Ray Barretto, a percussionist extraordinaire and legend in the Salsa & latin Jazz music community has left the music scene with his death in February 2006 at age 76.
Born of Puerto Rican descendence in Brooklyn during the depression, he lived with his mother in East Harlem, The South Bronx and other "boricua" districts before he joined the army, where in the latter 1940's he heard Dizzy Gillespie's hard bebop. The young man was transfixed by Dizzy Gillespie - Manteca," which featured conguero Chano Pozo.
He started sitting in at a Munich jazz club, and after his discharge, by the early 50's he had bought his own Cuban Cnga drum and was playing regularly at clubs like The Bucket of Blood. Soon Mambo was the rage, and Barretto eventually started playing with Tito Puente in 1957, replacing the famed Mongo Santamaria. He became a band leader on his own by 1961, and had a big hit with his group Charanga Moderna and their boogaloo dance craze single called "el Watusi" in 1963 that was the first Latin record to hit the Billboard top 20, and went Gold.
Barretto is credited by some for bringing the African Conga drum into popular music, and had a crossover appeal that transcended the genre boundries of mainstream music categories. He gained recognition beyond the Puerto Rican music scene, ex. played on many Blue Note albums. He beacme associated with the Latin label Fania in the 1960's and played for three decades in the popular ensemble called the Fania All Stars alongsde Willie Colon, Ruben Blades and others. His 1972 album, "Carnaval", is considered a masterpiece amongst latin Jazz afficianados with the songs "Cocinando Suave" and his interpretation of Gershwin's "Summertime".
Highlights of Barretto's run with the Fania All Stars were their tours of spots like Panama, Puerto Rico and Zaire where they played to 80,000 in Kinshasa before the Ali-Foremen fight. Undoubtedly their sell out concerts at N.Y's Yankee Stadium in 1973 & 1975 would have to be included as well.
In 1975 and 1976, Barretto earned back-to-back Grammy nominations for his solo albums "Barretto" (with the prize-winning song "Guarere") and his double "Barretto Live...Tomorrow". By 1976, although he had stopped performing & touring with his live salsa orchestra, he was regularly voted Best Conga Player in music magazine annual polls. He became interested in jazz fusion forms, and pursued this musical passion despite it's lack of commercial appeal. Barretto felt restricted by the Salsa scene, it's conventions and strict danceable format, and did not like the tag Latin Jazz either.
He teamed with singer Celia Cruz in 1983 for the first of several albums, finally winning a 1990 Grammy with her for their 1989 song "Ritmo En El Corazon". In 1992, he formed the ensemble New World Spirit, and was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
He had recently been named best drummer in the 2005 DownBeat poll, and received the NEA's 2006 Jazz Masters Fellowship before his health declined. His recent albums "Taboo" (1994), "My Summertime" (1998) and his final album 2005's "Time Was - Time Is" all received Grammy nominations for best Latin jazz performance.
Over the years he is said to have recorded more than 70 albums for numerous labels including Riverside, Atlantic, EMI, CTI, Fania, Tico, RCA Victor, Concord Picante, Prestige, Blue Note, Circular Moves, Sunnyside and his last for O+ Music. Amongst his many musical collaborators included Cannonball Adderly, Joe Farrell, Wes Montgomery, Cal Tjader, Charlie Palmieri, George Benson, Lou Donaldson, Dizzy Gillespie, José Curbelo , Adalberto Santiago, Steve Gadd, Hector Lavoe, Yusef Lateef, Gene Ammons, Red Garland, Ray Vega, Oscar Hernandez, Tito Gomez, and even Little Miami Steven Van Zant's Sun City project. At the time of his death in a New Jersey hospital, he was in his late 70's, and had recently had several health setbacks including suffering asthma, compounded by heart attack, bypass surgery, pneumonia , a tracheotomy and just enough damned ailments to take Fuerza Gigante down.
More Barretto Links & Sample MP3'z & Interviews available at
http://lilmikesf.blogspot.com/2006/02/conga-king-ray-barretto-rip.html
Ritmo Sabroso
Ray Barretto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ritmo sabroso pa' gozar
Y tú, lo oyes, tú verás
Ritmo, te invita pa' bailar
Mira como va
Ritmo sabroso te invita a bailar
Ritmo sabroso te invita a gozar
Ritmo sabroso te invita a gozar
Te invita a bailar
Te invita a gozar
Te invita a bailar
Te invita a gozar
Te invita a bailar
Te invita a gozar
Oye bien que bueno va
Oye bien que bueno va
Oye bien que bueno va
Oye bien que bueno va
Que bueno va
Que bueno está
Que bueno está
Que bueno está
The song's lyrics embody the essence of joy and celebration, with Barretto announcing his arrival and the invitation for all to enjoy a savory rhythm. The initial verse can be translated as "Listen, Barreto is coming, with a delicious rhythm to enjoy. And you, you hear it, you'll see. The rhythm invites you to dance. Look at how it's going." This serves as an invitation for everyone to join in, get lost in the music, and engage in the liberating act of dance. The chorus repeats the same message, emphasizing the power of the rhythm to invite people to dance and have fun, with the phrase "que bueno está" expressing just how good it is.
The song's repetition of "te invita a bailar" and "te invita a gozar" highlights the infectious quality of the rhythm, as if it literally cannot resist inviting people to dance and enjoy themselves. The use of the phrase "ritmo sabroso" reinforces the idea of the rhythm as something that is appealing to the senses and enjoyable to experience. The song can therefore be seen as a celebration of music's power to bring people together, lift spirits, and create a sense of community through dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Oye, Barreto viene ya
Listen, Barreto is coming now
Ritmo sabroso pa' gozar
Delicious rhythm to enjoy
Y tú, lo oyes, tú verás
And you, can you hear it? You'll see
Ritmo, te invita pa' bailar
Rhythm invites you to dance
Mira como va
Look how it goes
Ritmo sabroso te invita a bailar
Delicious rhythm invites you to dance
Ritmo sabroso te invita a gozar
Delicious rhythm invites you to enjoy
Te invita a bailar
Invites you to dance
Te invita a gozar
Invites you to enjoy
Oye bien que bueno va
Listen well how good it's going
Que bueno va
How good it's going
Que bueno está
How good it is
Writer(s): Ramirez, Barretto
Contributed by Harper J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Luckylouie522
@Edwin Calderón Gonzales Saludos Edwin
RAY BARRETTO LEADER CONGA
MANNY ROMAN VOCALS
SANTOS COLON CORO
WILLIE TORRES CORO
PETE BONET CORO
HECTOR RIVERA PIANO
MANNY OQUENDO TIMBALES (CONJUNTO LIBRE) **
LOUIE RAMIREZ COMPOSER ARRANGER
PETE PUCHI BOULOG TRUMPET
TEDDY REIG PRODUCER
Luckylouie522
AUTOR RAY BARRETTO Y LOUIE RAMIREZ ARREGLO MANNY OQUENDO TIMBAL (1962) TICO LABEL
Edhy Fuentes Cano
Mi humilde opinion sabia q era una orquesta cubana, Jóvenes de Hierro
Salsa Meet
@Luckylouie522 te creo... no quiero entrar en discusiones, solo que si miras los comentarios en el link hablan de eso... ademas escribe alguien q dice ser familiar de uno de los fundadores de esa orquesta y me dio curiosidad, por eso escribi en tu video para saber si es verdadero o falso; personalmente, también me gusta mas la version de Barreto, pero también creo q esta versión es buena... salsaludos amigo... desde Pasto, Colombia!!!
Luckylouie522
@Salsa Meet LA VERSION DE TU LINK ES BUENISIMA PERO DONDE ESTA LO DE CHOCOLATE ? YO TAMBIEN INVESTIGO Y NO ENCUENTRO NADA MAS QUE UN BUEN COVER DE ELLOS. A QUIEN LE DA CREDITO ? PUEDE SER OTRO ARREGLO MUSICAL YO ME QUEDO CON LA DE RAY NO LE ECHE MAS AGUA A LA SOPA...
Salsa Meet
Investigando me encontré con esto... no se, pero Chocolate Armenteros da los creditos a otro... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvLWRhiKjJ8 si saben de esto, por fa me aclaran... muchas gracias!!!
Luckylouie522
@Edwin Calderón Gonzales Saludos Edwin
RAY BARRETTO LEADER CONGA
MANNY ROMAN VOCALS
SANTOS COLON CORO
WILLIE TORRES CORO
PETE BONET CORO
HECTOR RIVERA PIANO
MANNY OQUENDO TIMBALES (CONJUNTO LIBRE) **
LOUIE RAMIREZ COMPOSER ARRANGER
PETE PUCHI BOULOG TRUMPET
TEDDY REIG PRODUCER
César Moreno
El ritmo, la melodía, los arreglos y el sabor que transmite son únicos
Lisbet Alvarado
Esta música me hace vibrar la sangre como salsa no hay su🕺🕺
Eduardo Deceda
Los mejores musicos y coristas estaban en la orquesta moderna de ray barretto en los 50 y 60
Tomate Rojo
Esto si es música saludos de colombia