|
 Johnny Rodriguez, Jr., knew -- quite well -- that special feeling
when the late Tito Puente's Latin Jazz Ensemble was really cooking.
The
group would switch back and forth gracefully and effortlessly from
Latin to Jazz, blurring the lines while maintaining the perfection
of each
style."I think that was the success of the group. We played festivals
with
big name jazz acts, and they sounded great. But it was the 'color'
in the
music that made Tito's band different.
Johnny was 14 when his family moved from New York to Los Angeles.
His father, Johnny Rodriguez, Sr., played with Tito Rodriguez and Tito
Puente, when they joined the West Coast-based Stan Kenton Band. Three
years later, when he was 17, Johnny was chosen by Tito
Puente to join
his band. He played with Tito Puente for nearly four decades. "My
biggest thrill was hooking up with Tito Puente," he recalls.
Today, Johnny refuses to rest on his laurels. He is very active with
The Latin Giants of Jazz (along with fellow LP endorsers Joe Madera
and George Delgado), which features the stars of the former Tito Puente
Orchestra. The band performs the famed Palladium days music of Tito
Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and Machito, and also recorded The Giants Play
the Music of the Palladium.
Equipment
list: LP
congas, LP
Tito Puente Timbales, LP
bongos, LP
tamborines, LP
guiros, LP
Agogo Bells and assorted LP
hand percussion
|
