Armando Peraza

Armando Peraza playing a bongo in London, 1999.

Armando Peraza is one of the greatest figures in the history of Latin music and jazz. He stands shoulder to shoulder with Chano Pozo and Tito Puente as a pioneer of the Afro Cuban art form, but through his long associations with jazz pianist George Shearing and guitarist Carlos Santana, he was the most internationally visible of all Latin percussionists from the 1950s through to the 1990s. Although primarily known as a bongocero and conguero, Peraza is also an innovative and accomplished dancer and composer.

Significantly, and uniquely amongst the great Cuban percussionists, Peraza has for many years been an important socio-political figure, a symbol of Afro-Cuban achievement through his virtuoso musicianship and his refusal to be defeated by racism. His work with Shearing and Santana brought him international fame.

Born in Lauton Battista, Havana, Cuba in 1924, he was orphaned by age 7 but made a living selling vegetables and gaining a reputation as a sportsman, being proficient at baseball and boxing. At one time he was a boxing coach. A natural musician, a chance encounter at a baseball game led to his first professional gig with famous local bandleader Alberto Ruiz. He then made his reputation as drummer and dancer playing with the cream of Havana’s small bands or “conjuntos”, the most famous being Ruiz’s Conjunto Kubavana.

He left Cuba for the United States in 1949 with his great friend, conga drummer Mongo Santamaria. They arrived in New York City where Peraza cut his first record date with Charlie Parker and Buddy Rich. He also recorded with fellow Cuban Slim Gaillard in New York in November 1949, a session that produced an exemplary virtuoso performance from Peraza on "Bongo City". After a period in Mexico City he returned to the US and settled in the West Coast. Here he worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Gaillard and ran an Afro-Cuban dance review at the Cable Car Village club attracting a clientele that included Errol Flynn, Marlon Brando and Rita Hayworth.

In San Francisco he met British pianist George Shearing, a collaboration that found Peraza at the forefront of a new wave of popularity for Afro-Cuban music. Shearing’s music is now regarded as “light” in jazz terms, but the rhythms and harmonic structures Peraza introduced to the pianist’s music were unerringly authentic. It was during his time with Shearing that Peraza emerged as a composer. With Shearing developing Peraza’s nascent ideas pieces like “Te Arango La Cabeza” (a song perhaps inspired by boxing!), "Mambo in Chimes” and “Mambo In Miami” were recorded. These recordings were at the heart of the "mambo craze", which was sweeping the USA, and Peraza became highly visible, a major achievement for an Afro-Cuban.

Peraza’s extraordinary technique and expressive power as a hand drummer became a feature of Shearing’s performances. He toured America with Shearing and experienced persistent racism. For instance, in Miami during dates with Shearing and Peggy Lee in 1959, Peraza was not allowed to stay at the same hotel as the other band members on racial grounds. Shearing and Lee resolved the situation by threatening to pull out of the performance unless Peraza was “allowed” to stay at their hotel.

In tandem with this he worked with vibes player Cal Tjader and they cut the famous track “Guachi Guaro” which has recently enjoyed renewed popularity in the London Acid Jazz club scene. In 1959 Peraza joined Mongo Santamaria for the classic 'Mongo' album, one of the most important recordings of Afro-Cuban “folklore” music ever. It included conga drummer Francisco Aguabella, another contemporary and friend of Peraza, and “Afro-Blue”, a song that became a jazz standard once John Coltrane had recorded it.

Although Peraza's personality was best suited to being a member of other leaders' bands he did record one solo album in 1968. His "Wild Thing" LP on the Skye label features performances from pianist Chick Corea and Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. He had previously been featured as a solo artist on the 1959 album ‘More Drums On Fire’. His performance on conga and bongos on the piece ‘Artistry In Rhythm’ was widely lauded as a standard-setting masterpiece.

Adaptability and an open mind are the hallmarks of Peraza’s approach, so that when rock took hold of the business in the late 60s, Armando was amongst the first Latin percussionists to add conga drums to a rock track, notably on Harvey Mandel’s 'Cristo Redentor' album in 1968.

In 1972 Peraza joined the Santana group, which was embarking on its most creative period. Peraza remained with Santana for nearly twenty years and played to millions around the globe, partnering other outstanding percussionists like Chepito Areas and Orestes Vilato. The profile of Latin percussion had never been higher. A very limited number of Peraza songs were recorded by Santana, the best known is probably “Gitano” from the album ‘Amigos’, and his jazz-inflected piece “Mandela” was cut on the ‘Freedom’ album. But Santana’s recordings did feature many outstanding performances from Peraza, notably his conga solos on “Hannibal” (‘Zebop!’), “Bambele” and “Bambara” (both ‘Viva Santana’), and “Mother Africa” (’Welcome’). And his bongo performances on “La Fuente Del Ritmo” (‘Caravanserai’), and “Flor De Canela” and “Promise of a Fisherman” (a sequence on ‘Borboletta’) provide strong evidence to support John Santos’ assertion that Peraza is “perhaps the greatest bongosero in the history of that instrument.”

Armando Peraza in London, 1999.

The permanent professional relationship between Peraza and Carlos Santana ended when Peraza left the group in 1990, although he did travel to Santiago de Chile for a major concert with Santana in 1992 in front of a crowd in excess of 100,000. The video 'Viva Santana' includes memorable footage of a Peraza conga improvisation shot in 1985.

Now living in San Mateo in semi-retirement, Peraza continues to hold workshops and play at jazz festivals around the world. Now in his 80s in 2005 he appeared on a recording by Bay Area musician John Santos. Santos' "20th Anniversary" set included the piece 'El Changüí De Peraza', which highlighted Peraza's superb bongo playing. Widely regarded as the most accomplished soloist of any of the great congueros, he returned to Cuba for a holiday in 2002, his first trip to the island in more than 50 years.

In July 2006 Peraza, at 82 years of age, made a rare appearance with Santana at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. This was the first of a number of summer live appearances. Later, in August 2006, Peraza appeared at the San José jazz festival in California, sitting in with the Julius Melendez Latin Jazz Ensemble, as well as giving a drum clinic with Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo, both of Santana.

Reflections on Armando Peraza:

Candido Camero: “Many times after a gig I would see Armando hanging out at clubs like Cabaret Carioca... and he would be doing some of the most incredible steps I’d ever seen. He would incorporate steps from Afro-Cuban folklore. He would combine these steps with his own inventive moves. People talk about break dancing and think it is so hip. Armando was doing it forty years ago and better.”

Walfredo Reyes Snr: "Still one of the greatest ever to come out of Cuba. If you are a percussionist, you should listen to Armando."

George Shearing: “My ears became attuned to authentic Afro-Cuban music thanks to Machito, Al McKibbon, Armando Peraza and Willie Bobo. Armando always had ideas and he would contribute compositions… he sang and drummed every tune we were going to record. For my Latin sessions I depended on Peraza to select the Latin percussion section.”

Carlos Santana: “He has brought to this band a supremely high standard, not only in music, but in all facets of his life. His vitality and strength are qualities I will always treasure.”

Odie Hawkins (in his work “Menfriends”): “I wandered through the crowd, drawn by this small Afro-Cuban brother. I’d never seen anyone that proud…… Sugar Ray Robinson had it, Manolete, Pelé… Bob Marley, Richard Pryor in his salad days, a few others…. Armando Peraza.”

John Santos: "Armando Peraza is much more than a national treasure. He is an international symbol of artistic excellence, humanitarianism, and elegance who has enriched the lives of millions of people."

Armando Peraza Discography

Armando as lead artist:

'More Drums On Fire’ (World Pacific 1959 – 2 tunes on various artists LP)

'The Soul Of Jazz Percussion’ (Warwick 1960 – 3 tunes on various artists LP) - also released on CD under the title Donald Byrd & Booker Little ‘The Third World’ (Collectables, 1999)

‘Wild Thing’ (Skye 1968)

‘ROAR’ (Tabu 1985)

Armando in the 1940s:

Conjunto Kubavana - ‘Rumba En El Patio’ (Tumbao 1994 - re-issue of recordings 1944-1947)

Machito - ‘Cu-Bop City’ (Roost Records 1949) Slim Gaillard - ‘Laughing In Rhythm’ (Proper 2003 - CD box set reissue)

Into the 1950s with George Shearing:

'An Evening With George Shearing’ (MGM 1955), ‘Shearing In Hi-Fi’ (MGM 1955), ‘George Shearing Caravan’ (MGM 1955), ‘The Shearing Spell’ (Capitol 1955), ‘Velvet Carpet’ (Capitol 1956), ‘Latin Escapade’ (Capitol 1956), ‘Black Satin’ (Capitol 1957), ‘In The Night’ (Capitol 1958 - George Shearing and Dakota Staton), ‘Burnished Brass’ (Capitol 1958), ‘Blue Chiffon’ (Capitol 1958), ‘Latin Lace’ (Capitol 1958), ‘George Shearing On Stage’ (Capitol 1959), ‘Latin Affair’ (Capitol 1959), ‘Beauty And The Beat’ (Capitol 1959 - George Shearing and Peggy Lee), ‘On The Sunny Side Of The Strip’ (Capitol 1959), ‘Satin Affair’ (Capitol 1959), ‘White Satin’ (Capitol 1960), ‘The Swinging’s Mutual’ (Capitol 1961, George Shearing and Nancy Wilson), ‘Mood Latino’ (Capitol 1962), ‘San Francisco Scene’ (Capitol 1962), ‘Love Walked In’ (Jazzland 1962 - George Shearing and The Montgomery Brothers) , ‘Rare Form’ (Capitol 1965), ‘Latin Rendezvous’ (Capitol 1965)

The 50s and 60s with Cal Tjader:

‘Vibist’ (Savoy 10’ 1954), ‘Ritmo Caliente’ (Fantasy 1954), ‘Mas Ritmo Caliente’ (Fantasy 1957), ‘In A Latin Bag’ (Verve 1961), ‘Soul Sauce’ (Verve 1964), ‘Soul Bird’ (Verve 1965), ‘El Sonido Neuvo’ (Verve 1966), ‘Along Comes Cal’ (Verve 1967), ‘Cal Tjader Plugs In’, (Skye 1969), ‘Latin + Jazz = Cal Tjader (Actual Jazz 1993 - CD reissue), ‘Jazz ‘Round Midnight’ (Verve 1996 - compilation), ‘Talkin Verve: Roots of Acid Jazz’ (Verve 1996 - compilation)

Sessions with Mongo Santamaria:

‘Mongo’ (Fantasy 1959), ‘Mongo’s Way’ (Atlantic 1971), ‘Mongo At Montreux’ (Atlantic 1971), ‘Afro Roots’ (compilation, RCA 1972), ‘Skin On Skin – The Mongo Santamaria Anthology’ (Rhino 1999)

Latin-Jazz sessions in the late 1950s / early 1960s:

Victor Feldman - ‘Latinville’ (Cont 1959) Freddie Gambrell - ‘Mikado’ (World Pacific 1959) Randy Weston - ‘Uhuru Africa’ (Roulette 1960) Modesto Duran – ‘Fabulous Rhythms of Modesto’ (Raynote 19??) Hector Rivera - 'Viva Rivera' (Columbia / Epic 1961) Candido Camero - 'Candido's Comparsa' (ABC - Paramount 1963) Buddy Collette & Charles Kynard - ‘Warm Winds’ (World Pacific 1964)

Moving towards Latin-rock in the late 1960s:

Lalo Schifrin - ‘Che!’ (Tetragrammaton Records 1968 - Soundtrack) Harvey Mandel - ‘Cristo Redentor’ (Philips 1968) George Duke - ‘Inner Source’ (MPS 1971) Doug Clifford - ‘Doug Clifford’ (Fantasy 1972)

18 years with Santana:

'Caravanserai (1972), ‘Welcome’ (1973), ‘Borboletta’ (1974), ‘Lotus’ (1975), ‘Amigos’ (1976), ‘Inner Secrets’ (1978), ‘Marathon’ (1979), ‘Zebop!’ (1981), ‘Shango’ (1982), ‘Beyond Appearances’ (1985), ‘Freedom’ (1987), ‘Viva Santana’ (1988), ‘Spirits Dancing In The Flesh’ (1990), ‘Dance Of The Rainbow Serpent’ (1995) Carlos Santana solo - ‘Love, Devotion, Surrender’ (1973), ‘Illuminations’ (1974), ‘Oneness’ (1979), ‘The Swing Of Delight’ (1980), ‘Havana Moon’ (1983), ‘Blues For Salvador’ (1987)

A wide range of guest appearances from the 1970s to the 2000s:

Brenda Patterson – ‘Brenda Patterson’ (Playboy 1973) Albert Hammond - 'Albert Hammond' (Mums 1974) New Riders Of The Purple Sage - ‘Brujo’ (Columbia 1975) Roy Buchanan - ‘Rescue Me’ (Polydor 1975) Stoneground - ‘Flat Out’ (Flat Out 1976) Sly and The Family Stone - 'Heard You Missed Me, Well I'm Back' (CBS 1976) Alice Coltrane - ‘Eternity’ (Warner Brothers 1976) Gato Barbieri - ‘Tropico’ (A&M 1978) John McLaughlin - ‘Electric Guitarist’ (Columbia 1978) Rick James - ‘Street Songs’ (Motown 1981) Sister Sledge - ‘All American Girls’ (Cotillion 1981) Patti Austin - ‘Patti Austin’ (Qwest 1984) Aretha Franklin - ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who’ (Arista 1985) Vital Information – ‘World Beat’ (Columbia 1986) Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso - ‘Jazz Africa’ (Verve 1987) John Santos And The Machete Ensemble - ‘Africa Volume 1’ (Machete Records 1988) John Lee Hooker - ‘The Healer’ (Silvertone 1989) Tom Coster - ‘From Me To You’ (JVC 1990) Soundtrack - ‘The Mambo Kings’ (Elektra 1992) Linda Ronstadt - ‘Frenesi’ (Elektra 1992) Eric Clapton - ‘Crossroads II’ (Polydor 1996) Merl Saunders – 'Fiesta Amazonica' (Summertone 1997) John Santos And The Machete Ensemble – '20th Anniversary' (Machete Records 2005)

Video / DVD:

Herbie Hancock & Foday Musa Suso - ‘Jazz Africa’ (Polygram Music Video 1987), Santana: ‘Viva Santana’ (Columbia 1988), ‘Sesion Latina’ (Rhino Home Video 1989), Francisco Aguabella - ‘Sworn To The Drum’ (Flower Films 1995), Carlos Santana & Wayne Shorter - 'Live In Montreux' (VBPR 2005 - film of 1988 concert)