Tito Puente | |
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 Puente in 1996 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (1923-04-20)April 20, 1923 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 31, 2000(2000-05-31) (aged 77) New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1946–2000 |
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Ernest AnthonyPuente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000),[1] commonly known asTitoPuente, was an American musician,songwriter, bandleader,timbalero, andrecord producer. He composed dance-orientedmambo andLatin jazz music. He was also known as “El Rey de los Timbales,” or “The King of the Timbales.”
Puente and his music have appeared in films includingThe Mambo Kings andFernando Trueba'sCalle 54. He guest-starred on television shows, includingSesame Street andThe Simpsons episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?".
Puente was born on April 20, 1923, atHarlem Hospital Center in theNew Yorkborough ofManhattan, the son of Ernest and Felicia Puente,Puerto Ricans living in New York City'sSpanish Harlem.[2][3] His family moved frequently, but he spent the majority of his childhood in Spanish Harlem.[2] Puente's father was the foreman at a razor blade factory.[4] His family called himErnestito (Spanishdiminutive for 'Ernest'), and this became shortened to "Tito".[5]
Puente was first introduced to music through theradio. Described as a hyperactive child, neighbors complained hearing seven-year-old Puente beating on pots and window frames, so his mother sent him to 25-cent piano lessons.[4] He switched to percussion by the age of 10, drawing influence from jazz drummerGene Krupa.[4] He later created a song-and-dance duo with his sister Anna in the 1930s and intended to become a dancer, but an ankle tendon injury prevented him from pursuing dance as a career.[3][4] Puente also learned from the trios and bambas that played atPlaza San Jose in oldSan Juan. He heardmambo (now calledsalsa) music and was influenced by its Afro-Cuban roots. By 13, Puente was considered a prodigy. When he was 16, he played withRamon Oliver’s band.[6] When the drummer inMachito's band was drafted to the army, Puente subsequently took his place.[4]
Puente had distinct Asian influences in his composition and arranging style, all of which came after his service during World War II. After finishing his time in the Navy, Puente attended theJuilliard School of Music to study conducting and orchestration. His conducting teacher was Japanese, further influencing the Asian elements in his compositions. Throughout the rest of his career, Puente traveled to Japan many times while on tour. He said that if it wasn’t for war, he would’ve never been exposed to their music and culture.
“Even in war, [the power of] music, art, dancing, food… always eventually wins.”[7]
Puente’s introduction to music was jazz drumming with an African American show drummer he remembers as Mr. Williams. During this time, he also learned acrobatic tap and ballroom dancing. Puente introduced new techniques to some percussion instruments that would help redefine how they were used in music. For example, while learning vibraphone and marimba, he introduced piano techniques. He also applied his jazz training to timbales, which was unlike anything that had been before. This helped redefine the timbales as a solo instrument.[8]
Puente served in the Navy for three years duringWorld War II after being drafted in 1942.[9] He was discharged with aPresidential Unit Citation for serving in nine battles on theescort aircraft carrierUSSSantee (CVE-29) where his duties included playing alto saxophone and clarinet in the ship's big band as well as occasionally drum set, piano during mess hall, acting as the ship's bugler, and serving as a machine gunner in the battles ofLeyte andMidway. TheG.I. Bill allowed him to study music atJuilliard School of Music, where he completed his formal education in conducting, orchestration, and theory after three years. Puente described his time in the Navy as, “What you normally study in a four-year music conservatory, but in three months… And it was all done with military discipline… it was intense.”[10]
Puente was the ship’s bugler. Whenever warming up he would play general quarters. One day he forgot to turn off the microphone, leading everyone to believe there was an attack. He hid below deck for a few days due to the anger from crew members for the false alarm. Puente said his worst time in the Navy was every time he had to play taps for someone who was killed.
While aboard the Santee, Puente expanded his compositional skills by learning how to arrange for big bands given the extra time he had. He was coached by Lieutenant Sweeney who he came to be friends with. Sweeney referred to Puente as “Lil’ Ernie” because of his height. The first chart Puente arranged was ‘El Botellero’ which he sent to Machito and Mario Bauza in New York City.
Puente was offered a delayed return to the ship so he could go to different parts of the Orient (LINK). He was given several months to stop in each port city to learn about music, food, and customs. During this time he learned a lot about Asian music, experienced the culture, and learned how they apply music theory in their compositions. He learned that they use chord voicings in fourths, wrote melodies based on scales, and more. This influenced pieces such as "Hong Kong Mambo," “Mambo Buddha," and "Picadillo." After finishing his time in the Navy, Puente attended the Juilliard School of Music to study orchestration and conducting.
Bands wanted Puente playing up front rather than in the back like most big bands. Not only did he play in a unique and revolutionary way, he also put on a show for the audiences. Sometimes he was the show. Puente was also a popular arranger given his background and the influence of past mentors. By 1948, Puente started his own group.
We play jazz with the Latin touch, that's all, you know.[11]
During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his popularity and helped to bring Cuban and Caribbean sounds likemambo,son, andcha-cha-chá, to mainstream audiences. His albumDance Mania was released in 1958.
Among his compositions is the cha-cha-chá song "Oye Cómo Va" (1963),[12] popularized by Latin rock musicianCarlos Santana and later interpreted, among others, byJulio Iglesias,Irakere andCelia Cruz. In 1969, he received the key to theCity of New York from former MayorJohn Lindsay. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Congressional Record and in 1993, he received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from theSmithsonian Institution.[13]
Puente is one of the subjects ofLa Época – The Palladium Era,[14] a documentary aboutthe Palladium era in New York, Cuban music and rhythms, mambo andsalsa as dances and music and much more. The documentary discusses many of Puente's, as well asArsenio Rodríguez's, contributions and features interviews with some of the musicians Puente recorded with.
Beginning in the 1950s, Americans fell in love with mambo. In New York City, thePalladium Ballroom was the “Home of the Mambo.”[15] It had been converted from the Alma Dance Studio into a nightclub byTommy Morton in 1946.
Machito, who was popular and sold lots of records, was hired along with musicians to play all kinds of music for the dancers. Machito sought to bring in black and Latino consumers fromHarlem that normally frequented the Savoy or Park Place Ballroom. Machito and Morton hiredFederico Pagani, leader of the Happy Boys, to promote Latino dance.
Their next step was starting a Sunday promotion called theBlen Blen Club, and they gave away discount cards at both subway stations and bus stops. By the first Sunday, there was a mob waiting in line at four o’clock in the afternoon. On this night six bands were hired withNoro Morales andJose Curbelo headlining. These bands brought in Latino, Black, and White people. This launched the Palladium era.
Afro-Cubans were the first band to go to the Palladium and bring uptown beats and dancing to Broadway. This was the first venue where the children of immigrants came to dance to music that wasn’t what their parents listened to. On Broadway and 7th, 53rd and 54th street had to be closed down because of the long lines around the block. Wednesday’s and Friday-Sunday’s were dedicated to the mecca of Latin music. Given that this was post-World War II, people were happily spending money given the economic boom and the desire to have a good time.
The Palladium needed multiple bands to keep the Blen Blen Club going since Machito wasn’t always available. Pagani knew Puente from the Happy Boys and heard an “arousing” tune Puente was working on that “made [his] blood turn cold.” Machito hired Puente to play on Sunday’s and had him put together a group called the Picadilly Boys.
People also enjoyed seeing the rivalry between Machito, Tito Puente, andTito Rodriguez. Puente and Rodriguez constantly wanted to outdo each other and individually improved to increase the competition.
The Palladium was the home of the mambo until it closed in 1966.
Puente's oldest son Ron Puente is from a first marriage to Mirta Sanchez. Richard "Richie" Puente was the percussionist in the 1970s and 1980 funk bandFoxy. Puente's youngest son, Tito Puente Jr., has performed and recorded many of Puente's songs. His daughterAudrey Puente is a televisionmeteorologist forWNYW andWWOR-TV in New York City.
After a show in Puerto Rico on May 31, 2000, Puente suffered a massive heart attack and was flown to New York City for surgery to repair aheart valve, but complications developed, and he died later that night.[16] He was posthumously awarded theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. After he died, Puente’s local community in New York City celebrated him. He was well known within his community because of his involvement. He would go up to people who were jamming and playing street music (music everyday people listened and danced to). He called himself a street musician.[17]
WithDizzy Gillespie
WithBenny Golson
WithQuincy Jones
WithSonny Stitt
WithBobby Sanabria
Puente appeared in the two-partwhodunit drama "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" in thesixth season finale andseventh season premiere of American comedy cartoon showThe Simpsons in 1995. In the shows, Puente joins Springfield Elementary School as a music teacher after the school discovers it is located over an oil well. However,Mr. Burns manages to pump the oil first, which makes him the legal owner of the well. This causes the school to fall into debt with budget cuts to the music and maintenance departments, causing Puente to lose his job. When Burns is later shot, Puente becomes one of the prime suspects but manages to clear himself by performing one of his songs forChief Wiggum. Seven alternative endings were filmed of various characters shooting Burns; Puente is one of the alternates. Although all endings were animated, the ending ofMaggie Simpson shooting Burns was the ending chosen to air.
The Emmy-nominated song "Señor Burns" from the episode is featured on both the 1997 albumSongs in the Key of Springfield and the 1999 albumGo Simpsonic with The Simpsons.
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