Papo Vázquez

American musician, trombonist, composer, arranger and bandleader

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Papo Vázquez

Born| February 24, 1958 (1958-02-24) (age 66)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres|

* Latin
* Latin jazz
* jazz
* Afro-Caribbean jazz

Years active| 1973–present
Labels|

* Picaro
* CuBop
* Timeless

Website| www.papovazquez.com

Musical artist

Angel Rafael "Papo" Vázquez is an American trombonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader[1] of Puerto Rican descent who performs and records jazz, Latin and Afro-Caribbean music. He is known as one of the pioneers of the bomba jazz style[2] and is a Grammy Award nominee.[3]

## Early life and start of career

[edit]

Vázquez was born in 1958 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When he was five years old, his family moved to his parents' native Puerto Rico, where he spent the next five or six years[4] being influenced by music-loving relatives and immersed in the native sounds of the island. At age 13 he bought his first trombone, a used instrument for $5.[5]

That same year, back in Philadelphia, still at age 13, listening to live music by sneaking into local church dances, he began playing professionally,[6] his guitarist uncle having gotten him his first gig. His grandfather, father, and uncle were troubadours[7] and all three played the Puerto Rican folk style música jíbara.

At 15, Vázquez was performing with local Philadelphia Latin bands and opening acts for visiting artists from New York City such as Larry Harlow. He made his recording debut with Larry Harlow at age 16[8] and his second recording with the experimental New York group Conjunto Libre.[9] He dropped out of Mastbaum Vocation School in 11th grade in order to be able to commute to his New York City gig with Harlow's salsa band.[10] Subsequently he got his GED certificate and attended two semesters in the music department at City College of New York.

## 1970s and New York City

[edit]

In 1975, at age 17, Vázquez moved to New York City.[11] Through the late 1970s he was active in the city's Latin jazz scene, playing with salsa greats including Héctor Lavoe, the Fania All-Stars, Ray Barretto, Willie Colón,[6] Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, and Celia Cruz. He studied with trombonist Slide Hampton and later recorded and performed with Hampton's World of Trombones.[12] His 1970s sessions included Colón's Siembra,[failed verification] the first salsa record to sell over a million copies,[13] and Barretto's "Rican/Struction".[7]

## Batacumbele, Fort Apache Band, Bomba Jazz

[edit]

In 1980 he moved back to Puerto Rico for five years[8] to help found the Latin fusion band Batacumbele,[1] which fused Afro-Cuban popular music, Latin jazz, and folkloric polyrhythms from Africa and Puerto Rico.[14] With Batacumbele he performed, composed, arranged and recorded from 1981 to 1985.

In this period Vázquez began experimenting with indigenous Puerto Rican rhythms in the context of jazz, fusing bomba, which arose from traditions brought to Puerto Rico by enslaved Africans, and plena, a modern development of these traditions that often features topical or political lyrics, with contemporary jazz.[6]

In 1980 Vázquez also toured Europe briefly with the Ray Charles Orchestra,[citation needed] and about this time was a founding member of Jerry González' Fort Apache Band.[15]

In 1983, to further develop the blending of jazz and indigenous Puerto Rican styles like bomba, he formed his own band, Bomba Jazz.[2] This group later evolved into the band he continues to lead, the Afro-Puerto Rican jazz band Mighty Pirates Troubadours.[16] (A onetime bandmate suggested the name, originally as a joke, because of Vázquez's concern that the name "Bomba Jazz" or "Papo Vázquez Bomba Jazz" suggested stylistic limitations.)[11]

## With Tito Puente and Rubén Blades

[edit]

After returning to New York in 1985, Vázquez joined Tito Puente's Latin Jazz Ensemble, traveling with them as principal trombonist.[17][failed verification] He toured Europe with Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations Orchestra, and worked with Hilton Ruiz and Dave Valentin.[12][18] He was also a member of Rubén Blades' band Son del Solar, performing at the Playboy Jazz Festival in 1989[19] and appearing on Blades' Grammy-nominated albums Amor y Control and Caminando and Grammy-winning Antecedente.[20][failed verification]

## 1990s

[edit]

Vázquez and his band performed his compositions at events such as the Painted Bride's "Latin Vibrations" series in 1990. The Philadelphia Daily News referred to him at this time as "the hottest trombone player on the big-league Latino dance band circuit."[10] In the early part of the decade his Bomba Jazz ensemble included pianist Kenny Kirkland, Andy Gonzalez, Milton Cardona, Edgardo Miranda, and Steve Berrios[21] among others.

Also in the 1990s his music featured in the films The Mambo Kings, Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues, and the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair.

In 1992 Vázquez released his first album, Breakout, which mixed traditional and Latin jazz as well as bomba,[22][23][24] on the Timeless label.[25]

During the 1990s Vázquez performed in Chico O'Farrill's orchestra at Jazz at Lincoln Center, while his own band included Chico's son Arturo O'Farrill on piano.[23] On 4 February 1994 he performed with his group Bomba Jazz at the Kennedy Center, a venue to which he returned, with the Pirates Troubadours, in July 2015.[citation needed]

The track "Baila Plena" from his 1999 album At The Point V. 1 album was featured on the soundtrack for the film Free Enterprise.[citation needed]

## Grammy nomination, Oasis Project

[edit]

In 2000 he moved to Bronxville in Westchester County, New York, just north of New York City, with his wife.[citation needed] In 2002 he was a founding member of Lincoln Center’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra,[failed verification] disbanded all-star group, in which he performed and for which he composed.[26] His piece "Iron Jungle" received special praise.[27]

Vázquez earned a Grammy nomination in 2008 for his recording of his bomba-inspired Papo Vazquez Mighty Pirates: Marooned/Aislado.[3] His album Marooned/Aislado (Picaro) resulted from a grant from The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia which asked him to expand Pirates Troubadours and compose new music for a 19-piece, Afro-Puerto Rican Jazz Orchestra. The 2008 event was recorded live, and the resulting Marooned/Aislado album was nominated for a 2009 Grammy for best Latin jazz recording.[5]

In 2009, he premiered his composition "Oasis" with the Bronx Arts Ensemble. The show expanded to become the Oasis Project, which premiered the following year with the Pregones Theater.[28] His 2013 Oasis album featured guest appearances by Wynton Marsalis and Regina Carter.[6]

On 29 and 30 January 2016 Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra honored Vázquez and other musicians in a "Tribute to the Great Sidemen of Latin Jazz" concert at Symphony Space in New York City.[16] Since 2016 he has been the Musical Director for the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Orchestra in New York City.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with live performances canceled, he recorded his 10th album, a jazz release called Chapter 10: Breaking Cover, with his band Mighty Pirates Troubadours[29] and liner notes by Ben Ratliff of The New York Times. NPR recognized the album in the Latin category of its "Best Music of 2020" Jazz Critics poll.[30]

## Discography

[edit]

### As leader

[edit]

* Breakout (1992)
* At the Point V. 1 (1999)
* At the Point V. 2 (2000)
* Papo Vázquez Pirates Troubadours: Carnival In San Juan (2003)
* Papo Vázquez Pirates Troubadours: From the Badlands (2007)
* Papo Vázquez Pirates Troubadours: Marooned/Aislado (Picaro, 2008)
* Papo Vázquez Pirates Troubadours: Oasis (Picaro, 2012)
* Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours: Spirit Warrior (Picaro, 2014)
* GV: Johann Sebastian Bach (Picaro, 2017)
* Chapter 10: Breaking Cover (Picaro, 2020)

### As guest

[edit]

* Héctor Lavoe, De Ti Depende, Fania (1976)
* Willie Colón and Rubén Blades, Siembra (Fania, 1978)
* Batacumbele, Con Un Poco De Songo (1981)
* Batacumbele, En Aquellos Tiempos (1983)
* Rubén Blades, Antecedente (1988), Grammy Award
* Jerry González, Obatala Enja (1989)
* Mo' Better Blues (soundtrack) (1990)
* Tito Puente, Out of This World (Concord Picante, 1990)
* Rubén Blades, Caminando (1991)
* Hilton Ruiz, Manhattan Mambo (Telarc, 1992)
* Descarga Boriqua, Tierazzo (1993)
* Dave Valentin, Tropic Heat (1994)
* Manny Oquendo & Libre, Mejor Que Nunca, Milestone (1994)
* New York Latin Jazz Allstars, Feliz Navidad (2000)
* Wayne Shorter, Alegría (2003)
* Bebo Valdés, Bebo de Cuba (2004)
* Freddie Cole, Rio de Janeiro Blues (Telarc, 2006)
* Chico O'Farrill, Pure Emotion (Fantasy, 2006)
* Ray Barretto, Standards Rican-Ditioned (Zoho Music, 2006)
* Shakira & Wyclef Jean, "Bamboo" (2006)
* Tego Calderón, The Underdog/El Subestimado (Jiggiri (2006)
* Niño Josele, Española (Raíces, 2009)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Ben Ratliff (20 April 2016), "Papo Vazquez, Still Going Strong After 40 Years", The New York Times, retrieved 14 October 2021
2. ^ a b "Jazz en Taller 111". El Nuevo Dia. 8 June 1983.
3. ^ a b Jessica Steinhoff (7 November 2013), Trombonist Papo Vazquez brings continents together with lively Afro-Latin jazz, Isthmus, retrieved 14 October 2021
4. ^ Shaun Brady (21 June 2021), Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Trombonist Papo Vázquez, WRTI, retrieved 14 October 2021
5. ^ a b Tammy La Gorce (7 August 2009), "Pirate Troubadour Roaming the Seas of Improvisation", The New York Times, retrieved 14 October 2021
6. ^ a b c d Shaun Brady (14 March 2013), Philly-born Latin jazz, plus spice, The Philadelphia Inquirer, retrieved 14 October 2021
7. ^ a b Alfredo Alvarado (1 April 1993). "Papo Vazquez Breaks Out". New York Latino.
8. ^ a b Larry Birnbaum (1 July 1993). "Papo Vazquez". Downbeat.
9. ^ Mark Holston. "Latin". JAZZIZ Magazine.
10. ^ a b Nels Nelson (1 September 1990). "Latino Jazzman Blows Into Town". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 48.
11. ^ a b Shaun Brady (5 January 2021), Papo Vázquez, Latin jazz pioneer out of North Philly, still keeps his hometown close, The Philadelphia Inquirer, retrieved 18 October 2021
12. ^ a b TOMAS PEÑA (10 April 2015), Papo Vázquez Celebrates 40 Years…, LatinJazzNet, retrieved 14 October 2021
13. ^ Gisele Regatao (17 September 2019), New York Icons: 'Siembra', PRI, retrieved 18 October 2021
14. ^ Frank M. Figueroa (30 June 2021), Here comes Batacumbele once again!, Latin Beat Magazine, retrieved 14 October 2021
15. ^ T.J. English (25 April 2019), Fort Apache: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, Jazz Times, retrieved 18 October 2021
16. ^ a b Fernando (21 January 2016), Papo Vázquez: Playing "For the Guys Who Knew", Afro Latin Jazz, retrieved 14 October 2021
17. ^ Celia Cruz Joins Tito Puente At Newport Jazz (1990), RVM, 18 August 1990, retrieved 18 October 2021
18. ^ José Mandry. "Papo Vázquez". New York Latino.
19. ^ Victor Valle (19 June 1989). "Ruben Blades: Salsa Glitters With Promise". Los Angeles Times.
20. ^ "Rubén Blades", Grammy.com, retrieved 18 October 2021
21. ^ Kevin L. Carter (17 February 1992). "Sounds of a jazz weekend". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
22. ^ Robert Dominguez (6 August 1993). "His trombone slides from style to style". New York Daily News.
23. ^ a b Alisa Valdez (24 October 1994). "Angel Vazquez pays homage to his roots". Boston Globe.
24. ^ Mike Joyce (4 February 1994), "VAZQUEZ SPICES SALSA-JAZZ BLEND", The Washington Post, retrieved 18 October 2021
25. ^ Jack Lloyd (8 July 1994). "Philly's Papo Vázquez defies the categories". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
26. ^ J.D. Considine (1 October 2019), The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Downbeat, retrieved 19 February 2022
27. ^ Ben Ratliff (13 March 2004), "Taking Off From Tito Puente", The New York Times, retrieved 18 October 2021
28. ^ Jeremy Smith (22 October 2020), Trombonist Papo Vázquez Set to Release New Album, Last Row Music, retrieved 14 October 2021
29. ^ Aaron Cohen (30 November 2020), Papo Vázquez leads his Mighty Pirate Troubadours through an uplifting blend of jazz and Caribbean rhythms, Chicago Reader, retrieved 14 October 2021
30. ^ Francis Davis (14 January 2021), The 2020 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll, NPR, retrieved 25 October 2021