Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz. His first hit, "El Watusi", was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States. In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa. Nonetheless, many of Barretto's recordings would remain rooted in more traditional genres such as son cubano. A master of the descarga, Barretto was a long-time member of the Fania All-Stars. His success continued into the 1970s with songs such as "Cocinando" and "Indestructible". His last album for Fania Records, Soy dichoso, was released in 1990. He then formed the New World Spirit jazz ensemble and continued to tour and record until his death in 2006.
A descarga is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it was developed in Havana during the 1950s. Important figures in the emergence of the genre were Cachao, Julio Gutiérrez, Bebo Valdés, Peruchín and Niño Rivera in Cuba, and Tito Puente, Machito and Mario Bauzá in New York. Originally, descargas were promoted by record companies such as Panart, Maype and Gema under the label Cuban jam sessions. From the 1960s, the descarga format was usually adapted by large salsa ensembles, most notably the Fania All-Stars.
Grupo Niche is a salsa group founded in 1978 in Bogotá, Colombia. In 1982, the group settled in the city of Cali, Colombia, enjoying great popularity throughout Latin America. It was founded by Jairo Varela and Alexis Lozano. Varela remained with the group throughout his life, serving as producer, director, songwriter, vocalist and guiro player. Alexis Lozano, trombone player and arranger later left to form Orquesta Guayacán. The group also included Nicolas Cristancho "Macabi" on the piano, Francisco Garcia "Porky" on the bass, Luis Pacheco, on the congas, and vocalists Jorge Bazán and Hector Viveros.
Machito was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. He was raised in Havana with the singer Graciela, his foster sister.
Larry Harlow was an American salsa music pianist, performer, composer, band leader and producer. He was born into a musical American family of Jewish descent.
Alberto Naranjo [nah-rahn'-ho] was a Venezuelan musician. His mother, the singer Graciela Naranjo, was a radio, film and television pioneer in her homeland. Largely self-taught, Naranjo embarked on a similar musical course, becoming – like his mother – one of Venezuela's icons of contemporary popular music.
Oscar Hernández is an American pianist, arranger and producer of Puerto Rican descent.
Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco, 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 York salsa scene in the 1960s and 1970s as the founder and musical director of Fania Records.
Adalberto Santiago is an internationally known salsa singer.
Bobby Sanabria is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, documentary producer, educator, activist, radio show host, and writer of Puerto Rican descent who specializes in jazz and Latin jazz.
Steven Alan Gluzband is an American latin jazz trumpeter based in New York City.
Geoffrey Keezer is an American jazz pianist. In 2023, he won the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy for Refuge
Andy González was a jazz double bassist of Puerto Rican descent recognized as was one of the innovators of Latin Jazz."González was a versatile player, as well as an arranger, composer, music historian and producer of other musicians’ records. He embraced African, Cuban and Puerto Rican styles, various strains of jazz and other influences, often merging them into something fresh." Raised in the Bronx, he played violin in grammar school and later picked up the bass after taking lessons with jazz bassist Steve Swallow from 5th to 8th grade, thereafter he attended the High School of Music & Art. "Swallow turned Gonzalez on to Pablo Casals and Scott Lafaro, wrote out the second movement of the Bach Cello Suite in D minor, and helped Gonzalez prepare for his audition at Music and Art." "Andy González came to the public's attention playing for future NEA Jazz Master Ray Barretto's band, while he was still a student at Music & Art High School. Although it was a salsa group in the Cuban conjunto trumpet tradition, Barretto treated the group like a jazz combo, featuring all the players as soloists." While at Music & Art High School, he "play[ed] with other classmates such as Mongo Santamaria's son, Monguito, Jose Mangual Jr., Rene Mcclean, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Stafford Osborne, Nelson Samafiego, a Puerto Rican alto saxophonist, DJ Cousin Brucie, Eric Bibb, Wilbur Bascomb(son of Ted Bascomb, bassist for Erskine Hawkins), Allison Dean, and Janis Ian, who was in his homeroom and dropped out sophomore year just after recording 'Society's Child.'
Hector Martignon is a Colombian pianist and composer of Italian descent living in New York City. Two of Martignon's albums have been nominated for a Grammy Award: Refugee (2007) and Second Chance (2010). Martignon is known for crossbreeding the improvisational language of Jazz with diverse musical idioms, such as Classical European, Latin American folklore and World Music. On its exhibit Latin Jazz, the Smithsonian Institution lists Martignon among the leading artists “exploring the regional sources of Latin Jazz”.
Salsa Big Band is the fourth studio album by Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, released on 29 April 2017 by Rubén Blades Productions. After the release of Son de Panamá in 2015, also recorded with Delgado & Orquesta, Blades decided to record another album with them, on which included eleven songs. He had previously recorded nine on the songs, and two were covers of songs written by Luis Demetrio and Rene Touzet. Delgado was the producer for the álbum. Blades' principal inspiration for the album was his admiration for the work of Puerto Ricans performers such as Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez and Willie Rosario, and the big band sounds of the 1950's.
Angel Rafael "Papo" Vázquez is an American trombonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent who performs and records jazz, Latin and Afro-Caribbean music. He is known as one of the pioneers of the bomba jazz style and is a Grammy Award nominee.
Rumba Baby Rumba! is an album by the American band Bio Ritmo, released in 1998. The band supported the album by touring with Squirrel Nut Zippers.
Bele Bele en la Habana is an album by the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés, released in 1998. Valdés supported the album with a North American tour.
SALSWING! is the sixth studio album by the Panamian singer Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, released on April 16, 2021, through Rubén Blades Productions. It was produced by Roberto Delgado and features songs by Blades like "Paula C" as well as salsa songs and jazz standards such as "Pennies from Heaven" and "The Way You Look Tonight".
Juan “Juancito” Torres Velez, also known as "La Trompeta Nacional De Puerto Rico", was a Puerto Rican salsa and jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger, producer and musical director best known for his association with the Fania All-Stars from 1979 to 1985. He was known as a great soloist, specializing in upper register.
