Alfredo Rodríguez (25 October 1936 – 3 October 2005) was a Cuban pianist who played Afro-Cuban music as well as

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 (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

. Born in Havana, his musical career began in New York, where he struggled to establish himself, playing with dozens of Latin music groups over two decades. In 1983, he moved to Paris, where he enjoyed greater success, recording several albums as a leader to critical acclaim. In his later years, he founded a new group, los Acerekó, featuring

Tata Güines Federico Arístides Soto Alejo (June 30, 1930 – February 4, 2008), better known as Tata Güines, was a Cuban percussionist, bandleader and arranger. He was widely regarded as a master of the conga drum, and alongside Carlos "Patato" Valdés, in ...

Changuito José Luis Quintana (January 18, 1948 – June 6, 2025) was a Cuban percussionist. Biography Changuito was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.Carlos "Patato" Valdés, his tenure with Jesús Alemañy's Cubanismo and for his distinctly Afro-Cuban playing style, reflecting the legacy of

Peruchín Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín (January 31, 1913 – December 24, 1977), was a Cuban pianist specializing in jazz-influenced Cuban popular music. He was an important figure in the 1950s descarga (jam session) scene ...

and

Lilí Martínez Luis Martínez Griñán (19 August 1915 – 26 August 1990), better known as Lilí Martínez, was a Cuban pianist, arranger and composer specializing in the son montuno style. He played in the Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez and Conjunto Chappo ...

. Although never commercially successful, his work has been consistently well received by critics and Latin jazz fans alike.Alfredo Rodríguez Biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

His death in 2005 occurred shortly after he had finished recording a collaboration album with

Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York City, New York–based salsa music, salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars. Salsa has ...

Life and career

Early years

Alfredo Rodríguez was born in

Vedado Vedado (, ) is a central business district and urban neighborhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Calzada de Infanta and Centro Habana, Cuba, Central Havana, and on the west by the Alemendares River and Miramar, Havana, Mir ...

, Havana, on 25 October 1936. Although he studied music at the Eduardo Peyrellade Conservatory, he did not begin his career as a musician until after he had moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in 1960. He initially worked as a PR officer for a printing company. In 1961,

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...

, one of Cuba's most popular musicians, advised him to pursue a career in music. In the next decade he would play with dozens of groups, finding it hard to establish himself as the core member of any orchestra due to his personal convictions and rivalries with other musicians. He played with Conjunto Sensación under the direction of Rey Roig, making his recording debut on ''Swing'' (1965). Unlike the other members of the band, such as singer

Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez Pedro Juan Rodríguez Ferrer (31 January 1933 – 1 December 2000), better known as Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, was a salsa singer born in Barrio Cantera, Ponce, Puerto Rico. His son, also named Pete Rodriguez, is also a salsa and jazz music ...

, Alfredo refused to join

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New ...

's band after the break-up of the group in 1966. After the dissolution of Conjunto Sensación, Rodríguez played

Vicentico Valdés Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964), better known as Vicentico, is an Argentine musician and composer. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs along with Flavio Cianciarulo. He was part of the group since it ...

before joining Willie Rosario's group for one year. In 1968, he joined

Joe Cuba Gilberto Miguel Calderón (April 22, 1931 – February 15, 2009), known professionally as Joe Cuba, was an American conga drummer of Puerto Rican descent widely regarded as the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". Early years Gilberto Miguel Calderón ...

's group for two years. At this point, he quit his job in the printing company, which he had maintained for seven years. In 1970, after a brief and difficult spell in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, he returned to New York and rejoined Joe Cuba's band.

Miami and return to New York

In 1972, Rodríguez moved to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, where he stayed for four years as a member of José Fajardo's group and also as a live accompanist for singers such as Lucecita Benítez, Vicentico Valdés (again), and Orlando Contreras. He returned to New York in 1976, and was invited by percussionist Carlos "Patato" Valdés to play on his new album, ''Ready for Freddie'', released by

Latin Percussion {{for, the company, Latin Percussion Latin percussion is a family of percussion, membranophone, lamellophone and idiophone instruments used in Latin music. Instruments Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican styles Folkloric and Santeria * Trap drums * Abaku ...

. He then played with Charanga 76 for two years, and recorded many albums as a side man, including three with his favorite singer, Justo Betancourt. He also recorded with Típica Novel, Alfredo de la Fé, Ismael Rivera, Cortijo,

La Lupe Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond (23 December 1936 – 29 February 1992), better known as La Lupe, was a Cuban singer of boleros, guarachas and Latin soul known for her energetic, sometimes controversial performances. Following the release o ...

and

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

, among others. In 1980, Rodríguez replaced

Jorge Dalto Jorge Dalto (July 8, 1948 – October 27, 1987) was a pop, jazz and Afro-Cuban music pianist from Argentina, and the former musical director and keyboardist (together with Ronnie Foster) for George Benson, contributing the acoustic piano intro a ...

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

's Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble for an American tour, since Dalto was touring Europe at the time. In 1980, he also toured Europe with Camilo Azuquita, who had relocated to Paris in 1978. Nonetheless, it was not a fruitful tour. He returned to New York and substituted for Óscar Hernández and Sonny Bravo on many recording sessions.

The Paris years

In 1982, he went to Paris with flautist Art Webb due to the last-minute withdrawal of pianist Edy Martínez. He stayed there with Patato Valdés and began to work with his own group. In 1983, he recorded his first album in New York with his former bandmantes: ''Sonido sólido''. His second LP, ''Monsieur oh la la'', was recorded in 1985. In 1990–91, he recorded his third album, this time live while on tour with Patato: ''Cuba-New York-Paris''. The album saw limited release by the French record label Bleu Caraibes. In 1993, he recorded ''Para Yoya'', also released by Bleu Caraibes, featuring Peruchín Jr., the guitarist, son of

. Between 1994 and 1995, he invited Cuban artists from New York, such as Roberto Torres and Papaíto, for live shows in Paris, where the Latin scene was growing. In 1995, he recorded the first album by Cubanismo, Jesús Alemañy's big band

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

revival project. The album was recorded in Havana, marking the first time Rodríguez had returned to his home country since 1960. Also in 1995, he recorded ''Único y diferente'' with Patato Valdés. In 1996, he returned to Cuba to record ''Cuba linda'', his most critically acclaimed album, featuring some of the musicians from Cubanismo. He then toured California with Cubanismo to a great reception by audiences and critics. In Charleston, he played ''Cuba linda'', although with a different lineup compared to the album sessions. He then toured Europe with Cubanismo; that would be his last tour with the band, which he quit after the release of ''Malembe''.

Later years and death

In the year 2000 he took part in the recordings for the album ''Los originales'', by Cuban Masters, an ensemble of Cubans in exile directed by Juan Pablo Torres. The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards. In the early 2000s, he formed his own group called Acerekó and recorded the album ''Cuban Jazz'', featuring

Changuito José Luis Quintana (January 18, 1948 – June 6, 2025) was a Cuban percussionist. Biography Changuito was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York City, New York–based salsa music, salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars. Salsa has ...

album ''Ketukuba'', released in 2006. He gave his last concert in August 2005 in

Contis Contis is a village, part of the commune of Saint-Julien-en-Born, in the Landes ''département'' of southwest France, on the Atlantic Ocean, which has an extensive beach, ''Contis Plage''. Overview The wide beach of fine sand is popular with ...

, France. He died from cancer at the Bretonneau Hospital in Paris on 3 October 2005. A tribute concert was held in Paris on 20 March 2006. Pianist Ernán Lopez-Nussa flew over from Havana to play on the show, which was presented by Joel Hierrezuelo. A compilation of unreleased recordings, ''Oye Afra'', was released posthumously in 2007.

Style

With regards to his Afro-Cuban style of piano playing, Rodríguez is considered a disciple of

, who was a good friend of his. He also was a fan of

, who played for Arsenio Rodríguez. Both Peruchín and Lilí Martínez were influenced by classical pianists such as Chopin, and so was Rodríguez, whose music owes much to classical composers such as

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Discography

*1983: ''Sonido sólido'' *1985: ''Monsieur oh la la'' *1991: ''Cuba-New York-Paris'' (live) *1993: ''Para Yoya'' *1997: ''Cuba linda'' *2002: ''Cuban Jazz'' *2007: ''Oye Afra'' (live, recorded 1998–2005) *2014: ''On Tour in Europe'' (live, recorded 1990–91)

References

External links

Alfredo Rodríguez
Discogs.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Alfredo 1936 births 2005 deaths Cuban composers Cuban male composers Musicians from Havana 20th-century Cuban pianists 20th-century Cuban male musicians