Thursday 16 February 2023

Machito born 16 February 1912


Machito (February 16, 1912* – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. He was raised in Havana with the singer Graciela, his foster sister. 

Regardless of his place of birth, Machito was raised from an early age in the Jesús María district of Havana, where his foster sister Graciela was born August 23, 1915. Her parents raised both of them. Young Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, the son of a cigar manufacturer, was nicknamed "Macho" as a child because he was the first son born to his parents after they had three daughters. His father was active in the music scene in Havana and would often hire Cuban musicians to perform for family events. Since Macho’s early childhood, he showed skills as singer and percussionist. 

After he married Luz Maria Pelegrin,in 1928 he became known as “Machito” and became a professional musician. He played the maracas and sang with some of Cuba’s most popular dance orchestras including Ignacio Piñeiro’s Septeto Nacional, María Teresa Vera’s Sexteto Occidente, and El Sexteto Agabama. Machito and other black musicians experienced racism while performing at Cuban clubs, including being forced to use back entrances to performance venues and maintain limited interactions with the club clientele. 

The accomplished jazz musician Mario Bauzá, who would become his brother-in-law, and Machito formed a musical partnership. In October 1937, Bauzá invited Machito to join him in New York. Machito settled in Harlem, where he was surrounded by fellow jazz legends such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Fletcher Henderson. In Harlem, Machito learned jazz basics and studied its relationship to Cuban music. He started singing and touring with a group called La Estrella Habanera and he joined a number of other orchestras, recording with the then-dominant Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat. 

After an earlier aborted attempt to launch a band with Bauza, Machito founded the Afro-Cubans in 1940, taking on Bauza the following year as music director where he remained for 35 years. After making some early 78s for Decca, the Afro-Cubans really began to catch on after the end of World War II, appearing with -- and no doubt influencing -- Stan Kenton's orchestra (Machito played maracas on Kenton's recordings of "The Peanut Vendor" and "Cuban Carnival") and recording some exciting sides for Mercury and Clef. 


                             

In 1943, Machito and Bauzá wove their Cuban music with the big band sounds of the New York jazz scene and recorded “Tanga,” which is considered the first Afro-Cuban jazz recording. Under the direction of Bauzá, Machito and his Afro-Cubans created their trademark sounds by combining Cuban mambo and other Latin styles with swing and big band music.  The band’s name also served as a public acknowledgement of the members’ African heritage and their infusion of African musical influences. 

 Machito and his Afro-Cubans headlined at the Palladium Ballroom and consistently recorded from the 1940s through the 1980s, many with Graciela as singer. Their popularity soared in the 1950s mambo phase.  In 1975 Machito changed to a smaller ensemble format in 1975, touring Japan, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

In 1983, Machito & His Salsa Big Band '82 won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording. In 1984 Machito travelled to London for a show at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club but suffered a stroke  and collapsed while waiting to go on stage. He died four days later on April 19, 1984, at University College Hospital in London. His son Mario carried forward the legacy by leading The Machito Orchestra after his father's death and his. His daughter Paula, though dedicating her life to scholarly studies, occasionally fronted the group as its singer. A documentary film by Carlo Ortiz, Machito: A Latin Jazz Legacy, was released in 1987. 

Machito popularized Cuban musical culture throughout the United States and the world. He helped infuse Latin music into mainstream American music, making a name for himself as the father of Latin jazz and influencing generations of musicians that followed. His music had an effect on the careers of many musicians who played in the Afro-Cubans over the years, and on those who were attracted to Latin jazz after hearing him. George Shearing, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Stan Kenton credited Machito as an influence. An intersection in East Harlem is named "Machito Square" in his honour. In 2005, Machito's 1957 album, Kenya, was added to the book: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 

(Edited from Smithsonian Institution, Wikipedia & AllMusic)  

* Machito gave conflicting accounts of his birth. He sometimes said he was a native Cuban from Havana. Other accounts place his birth in Tampa, Florida, making him an American of Cuban ancestry. He may have been born in 1908 in the Jesús María district of Havana or in Tampa, 1909 in the Marianao Beach district of Havana or in Tampa, 1912 in Tampa or Havana, or even 1915 in Havana.

6 comments:

boppinbob said...

For”Machito & His Afro Cuban Orchestra - The Complete Columbia Masters (2002 Legacy)” go here:

https://www.imagenetz.de/jjuBs

1. Holiday Mambo 3:25
2. Donde Estabas Tú 3:22
3. Carambola 3:06
4. Ay Que Mate 3:20
5. Mambo A La Savoy 2:50
6. Que Me Falta 3:02
7. Amalia Los Invita 3:01
8. Bongo Fiesta 3:04
9. Oboe Mambo 2:17
10. Contigo En La Distancia 3:17
11. Freezelandia 3:02
12. Hay Que Recordar 2:58
13. Sambia 2:36
14. Bee-Ree-Bee-Kym-Bee 3:06
15. Sí Sí No No 3:11
16. Mambo Inn 3:28
17. Negro Nanamboro 3:15
18. Adiós 2:31
19. Bella Mora 3:11
20. Mambo Mucho Mambo 3:01

For “Machito – Kenya (1958 Roulette) go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/14942310/Machito_-_Kenya.rar.html

1. Wild Jungle 2:27
2. Congo Mulence 2:55
3. Kenya 3:29
4. Oyeme 3:02
5. Holiday 2:47
6. Cannonology 2:30
7. Frenzy 2:45
8. Blues A La Machito 2:48
9. Conversation 3:00
10. Tin Tin Deo 2:55
11. Minor Rama 3:02
12. Tururato 3:10
================================================

Found these whist scouring the web.

Machito and his Afro-Cubans - 1941 (1989 Palladium)

https://www.upload.ee/files/14942270/machito1941.rar.html

1 - sopa de pichon
2 - chacumbele
3 - la rumbantela
4 - nague
5 - parabola negra
6 - el muerto se fue de rumba
7 - tingo talango
8 - yambu
9 - rascando siempre rascando
10 - intermezzo
11 - paella
12 - que vengan los rumberos


Machito – Mucho Macho (1948/49) (1991 Pablo)

https://www.upload.ee/files/14942267/machito_-_mucho_macho.rar.html

1 - asia minor
2 - un poquito de tu amor
3 - tumba el quinto
4 - jungle drums
5 - llora timbero
6 - vive como yo
7 - babarabatiri
8 - cleopatra rumba
9 - u-bla-ba-du
10 - el sopon
11 - gone city
12 - babalu
13 - yaya nina
14 - hall of the mambo king
15 - donkey serenade
16 - mambo jambo
17 - at sundown
18 - why do i love you
19 - mambo is here to stay
20 - rose room
21 - tea for two
22 - finaliza un amor
23 - the world is waiting for the sunrise
24 - st. louis blues

A big thank you to yoyo@Aural Joy for the loan of above two albums.

rosieandrobbie said...

Great post Bob, Thank you so much, a pity that Aural Joy stopped two years ago But we still have Tam Tam & melodie blogspot ,Robbie

Jorge Miranda said...

Hi Bob..
How are you doing?
Can you update or upload the Machito Orchestra
.. there is no link to download? Can you upload? Please.

All the best!!

boppinbob said...

Hello Jorge....

For” Machito & His Afro Cuban Orchestra – Mambo Mucho Mambo
- The Complete Columbia Masters (2002 Legacy)” go here:

https://www.imagenetz.de/k8r2X


1 Holiday Mambo
2 Donde Estabas Tú
3 Carambola
4 Ay Que Mate
5 Mambo A La Savoy
6 Que Me Falta
7 Amalia Los Invita
8 Bongo Fiesta
9 Oboe Mambo
10 Contigo En La Distancia
11 Freezelandia
12 Hay Que Recordar
13 Sambia
14 Bee-Ree-Bee-Kym-Bee
15 Sí Sí No No
16 Mambo Inn
17 Negro Nanamboro
18 Adiós
19 Bella Mora
20 Mambo Mucho Mambo

Jorge Miranda said...

Hi Bob..how are you? That link is expired.. when I click on it it says PAGE NOT FOUND.. Do have another way or another Link so I can download it.. Kind Regards!!

boppinbob said...

Hello Jorge, Here's Machito...
https://www.imagenetz.de/bvQAg