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
Sola Te Dejare
Ray Barretto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y que no hay comparación
Pues bájate de esa nube
Y tumba ese vacilón.
Oye bien este consejo, mulata
Oye bien este consejo, ingrata
Que tú ni nadie tiene tanta importancia
Acuérdate de esa noche cuando sola te encontré
Y sola yo te dejaré
¡Mami!
Ha llegado el fin del cuento
Y sola yo te dejaré
Tú dices que eres la brava, mami
Y el???, ya tu lo ve'
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Ay, sola y sola, sola y solita y sola
Solita sin querer
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Nadie comprende lo que sufro
Yo lloro, que ya no puedo sollozar
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Porque la rumba me llama y yo me voy a???
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Para que sufras
¡Ay!
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré...
Que tú no sabes nada
Que tú no sabes nada de la vida
Y por eso yo te dejé
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Ay, bájate de esa nube
Y ven a gozar, ven, ven
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
The lyrics of Ray Barretto's "Sola Te Dejare" talk about a woman who boasts about her bravery and the belief that nobody can compare to her. However, the singer is advising her to come back down to earth, stop pretending and let go of her false pride. He tells her that nobody has that much importance in this world, and she should remember the night he found her alone. The song is essentially about a breakup, and the singer has decided to leave her alone for good. He watches as she struggles to comprehend the magnitude of the situation, while he steadily assures her that he is leaving her alone for her own good. He lets her know that he understands the pain she must be feeling now, but his decision is final, as the rumba is calling him. The lyrics conclude with a dramatic farewell - "adios, mujer, sola yo te dejare" (goodbye, woman, I will leave you alone).
The song was released in the 1960s and quickly became popular not only in Latin America but across the world. The song has been covered by several musicians, including Celia Cruz, who is one of the most iconic artists in salsa history. The tempo of the song is typical of salsa music, with the use of the clave rhythm, horns, and percussions that are characteristic of the genre. The song has also become a favorite among DJ's who often mix it with other salsa hits to keep the party going.
Line by Line Meaning
Tú dices que eres la brava
You claim to be tough and unbeatable
Y que no hay comparación
And that there's no one to compare you with
Pues bájate de esa nube
Then come back down to earth
Y tumba ese vacilón.
And stop messing around.
Oye bien este consejo, mulata
Listen well to this advice, dark-skinned woman
Oye bien este consejo, ingrata
Listen carefully to this advice, ungrateful one
Que tú ni nadie tiene tanta importancia
Because neither you nor anyone else are that important
Acuérdate de esa noche cuando sola te encontré
Remember that night when I found you alone
Ha llegado el fin del cuento
The story has come to an end
Y sola yo te dejaré
And I will leave you alone
¡Mami!
Mama!
Tú dices que eres la brava, mami
You claim to be tough, mama
Y el???, ya tu lo ve'
And he's done for, you see
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Goodbye, woman, I'll leave you alone
Ay, sola y sola, sola y solita y sola
Oh, alone and alone, alone and by yourself
Solita sin querer
Alone, without meaning to be
Nadie comprende lo que sufro
No one understands what I'm going through
Yo lloro, que ya no puedo sollozar
I cry until I can't cry anymore
Porque la rumba me llama y yo me voy a???
Because the rumba calls me and I have to go
Para que sufras
So you can suffer
¡Ay!
Oh!
Que tú no sabes nada
You don't know anything
Que tú no sabes nada de la vida
You don't know anything about life
Y por eso yo te dejé
And that's why I left you
Ay, bájate de esa nube
Oh, come down from that cloud
Y ven a gozar, ven, ven
And come enjoy, come, come
Adiós, mujer, sola yo te dejaré
Goodbye, woman, I'll leave you alone
Writer(s): Gilbert J Lopez, Raymond Barretto
Contributed by Alexander R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JLGS
on El Diablo
Pero mi pregunta es, tendrá un mensaje en su Fe? Como q el enemigo no puedo tocar porque no solamente tiene fuerza internal pero en su Fe?