Louis "Sabu" Martinez (July 14, 1930 – January 13, 1979) was an American conguero of Puerto Rican descent. A prominent player in the Cubop movement, Martinez appeared on many important recordings and live performances during that period. Martinez also recorded several

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 ...

albums, now recognized as classics of the genre. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Martinez made his professional debut in 1941 aged 11. He replaced Chano Pozo in

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

's orchestra in 1948, and began performing with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

's Bebop Orchestra in 1949. Over the next 15 years, Martinez worked with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, J. J. Johnson,

Horace Silver Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s. After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, Noro Morales, Marcelino Guerra, Esy Morales, the Lecuona Cuban Boys, Miguelito Valdés,

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 ...

, and the Joe Loco Trio, José Curbelo. He also worked with vocalists

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Sammy Davis Jr., and

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

. Martinez first recorded with

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

in 1953, and contributed to his '' Orgy in Rhythm'' and '' Holiday for Skins'' projects from 1957 to 1958. Martinez became a

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

in 1957, recording his debut album, '' Palo Congo'', for the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label. He followed it up with releases on Vik and Alegre Records. Martinez moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1967 and recorded with the Francy Boland-

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), known professionally as Kenny Clarke and nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride ...

big band, releasing two albums. Subsequently, he led the group Burnt Sugar, which was active into the mid 1970s. On January 13, 1979, he died in Sweden at the age of 48 from a gastric ulcer.

Discography

As leader/Co-leader

* '' Palo Congo'' (

, 1957) * ''Safari With Sabu'' (Vik, 1958) * Sabu And His Percussion Ensemble, ''Sorcery!'' ( Columbia, 1958) * ''Sabu's Jazz Espagnole'' ( Alegre, 1961) * Sabu Martinez Och Björbobandet, ''Aurora Borealis'' (Coop, 1971) * ''Afro Temple'' (Grammofonverket, 1973) * ''Burned Sugar'' (Mellotronen, 2008) - recorded in 1973 and 1974 * Sabu Martinez and Sahib Shihab, ''Winds & Skins'' (Mellotronen, 2008) - recorded in 1967 and 1978

As contributor

- '' The Complete RCA Victor Recordings'' (Bluebird, 1937-1949,

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

* *

- '' Horace Silver Trio and Art Blakey-Sabu'' (Blue Note Records, 1953) * * Louis Bellson - '' The Driving Louis Bellson'' (Norgran, 1955) *

- '' Drum Suite'' (Columbia, 1957) *Art Blakey - '' Orgy in Rhythm'' (Blue Note, 1957) *Art Blakey - '' Cu-Bop'' (Jubilee, 1957) *Art Blakey - '' Holiday for Skins'' (Blue Note, 1959) * * * Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band: '' Latin Kaleidoscope'' (MPS, 1969) * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

all about jazz article

discogs article

Sabu Martinez Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Sabu 1930 births 1979 deaths Jazz percussionists Latin jazz percussionists Afro-Cuban jazz percussionists Blue Note Records artists Conga players 20th-century American drummers Drummers from New York City American male drummers