Walfredo Reyes Jr. | |
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![]() Reyes, Jr. in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV |
Also known as |
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Born | Havana, Cuba | December 18, 1955
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | |
Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1972 | –present
Member of | Chicago |
Formerly of | |
Website | walfredoreyesjr |
Walfredo Reyes Jr. (born Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV; December 18, 1955) is a Cuban American musician who is an expert in drum set and auxiliary percussion, and a music educator and clinician. He has performed with many jazz, Latin, World music, World fusion, Afro-Cuban, and rock bands as a touring, session recording, and full-time player/performer. Reyes is known for his fusion of many of the world's percussion techniques, including the ability to play a drum set with his hands in addition to the traditional use of drumsticks; it was said that he can "sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time" [1] [2] [3] He was a long-term member of Santana. He was also a member of Chicago as the percussionist from 2012 to 2018, at which point he took over the drum seat. [4] [5] [6] He also performed in the band of former Nazareth guitarist Manny Charlton.
Walfredo Reyes Jr. was born on December 18, 1955, in Havana, Cuba. His native name of Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV is a traditional Cuban combination of his paternal and maternal surnames. He is a third generation musician in a prolific professional musical lineage on both sides of his family, including several globally recognized percussion experts. His father is percussionist Walfredo Reyes, Sr.; one brother is world music percussionist Daniel de los Reyes; another brother is actor Kamar de los Reyes; and his grandfather is trumpeter and Cuban orchestral organizer, Walfredo de los Reyes II. [7] [8]
Reyes has had a lifelong interest in the music of the band Chicago, originally known as Chicago Transit Authority. The first album he purchased as a youth was with his own money was Chicago Transit Authority'. [8]
Walfredo Reyes Jr. and his wife Kirsten were married on March 21, 2020, and live in Greater Cincinnati. [9]
Leading up to his current role with the band Chicago, Reyes had a connection as a lifelong fan of the band, as a long-time friend of and collaborator with former drummer Tris Imboden, [10] : 47 and as brother of Chicago's previous percussionist Daniel de los Reyes. [7] [8]
He is the title character of the Phish song "Walfredo". [11]
For the 2021 movie Being the Ricardos, Reyes coached and mentored Javier Bardem in learning the conga drums performed in the film. [12]
Reyes has globally toured and/or recorded with countless international acts, including the following: [4]
Years | Artist |
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1983—1984 | Tania Maria |
1985—1988 | David Lindley’s El Rayo X |
1988 | Jackson Browne |
1988 | Jimmy Barnes |
1989—1993 | Santana |
1992 | Boz Scaggs |
1993 | Gloria Estefan |
1994 | Traffic |
1995 | Robbie Robertson |
1997—2004 | Steve Winwood |
1998—1999 | Joe Sample |
2000 | Johnny Hallyday |
2005 | Khaled |
2007—2011 | Lindsey Buckingham |
2008 | Mickey Hart |
2010—2012 | El Chicano [13] |
2012—present | Chicago [5] [6] |
Select discography | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Artist | Title | Credits | Source |
1986 | Jackson Browne | Lives in the Balance | Conductor, conga, drum set | [14] |
1990 | Santana | Spirits Dancing in the Flesh | member | |
1992 | Santana | Milagro | member | |
1993 | Santana | Sacred Fire: Live in South America | member | [15] [16] [notes 1] |
1995 | Frank Gambale | Thinking Out Loud | Percussion | [17] [18] |
2000 | Johnny Hallyday | 100% Johnny – Live a la tour Eiffel | Percussion, drums | [19] |
2000 | Johnny Hallyday | Olympia 2000 – Live a l'Olympia | Percussion, drums | [20] |
2009 | Thomas Lorenzo Quartet | Spanish Breeze | Member | [21] |
2012 | Manny Charlton Band | Hellacious | Member | [22] |
2014 | Chicago | Chicago XXXVI: Now | Member, percussion | |
2020 | Johnny Hallyday | Happy Birthday – Live au Parc de Sceaux | Percussion, drums |
Complete Discography | ||||
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Year | Artist | Title | Credits | Source |
1986 | Jackson Browne | Lives in the Balance | Conductor, conga, drum set | [14] |
Johnny Hallyday | Tour 2000 – Backstage | |||
Carl Verheyen | Trading 8s | |||
Txell Sust | Ciudadana Universal | |||
Lindsey Buckingham | Gift of Screws | |||
Martin Verdonk | Old School, New Sound | |||
Steve Winwood | Junction Seven | |||
Steve Winwood | About Time | |||
Robbie Robertson | Classic Masters | |||
Joe Sample | The Song Lives On | |||
Santana (band) | Spirits Dancing in the Flesh | |||
Santana | Milagro | |||
Santana | Brothers | |||
Rickie Lee Jones | Pop Pop | [23] | ||
Dave Samuels | Del Sol | |||
Frank Gambale | Passages | |||
Frank Gambale | Thinkin out Loud | |||
Don Grusin | Laguna Cove | |||
John Mayall | Sense of Place | |||
Kazu Matsui | Wheels of the Sun | |||
Juan Gabriel | Todo esta Bien | |||
Daniel de los Reyes | Rafael 560 | |||
Michael Thompson | The World According to MT | |||
Nestor Torres | Talk to Me | |||
Kathy Troccoli | Corner of Eden | |||
Michael O'Neill | Never Too Late | |||
Freddie Ravel | Soul to Sol | |||
Jackson Browne | World in Motion | |||
David Lindley y El Rayo X | Very Greasy | |||
David Lindley y El Rayo X | Live | |||
Luis Conte | The Road | |||
Tania Maria | The Real Tania Maria, Wild! | |||
Louis Bellson/ Walfredo de los Reyes | Ecue | |||
Patti Cabrera | Forever & Forever | |||
Rose Mary Clooney | Brazil | |||
Clare Fischer | Crazy Bird | |||
Clare Fischer | Free Fall | |||
Clare Fischer | Rockin' in Rhythm | |||
Clare Fischer | Tjaderama | |||
Jazz Tribute to Brian Wilson | Wouldn't It be Nice | |||
2004 | Willie Lomax Blues Revue | Best Blues Money Can Buy | Drums, percussion | [24] |
Marcos Loya | Love is the Reason | |||
Barry Manilow | Showstoppers | |||
Don Randi | Baked Potato Shuffle | |||
Juan Carlos Quintero | Through the Winds | |||
Ricardo Silveira | Storyteller | |||
Shapes | The Last Farewell | |||
Willie and Lobo | Siete | |||
Haakon Graf | License to Chill | |||
Roma Kanyan | Insight | |||
2011 | Carl Verheyen Band | The Road Divides | Drums, percussion | [25] |
2014 | Chicago | Chicago XXXVI: Now | Member, percussion |
Year | Title | Artist | Credits | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Pippin: His Life and Times | Soundtrack musician, uncredited | [26] | |
1993 | Santana: Sacred Fire, Live in Mexico | Santana | member | [27] [notes 1] |
2000 | 100% Johnny Live a la tour Eiffel | Johnny Hallyday | Percussion, drums | [28] |
2000 | Olympia 2000 – Live a l'Olympia | Johnny Hallyday | Percussion, drums | [29] |
2003 | The Studio Percussionist, Vol. 1 | Michael McFall; Dave Witham; Walfredo de los Reyes; Larry Klimas; John Peña | [30] | |
2005 | The Last Great Traffic Jam | Traffic | [31] | |
2005 | Sound Stage featuring Steve Winwood | Steve Winwood | member | [32] |
2005 | Global Beats for Drumset & Percussion | Walfredo Reyes Jr. | author of instructional video | [33] |
2011 | Songs from the Small Machine | Lindsey Buckingham | Drums | |
2011 | The Road Divides | Carl Verheyen Band | Drums, percussion | [34] |
2014 | Killer B3 | Interviewee, drum set | [35] | |
2020 | Happy Birthday – Live au Parc de Sceaux | Johnny Hallyday | Percussion, drums |
Reyes uses and has used the following equipment:
Traffic were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. They began as a psychedelic rock group and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards, sitar, and various reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz and improvisational techniques in their music.
Timbales or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size. They were developed as an alternative to classical timpani in Cuba in the early 20th century and later spread across Latin America and the United States.
Dave Weckl is an American jazz fusion drummer and the leader of the Dave Weckl Band. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2000.
Kamar de los Reyes was a Puerto Rican actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Antonio Vega on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, and as Raul Menendez, the primary antagonist of the 2012 video game, Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second youngest musician to perform at Woodstock. His drum solo during "Soul Sacrifice" in the Woodstock film has been described as "electrifying", although he considers his solo during the same piece in 1970 at Tanglewood the superior performance.
Gregory Tristan "Tris" Imboden is an American rock and jazz drummer. As a performer, he has been in studio sessions and on tour with some of the most notable and highest-selling musicians of all time. He was the drummer for the multi-platinum band Chicago from 1990 to 2018. He is a multi-platinum selling artist. As an educator, he has been a drum clinician and author of tutorial materials.
El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name was from Chicano, a term for United States citizens of typically Mexican descent.
Sacred Fire: Live in South America is an album by Santana, released in 1993. This album is dedicated to the life of Cesar Chavez. The title, "Live in South America", is not correct, as the location of the concert production, Mexico City, is not located on the continent of South America.
Todd Sucherman is an American drummer, who is best known for being a member of Styx since March 1995.
Francisco Aguabella was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader.
Carl Verheyen is an American musician best known for being the guitarist of Supertramp, the leader of the Carl Verheyen Band, and as a Los Angeles session guitarist. He was ranked One of the World's Top 10 Guitarists by Guitar Magazine and won the LA Music Awards category of Best Guitarist at their 6th annual awards ceremony. He has recorded with such artists as The Bee Gees, Chad Wackerman, Dolly Parton, Victor Feldman, Richard Elliot, and Stanley Clarke and has played guitar on film soundtracks including The Crow, The Usual Suspects, Ratatouille, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and TV shows Cheers, Seinfeld, and Scrubs.
The Last Great Traffic Jam is a live album and DVD from the English rock band Traffic. The album was recorded on the 1994 reunion tour supporting Far from Home.
Daniel de los Reyes is an American percussionist who is a former member of Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago. He is currently a member of the Zac Brown Band. He is the oldest member of the band.
Drew Hester is a drummer, percussionist, and record producer, winning two Grammy Awards with Foo Fighters. He has played with Joe Walsh (1999—2016) on drums, Stevie Nicks (2017–present) on drums, Beck (2014) on drums/percussion, Jewel (2006—2007) on drums, Foo Fighters (2005—2014) on percussion, Chicago (2009—2012) on drums and percussion, Lisa Marie Presley (2002—2006) on drums, Common Sense (1992—2005) on drums, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders on drums and percussion, and with many others.
Johnny Rabb is an American drummer, author, inventor, and teacher.
Peter Michael Escovedo III is an American percussionist and musical director.
Walfredo de los Reyes Sr. is a Cuban percussionist, timbalero, and educator, in the fields of session recording, live performance, and clinics. He is the father of famed percussionists Walfredo Reyes Jr. and Daniel de los Reyes and of actor Kamar de los Reyes. He is often cited as one of the most influential modern timbaleros together with Tito Puente and Willie Bobo.
Chicago XXXVI: Now, sometimes stylized as "NOW" Chicago XXXVI or Now: Chicago XXXVI, is the twenty-fourth studio album, and thirty-sixth overall by Chicago. It was written and recorded in 2013–2014, and was released on July 4, 2014. Aside from the occasional few new tracks found in the band's many compilation and cover albums, Now is the band's first full album of new compositions since 2006's Chicago XXX,. This album has the first original Chicago credits for veteran musicians Walfredo Reyes, Jr. and Lou Pardini, since joining the band. It entered the US Billboard 200 at number 82.
Tom Leobold sets up a "drumcam" for Walfredo Reyes Jr.