Armando Peraza

He is one of the most important and respected figures in the world of percussion. He is a legendary master of both congas and bongos, whose unorthodox style and history are inspiration for countless young musicians.

He was born in Marianao La Habana, Cuba on May 30, 1918. He lost his parents as a child. At twelve years old he slept in the street and sold fruits and vegetables to survive. He played baseball—the ball, as it is known in Cuba for that sport—and José Arteaga writes in his book Oye cómo va that he grew up throwing strikes and preventing innings in the ballfields of his hometown. In the entry of the Latin Jazz Dictionary corresponding to Armando Peraza it is asserted that he was the only ballplayer who left the sport for percussion.

He began his artistic career in the early 1940s, played with the Kuvabana ensemble of singer Alberto Ruiz where he played the bongo and moved to San Francisco in 1949.

At the World's Fair in New York he played the congas in an African pavilion next to a Nigerian. This African comes up and tells me: "Man, what part of Africa are you from?" I told him, I'm from Cuba. He said: "You don't say." Later he worked with the orchestras of Paulina Álvarez and that of Dámaso Pérez Prado, and the Bolero ensemble.

In 1947 he moved to Mexico, where he joined Mongo Santamaría in the Clave de Oro ensemble, and in 1948 both traveled to New York as accompanying percussionists for the dance couple Pablito and Lilón.

At the end of that year, Peraza joined the jazz combo of Slim Gaillard with which he traveled throughout the United States. After arriving in New York in 1949, Armando became a sought-after musician, especially in the bebop and contemporary Latin jazz scenes.

Armando built a reputation for having impressively fast and complex hand technique, experimental techniques and great talent for entertainment. He flourished in progressive atmospheres that combined jazz with Afro-Cuban styles and was at the center of a new expression called "cubop".

He has played on more than 100 albums and is the composer of more than 40 songs. Some of these works include collaborations with Mongo Santamaria, George Shearing, Cal Tjader and Carlos Santana.

Settled in San Francisco, California, in the early 1950s, Peraza began working with pianist George Shearing's quintet, where he demonstrated his mastery as a performer of the tumbadora and bongo; also during this period he recorded several albums of Cuban folkloric music with Mongo Santamaría.

In the 1960s he joins vibraphonist Cal Tjader's quintet, with which he remains for several years and with which he popularizes Guachi guaro, by Chano Pozo. In the 1970s, he joins Mongo Santamaría's orchestra, with which he participates in the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland. Later he works with Carlos Santana's rock band, with which he remains for 17 years, until his retirement from artistic life in the 1990s.

Armando Peraza possessed a great capacity to obtain the most unusual sounds from the bongo and tumbadora, and distinguished himself for his extraordinary solos on both instruments.

Works
Armando's Hideaway
Barandanga
Jackie's mambo
Ritmo africano
Ritmo rumba

During his long and prolific career, which has spanned more than 60 years, Armando Peraza has played and recorded with musical icons such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Josephine Baker, Art Tatum, Dave Brubeck, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Rick James, Aretha Franklin and Jaco Pastorius. It has been said that this broad and eclectic musical experience has made Armando Peraza one of the most listened to and most accomplished percussionists on the touring circuit.

In January 2003, LP unveiled the new Armando Peraza Signature Series LP Congas and Bongos as a tribute to this percussion icon. His 18 years with Santana, as well as his revolutionary work with Charlie "Bird" Parker, George Shearing and Cal Tjader certainly make the name Armando Peraza perfect for a series of superior quality congas and bongos.

Distribution of Armando Peraza's percussion for Santana:
Quinto
First Tumba
Bongo (on a stand or sometimes seated)
Second Tumba
Bass
Distribution of Armando Peraza's Percussion for Latin Jazz:

Quinto
Bongo (always seated)
Tumba

He passed away on April 14, 2014 as a result of pneumonia.

His bongos and congas were heard for twenty years at Carlos Santana's concerts. And they sound on albums like Caravanserai, Welcome or Blues for Salvador. Another percussionist, José Chepito Areas, introduced him to the guitarist in the early seventies. Although, according to his widow, Josephine Peraza, Armando already knew Carlos's father, a mariachi musician from San Francisco. He put his percussion knowledge at the service of jazz musicians such as pianists Dave Brubeck and George Shearing—the blind Englishman whom the Latinos of New York called Jorge—or the vibraphonist Cal Tjader. He played with Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston, with Frank Zappa and Jaco Pastorius, with the orchestras of Machito and Pérez Prado and with John Santos and his Machete Ensemble. The list of his contributions to pop includes Linda Ronstadt and her award-winning album Frenesí.