Steve Vibert Pouchie was a

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 ...

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 ...

vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

born on January 18, 1954. He died on August 28, 2015. After graduating from

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

in 1976 Pouchie worked as a teacher in the Bronx at Walton High School until 2004. Pouchie was awarded the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' "Liberty Medal" presented to him by

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 ...

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

for his works as an outstanding innovative musical educator. Despite his educational demands, Pouchie formed a Latin Jazz ensemble to promote that form of music. He played and opened 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 c ...

Charlie Palmieri Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards". Early years Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from Po ...

Jimmy Sabater Jimmy Sabater (April 11, 1936 – February 8, 2012) was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and timbales player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe Cu ...

Dave Valentin David Peter Valentin (April 29, 1952 – March 8, 2017) was an American Latin jazz flautist of Puerto Rican descent. Life and career Valentin was born to Puerto Rican parents in The Bronx in New York City. He attended The High School of Music ...

and

Bobby Sanabria Bobby Sanabria (born June 2, 1957) is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, producer, educator, activist, radio show host of Puerto Rican descent who specializes in jazz and Latin jazz. Biography Sanabria was born in the South ...

. Pouchie also produced and directed the Latin Jazz television show "Latin Jazz Alive and Kickin" for many years. In 2002 Pouchie released his first CD "Vibe Mania" and in 2015 he released his final CD, titled "North by Northwest" which included Grammy nominated Wilson "Chembo" Corniel on congas and percussion. On December 18, 2013 Steve Pouchie held a Merry Christmas Book Party celebration for Grant Harper Reid's biography

Rhythm For Sale ''Rhythm For Sale'' is a 2013 biography of performer, choreographer, and director Leonard Harper. It was written by Grant Harper Reid, Harper's grandson. It was self-published by Reid on CreateSpace. ''Rhythm For Sale'' has a total of 300 pages ...

about

Leonard Harper (producer) Leonard Harper (April 9, 1899, Birmingham, Alabama – February 4, 1943, Harlem, New York) was a producer, stager, and choreographer in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. Harper's works spanned the worlds of vau ...

held at Don Coqui shortcut to Puerto Rico on Latin Jazz Wednesday's. On August 13, 2015, Steve Pouchie's Latin Jazz Ensemble performed their last "Hotel Beach Concert" at The Claridge Hotel in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. The concert was in connection with Atlantic City's

Chicken Bone Beach Chicken Bone Beach was a racially segregated section of the Atlantic Ocean beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey (between Missouri and Mississippi Avenues) known for attracting many African Americans. It was given this name by the locals due to the vo ...

Historical Society. Pouchie died shortly after and was buried on September 4, 2015 at the

Saint Raymond's Cemetery Saint Raymond's Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 2600 Lafayette Avenue in the Throggs Neck and Schuylerville sections of the Bronx, New York City, United States. The cemetery is composed of two separate locations: the older section (main e ...

in the Bronx.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pouchie, Steve Vibert 1954 births 2015 deaths Musicians from the Bronx 20th-century vibraphonists 21st-century vibraphonists Latin jazz bandleaders Television producers from New York City American television directors Burials at Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx)