Cuba – December 12, 2011, in Las Vegas, United States) was a Cuban entertainer, dancer and bandleader who spent most of his life in the United States. As a bandleader in the 1940s and 50s, he made recordings ...

. In 1950, he became the bongó player 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 ...

. Following this he played with

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

in 1954 and Vicentico Valdés in 1955. He worked freelance in New York before joining

's ''Conjunto La Perfecta'' in 1962, where he helped develop the New York-style of the

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

rhythm. He co-led Conjunto Libre (later simply Libre) with bassist Andy González from 1974 and had a worldwide hit with "Little Sunflower" in 1983. This Freddie Hubbard composition was included on their album ''Ritmo, Sonido y Estilo''.

Musical style

Oquendo's timbales solos were famous for their sparse, straightforward ''típico'' phrasing, reminiscent of the Cuban ''timbaleros'' of the 1940s. According to musician and producer

Juan de Marcos González Juan de Marcos González (born Juan de Marcos González-Cárdenas; January 29, 1954) is a Cuban bandleader, musician and actor, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club and in the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film '' Vivo'' as the ...

, Oquendo's tuning of the timbales was comparable to that of Silvano "Chori" Shueg. Oquendo's solos also incorporated the rhythmic language of the folkloric quinto, the lead drum of

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...

.Peñalosa, David (2010). "Soloing in Popular Music," ''Rumba Quinto'' p. 112. Redway, CA: Bembé Books.

Discography

*''Con Salsa, Con Ritmo'', Vol. 1, (

Salsoul Records Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/post-disco 12-inch releases, ...

, 1976) *''Con Salsa, Con Ritmo Vol. 2 - Tiene Calidad,'' (Salsoul Records, 1978) *''Los Líderes de la Salsa'' (Salsoul Records, 1979) *''Libre Increíble'' (Salsoul Records, 1981) *''Ritmo, Sonido, y Estilo'' ( Montuno Records, 1983) *''Mejor que Nunca'' ( Milestone Records, 1994) *''Muévete!'' (Milestone, 1996) *''Ahora'' (Milestone, 1999) *''Los New Yorkinos'' (Milestone, 2000) With

*''Eddie Palmieri y La Perfecta'' (1961); *''El Molestoso'' (1962); *''Azúcar Pa' Ti'' ("Sugar for You") 1965); *''Mozambique'' (1966); *''

El Sonido Nuevo ''El Sonido Nuevo'', subtitled/translated ''The New Soul Sound'', is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri recorded in 1966 and released on the Verve label.

'' (Verve, 1966) With

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, ...

; *'' Bamboléate'' (Tico, 1967) With

; *''Molasses'' (1967); *''Champagne'' (1968); *''Justicia'' (1969); *''Superimposition'' (1970); *''Harlem River Drive'' (1971) With

Tito Rodriguez Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

*'' Tito Rodríguez Live at the Palladium'' (1960); *'' Estoy Como Nunca'' (UA Latino, 1969); With Grupo Folklorico y Experimental *'' Lo Dice Todo'' (1977) With

Paul Quinichette Paul Quinichette (May 17, 1916 – May 25, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was known as the "Vice President" or "Vice Prez" for his emulation of the breathy style of Lester Young, whose nickname was "The President", or simply "P ...

*'' Moods'' (EmArcy, 1954)

References

Manny Oquendo Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican ancestry. His main instruments were the timbales and the bongos. He was a long-time member of Eddie Palmieri's Conjunto La Perfecta, which he le ...

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 databa ...

Manny Oquendo
at lpmusic.com
Herencia Latina - Obituary

External links

* . * "The History of the New York-Style Mozambique," Andy Gonzalez interviews Manny Oquendo. ''Unlocking Clave''. Web. ''Facebook''. https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=196776013694392 * "Mozambique" (Manny Oquendo). ''Unlocking Clave''. Web. ''Facebook''. https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=200210736684253 * "Timbales Demonstration" (Manny Oquendo). ''Unlocking Clave''. Web. ''Facebook''. https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=200083626696964 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oquendo, Manny 1931 births 2009 deaths American percussionists Musicians from New York City Milestone Records artists Timbaleros Bongo players American bandleaders 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians