Tito Puente - Research Paper Example

?Ramakrishna Surampudi 11 May Tito Puente: An Typing in the Tito Puente in a search engine turns out millions of pages about the legendary musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, percussionist and entertainer. They mostly deal with his childhood, biographical details and the honors he won. Few sources make a mention of his significance beyond the mambos, Latin jazz and the salsa. A lot is written about his pivotal role in the rise of la musica Latina but little is said, for instance, about why the sultan of salsa said that he did not care about salsa. Tito Puente is a multi-faceted genius with versatility, innovation, experimentation, flamboyance and attitude. Above all, he was a great human being. Without throwing light on these aspects, any portrait sketch of Tito remains incomplete. Tito, born on April 20, 1923 in New York City’s Spanish Harlem, was seven years old when he was enrolled in 25-cent piano lessons (Hispanic Heritage). Fascinated by Gene Krupa, drummer, he started the study of percussion at the age of ten and first performed at the age of thirteen. In his teens, joined Noro Morales and the Machito Orchestra. After completing his study at the Julliard School of Music, he formed his group ‘the Piccadilly Boys’ which later became ‘the Tito Puente Orchestra’ (Puente, Tito). His 1958 album ‘Dance Mania’ was placed among the 25 most influential albums of the 20th century by the New York Times. Key to the City of New York (1969), James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1990), National Medal of Arts (1997) and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2003) were just a few of the innumerable honors conferred on him. Tito is considered to be the godfather of Latin jazz and salsa. However, to say that Tito is an artiste associated with salsa and Latin jazz is a simplistic statement. It presents things in too narrow a light to give an accurate and objective evaluation of Tito’s place, at large, in the world of music. Firstly, it would be injustice to Tito’s soul to brand him just a musician considering his notion that ‘if there is no dance, there is no music’. It is amusing to know that his original dream was to become a dancer. Eddie Torres felt it was a privilege to be identified as the Tito Puente Dancers (Salsa Dancing – New York Style). Then, as a musician, to limit Tito to mambo and jazz is a very inadequate description. His versatility ran the gamut of piano, conga drums, claves, bateria, tap drums along with saxophone and even clarinet. As for the nature of his music, it was only the roots that were Latin. These roots were aesthetically integrated with several other components like the Cuban sounds, the African sounds, the black jazz, the big band swing, bebop, Yoruba tradition, the vibes, the Oriental influence and Kenton progressive style. The integration was done in such a manner that the end product would be appealing to music lovers. It appealed first to a white audience and then to the entire world. Tito defied the Spanish cultural tyranny over Latin music. He brought the African percussion to the mainstream and thus ended the prevalent animosity towards African music. Thanks to his style, the black musicians could shed their inhibitions. Tito’s method was a skilful manipulation of the Afro-Cuban pattern to fit into the framework of the American big band prototype. He was adept in incorporating Latin rhythms in jazz and popular music. The song ‘Hong Kong Mambo’ from the album ‘Dance Mania’ illustrates Tito’s skill in bringing together Latin music and Oriental melody (McNeese 84). In the song ‘Varsity Drag Mambo’, he blends swing jazz of the Big Band style with mambo rhythm. Tito was known for his inclination to experiment with music. But in this process he was cautious not to interfere with the absolute beauty of music. When he went for improvisation in his orchestration, there were three ways in which he would do that. In the first type, the original melody would be completely adhered to. Only a few notes would be stretched or shortened or repeated. In the second kind, the phrases in the melody would be modified or transmuted, while keeping the melody recognizable in its original form. In the third type, a soloist in the band would completely deviate from the entire melody. Whatever Tito did, he struck a balance, just as he did between commercial competition and musical creation. In the process of combining propulsive rhythms and spirited melodies of Latin music with jazz harmonies, he never let the rudiments of ‘clave’ (which formed the building block of Afro-Cuban music) be affected (Conzo et al. 190). Most critics in their appraisal of Tito seem to overemphasize the role of percussion. Certainly it was one of the core strengths of Tito, but that was not the end. The tendency to brand him mainly as a percussion expert probably stems from his glorification of drums. He brought drums, which had always been deemed secondary, to the front row of the music scene. He made them as important as horns. He is the one who made Timbales a respectable solo instrument. As Hilton Ruiz remarks, in Tito’s style, “You just add a melody and the whole band becomes a drum” (Joseph Loza 120). “He interprets the band as a drum”, says Jerry Gonalez (Payne et al. 26). This is just one of the things that justify Tito Puente’s status as an avant-garde musician and an NYC cultural icon. Tito was averse to politics. That was the last thing he would take any interest in. Yet, it was destiny that some of his innovations were inspired by political developments. In the early 1960s, in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the relations between Cuba and the United States were visibly strained. On the one hand, the American Latin bands felt like fish out of water and on the other, Castro’s administration stopped all kinds of patronage to Latin artistes. In these circumstances, Latin music and its Cuban character survived because of a new musical form called ‘pachanga’. Tito’s pachanga albums were commercially not very successful. Yet the fact remains that his musical genius matured to new heights from the stimulus of political turmoil. In a way, he amalgamated art and politics. Thus he becomes an important part of the Caribbean cultural history in spite of his American origin. At this juncture, it may also be pointed out that Cuban artiste Celia Cruz’s association with New York and the enormous popularity she gained thereafter would not have become possible without her collaboration with Tito. Without the Cuban Revolution, Celia Cruz would never have to plan migration and if Tito had not befriended her, she would not have made New York and the Palladium her home. Much in the same way, Guadalupe Victoria Yoli Raymond alias La Lupe, who had been disowned by the Castro government, owes her success in New York to Tito. The question remains: why the result of the pachanga experiment was not as encouraging as it should have been. The pace of pachanga was so fast that it was literally impossible for any dancer to do justice to it and that was an inherent disadvantage. Or it could be because Tito was ahead of his time. He was. [Max Salazar said that Tito took music light years ahead (Payne 26)]. Hundreds of Tito’s records were released by RCA, long after he left in early 1960s, because of a failure on the part of the executives in assessing and appreciating their greatness. And they were all big hits. Tito’s greatest strength was his adaptability. It was this quality which helped him remain hot for over six decades. He kept pace with time. When he collapsed, it was at the end of a concert. Till his last breath, he never apparently faded into history. He never had to be called an ‘old-time musician’. By 1970, the scene of music had undergone a lot of transformation. It was the not the same kind of environment that Tito had operated in. The Palladium, which Tito was very fond of, was not functional any more. Rock music began to dominate. The legacy of the Afro-Cuban beat was challenged. New forms of music came into existence which combined the characteristics of Rock and Latin music forms. At the same time, a number of new artistes like Eddie Palmieri and Willie Colon appeared on the scene. Their designs became popular and were designated under the name ‘salsa’. All this sounded like the death knell of pure Latin music. It was as if the heyday of Latin music was past. Not Tito’s. Not for a while. In the 1960s, he had to compete with the likes of Elvis Presley, the king of rock, and the Beatles. But it did not deter his spirit. The combination of Tito and Celia Cruz in the 1960s was very beneficial, mutually, during that period. It helped both to produce wonderful new recordings and to remain in the limelight. At the same time, Tito had no desire to have monopoly in the world of Latin music. He was open-minded enough to welcome and appreciate new talent. In an article on the Nuyorican Soul Project in ‘Straight No Chaser’, Puente sincerely praised the genius of Gonalez and Vega and expressed the hope that they would take over when he died. When ‘Dance Mania ’99: Live at Birdland’ was nominated for a Grammy, he had to compete with Marc Anthony who had been given his initial exposure by Tito. Tito was not bothered. He said he was an orchestra leader and Marc was a singer. That made the distinction very clear in a few words. He continued to work even in his last years. But that was out of a passion for something he loved deeply and that he always lived for: music (Loza 25). Referring to visualization of sounds, Ruiz relates his experience with Tito and says, “Now whenever I want to do that, I call it the Tito sound, because it makes my whole thing even bigger” (Loza 121). He proudly admits that it was Tito who had helped him rediscover his roots and straightened him out from all confusion (120). Such tribute from peers is a greater honor than anything else. For the world, Tito was a musician best known for Latin jazz and salsa. It is a routine statement. Paradoxically, Tito himself never really approved of the term ‘salsa’. He declared that he did not care about salsa because he did not do salsa; he did Antillean music, not salsa (Rondon 145). He could not find any significant distinction between what they called salsa and what he had been doing with the mambo for decades. He wondered why it required a new name (McNeese 93). He, however, could not avoid being closely associated with a name that he strongly disliked. Tito’s dislike for the term is to be understood in a positive light. As has been mentioned earlier, Tito’s first priority was pure music. The dislike was for the mediocre, commercialized, repetitive, awkward, imitative salsa, as it then existed, which had clouded the original musical richness of the Caribbean (Rondon 146). In his compositions, Tito was very particular about producing something that sounds authentic and distinct. He was cautious not to allow his music to sound like that of his competitors. He would not compromise on purity. At the same time he did not want to become a stereotype (Conzo et al. 185). Normally the obsession for pure music is not likely to go together with mass popularity. Bringing these two together was a rare feat that Tito accomplished. Tito may not have invented salsa, which was one of Cuba’s most prideful exports to the United States of America. But it was he who did a great deal to enrich it, to improve it upon the Cuban templates, in association with the likes of Celia Cruz (Sainsbury et al. 52) and Ralph Mercado (Morales 87). He introduced the timbal and the vibraphone to Afro-Cuban music. It is another paradox that the man who mastered Afro-Cuban sounds is neither an African nor a Cuban. Boniato, a Cuban showman, was once reported to have said, “Neither the Cubans play samba, nor the cariocas know a damned thing about the clave” (D’Rivera et al. 86). He ought to have known better. Rondon observes, “Tito is one of those who surpass any categorization” (145). Tito himself seems to have broken all barriers of categorization when he candidly informs Loza that, as a child, he had gone to black schools in the neighborhood and in music, blacks were his heroes and mentors (28). Apart from the neighborhood, Tito was as much influenced by the Oriental while traveling in Asia during World War II (during his three-year stint in the Navy) as by the classical compositions of de Falla, Debussy and Ravel (Conzo 196). It is an indication of the cross-cultural exposure that influenced his evolution. To label him as a white man, or New Yorker, or American, or salsa king would be disproportionate to the colossal image that Tito must be visualized in. His eclectic and infectiously captivating sounds took him beyond all racial, cultural and generational boundaries. Even in the late 70s, his prodigious talent was able to draw the young audiences of that time. By then he was past fifty. His collaboration with youngsters be it Carlos Santana or Martin Cohen was always a roaring success. There was no such thing as a generational gap. Tito never allowed himself to be left behind because of the rapid changes that occurred in culture and people’s tastes. He never knew what ageing was all about. He probably had no time to get old. Before age could overtake, he would revitalize his spirit with a new recording that was bound to add another feather in his cap. If an artist’s demand becomes greater with the passage of time, it is indicative not only of his creative genius but also of the intensity of his unrelenting passion. Music poured out in his every breath. It is usually said that Tito was at the height of his popularity in the 1950s. It is also true that Dance Mania, considered to be his magnum opus, was produced in the same period. A closer look reveals that he was in his early fifties when he received his first Grammy and that it was his Japan tour towards the end of 1970s (rather than the earlier one in 1962) which made him a ‘world artiste’ in the real sense of the expression. Tito receiving his first Grammy in 1979 does not mean he had not deserved it before. The category of Latin music in Grammy Awards was instituted only in 1975. That is like an acknowledgement of the eligibility of Latin music, which had been neglected for long, to be honored. The credit of bringing this recognition at least partially goes to Tito. To be honest, the Grammy is too small an award for the ‘King of the Timbal’ (Rondon 147). Then, there must be a different justification as to why this small award had to be given to him. Let us recall here that in the late 1970s, when the salsa wave appeared to be on the verge of dying down, it was Tito who came to its rescue and resurrected it. For this accomplishment of preserving a tradition, the Grammy may be regarded as a small token of gratitude from the world of music lovers. ‘On Broadway’ becoming a big hit in the 1980s is yet another proof of Tito’s timelessness. Three years later, Cal Tjader died and his mantle fell on Tito’s shoulders. Tito discharged the duty of carrying on the tradition of Latin music assiduously. He won the Grammy thrice in that decade. In the same decade, he was voted the top percussionist in a readers’ poll conducted by Downbeat. His energy level seems to have remained the same even in his seventies; his audience, till his last concert, constituted a diverse mix of people from all races, ages and religions. There are few artistes who can match Tito in terms of the flashy and flamboyant stage manner for which he was admired by the young and the old alike. Again, there are very few artistes with over 100 albums. But a bigger achievement for an artiste is to be able to have a timeless appeal to several generations, transcending national and ethnic boundaries. Tito did that. His 100th album was released in the year 1991. But until his death, he remained the most visible and respected member of the Latin music community in America and beyond. On the night Tito died on June 1, 2000, a spokesman from New York University Hospital was reported to have said "The world is richer for having known him and poorer for having lost him" (Tito Puente). The remark very well describes Tito’s greatness as a human being. It is best illustrated by his scholarship fund for talented young people. How it was born out of the contributions of the Latin musicians at a roast hosted by Latin New York Magazine following Tito’s first Grammy, is indeed an impressive story (McNeese 97). That they all were ready to forego the fees they had received from the sponsors to support the cause is a testimony to the great esteem in which Tito was held in the eyes of his fellow musicians. Regardless of Tito’s contributions to music, he is remembered by his friends and admirers within the music industry for his sincerity and dynamism. As a human being he had affected all those around him. It has been more than a decade since Tito Puente departed physically from this world. His fans may rest assured that there is no danger of this Hispanic celebrity ever being forgotten. Mambo craze may die down in the course of time. Tito’s following won’t. The man who set the music world on fire will be remembered for ever not only for his quiet melodies and engaging albums but also as one who opened new vistas of sound for lovers of music. He was a critical player in shaping the growth and development of the tropical and Caribbean genres. Quantifying the depth to which Tito Puente penetrated the global cultural matrix is no easy task. Works Cited Conzo, Joe and Perez, David A. Mambo Diablo: My Journey with Tito Puente. Bloomington: Author House, 2010. D’Rivera, Paquito and Stavans, Ilan. My Sax Life: A Memoir. Northwestern University Press, 2005. Hispanic Heritage. Accessed 08/05/2011. © 2010. Cengage Learning, Inc. Loza, Steven Joseph. Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music. Illinois: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 1999. McNeese, Tim. Tito Puente. New York: Infobase Publishing – Chelsea House, 2008. Morales, Ed. The Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond – The Latin Beat. Cambridge: Da Capo Press – Perseus Book Group, 2003. Payne, Jim and Puente, Tito. Tito Puente’s Drumming with the Mambo King. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2001. Rondon, Cesar Miguel. The Book of Salsa: A Chronicle of Urban Music from the Caribbean to New York City. The University of North Carolina Press, 2008. Sainsbury, Brendan and Cavalieri, Nate. Puerto Rico. Lonely Planet, 2008. Salsa Dancing – New York Style. Accessed 05/05/2011. © 19995: Mary Kent. Tito Puente. Posted 01/02/2009. Accessed 06/05/2011. < http://www.bilgininadresi.net/Madde/51737/Tito-Puente> Puente, Tito. Accessed 08/05/2011. © 2009. Yahoo! Inc. Read More