Juan “Juancito” Torres Velez (January 14, 1936 – July 26, 2003), also known as "La Trompeta Nacional De Puerto Rico", was a Puerto Ricansalsa andjazztrumpet player, composer, arranger, producer and musical director best known for his association with theFania All-Stars from 1979 to 1985.[1] He was known as a great soloist, specializing in upper register.
Torres was born inCaguas Puerto Rico on January 14, 1936, and began in music by playing violin in his hometown, where he belonged to the Municipal Band. Torres began formal musical studies at the age of fourteen when he enrolled at theEscuela Libre de Música.[2] In 1952 he joined the orchestra of jazz musician Ramón Usera Vives. In 1955 he moved to New York City, where he performed withXavier Cugat,Noro Morales andLecuona Cuban Boys. He also performed with the orchestras ofPupi Campo andTito Rodríguez as well as withRené Touzet,Dámaso Pérez Prado andEddie Cano.[3]
Torres performed with some of the best artists of the 1950s Latin big band era, including that ofRafael Muñoz, Miguelito Miranda and Moncho Usera's orchestra[5] as well as with the Noro Morales Orchestra based out of the La Concha Hotel inSan Juan, Puerto Rico.[6] In 1965 he recorded an album withBobby Capó and his Orchestra. At the end of the sixties, Torres joined the orchestra ofBobby Valentín, who was also a trumpet player, with whom he participated in the recording of five albums between 1969 and 1975. During the 1970s he recorded withFrank Ferrer,Justo Betancourt,Puerto Rico All Stars andMarvin Santiago.[7][8][9]
^Ortiz, Mguel."Juancito Torres".Fundacion Nacional Para La Cultura Popular. Foundation for Popular Culture. Design and development. RetrievedJuly 2, 2023.
^Ortiz, Mguel."Juancito Torres".Fundacion Nacional Para La Cultura Popular. Foundation for Popular Culture. Design and development. RetrievedJuly 2, 2023.
^Ortiz, Mguel."Juancito Torres".Fundacion Nacional Para La Cultura Popular. Foundation for Popular Culture. Design and development. RetrievedJuly 2, 2023.
^Serano, Basilio (May 3, 2012).Juan Tizol-His Caravan Through American Life and Culture. Bloomington: Xlibris. p. 357.ISBN9781469181660.
^Serano, Basilio (September 18, 2015).Puerto Rican Pioneers in Jazz, 1900–1939 Bomba Beats to Latin Jazz. Bloomington: iUniverse. p. 112.ISBN978-1491747711.
^Rondon, Cesar (March 10, 2008).The Book of Salsa A Chronicle of Urban Music from the Caribbean to New York City. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 256.ISBN9780807886397.
^Aros, Andrew (November 13, 2008).The latin music handbook. New York: Applause. p. 72.ISBN9780932352002.
^"Concerts".New York Magazine. New York: American Publishing, Inc. September 1, 1986.
^Berrios-Miranda, Marisol; Dudley, Shannon; Habell-Pallan, Michelle (December 15, 2017).American Sabor Latinos and Latinas in US Popular Music / Latinos Y Latinas en la Musica Popular Estadounidense. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 173.ISBN9780295742632.
^Larkin, Edward, ed. (2006).The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Volume 1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. p. 294 & 441.ISBN9780195313734.
^Nader, Pete."Juancito Torres".Pete Nader's Salsa Legends and Masters Academy. Pete Nader. RetrievedJuly 2, 2023.Died of a heart attack in his sleep at his home in Carolina, on July 26, 2003. He suffered from high blood pressure and asthma.
You may listen toDOÑA TERI & EDDIE PALMIERI & JUANCITO TORRES onYouTube.
