Ray Barretto

Congas and Fania

Raymundo Barretto Pagan was born on April 29, 1929 in Brooklyn and raised in Spanish Harlem in a Puerto Rican family. He served in the US Army from 1946 to 1949, stationed in Germany, where he met the vibraphonist Fats Sadi and heard Dizzy Gillespie's "Manteca" in Munich. Back in New York he played jam sessions and worked with Jose Curbelo and Tito Puente (NPR says he joined Puente in 1957; Wikipedia gives a first credit in 1958). In 1960 he was a house percussionist for Prestige, Blue Note and Riverside. NPR credits him as the first US-born percussionist to bring the conga into jazz. In 1962 he formed Charanga Moderna, and "El Watusi" on Tico reached the pop charts; in 1963 he played congas on Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue. He signed with UA Latino in 1965 and joined Fania in 1967.

Fania albums include Acid and Hard Hands (1968), Together (1970), Barretto Power, Que Viva la Musica and Indestructible (1973), and Barretto (1975, Grammy-nominated). He was a long-time member and musical director of the Fania All-Stars, made three albums for Atlantic from 1976 to 1978, La Cuna for CTI (1979), and won his only Grammy in 1990 for Ritmo en el corazon with Celia Cruz and Adalberto Santiago. In 1992 he left the Latin Legends of Fania to form New World Spirit and recorded for Concord Jazz. He won Down Beat's best percussionist in 2003 and 2005, was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2006, and died on February 17, 2006, aged 76. NPR calls Fania the Latin version of Motown. He told NPR that what I did as a player was develop a style that suited jazz players.

Barretto Power

Barretto Power was released on Fania (catalog 391 by Wikipedia). Most sources date it 1970, including Wikipedia and uDiscover, while jazz.com and an NPR review summary place it among his 1972 releases; the 50th-anniversary reissue in 2020, a 180-gram vinyl pressing mastered by Kevin Gray, supports 1970. The tracks are "Oye la noticia", "Quitate la mascara", "Perla del sur", "Se que volveras", "De que te quejas tu", "Y dicen", "Right On" and "Power". The band was Barretto on congas, Andy Gonzalez on bass, Louie Cruz on piano, Tony Fuentes on bongos, Orestes Vilato on timbales, trumpets Papy Roman, Rene Lopez and Roberto Rodriguez, and Adalberto Santiago singing. uDiscover calls it a blend of progressive and traditional Latin music and says it is where he crystallized the tight and funky sound that he became known for. We could not find a producer, studio or chart data.