Bobby Matos - Biography
Few genres traverse as much rich, multifarious tradition and trans-hemispheric history as Afro Cuban jazz. In this vivified realm, Bobby Matos is the arguable king of percussion; within his intuitive beats and exuberant scores there lurks a wildly sophisticated analytical aesthetic, one that expertly synthesizes a global cacophony of region sounds, with an amazingly effortless verve, a silky-smooth vibe, and the prowess of a gifted musical alchemist. Matos plumbs deep into the roots of Afro Cuban sound but he also reaches for its outermost branches, where he meticulously plucks perfectly-ripe rhythms from rumba, salsa, Mozambique, bomba, plena, yambu, bop, and soul. His scores function as beautifully inspired collisions of artful design and utilitarian, architectural function, exquisitely designed bridges over which his ensemble speeds with improvisational skills and unidirectional purpose. Matos isn’t simply a bandleader, he’s an aural ambassador, leading a polyglot collection of international talent towards a joyous, infectious, musical utopia, in which the sounds of Africa venture forth then return, transformed. Yet, as a musician, Matos is just as willing to be a featured performer as opposed to bandleader, and that willingness to subsume his ego in the service of ecstatic sound is part of what makes him such a compelling and sincere voice.
Bobby Matos was born on July 24, 1941, in the Bronx, New York. His earliest interests included dance, a telling influence given the physicality and fluidity of his drumming. However, childhood banging on pans in the kitchen inevitably gave way to adolescent beating of drums on stage, and by the 1960s, Matos was floating throughout the Latin music scene in New York City. His inspired conga playing snared the attention of the Latin jazz patriarch, Tito Puente, who encouraged Matos to expand his repertoire of instruments, including timbales, and to start an ensemble of his own. Matos spent the late 60s with the spare and taut group, Los Congueros, and crafted a number of hits that were influential in both the Latin jazz and burgeoning salsa movements, including “My Latin Soul,” which has since reached the status of an undisputed classic. However, at the dawn of the 1970s, Matos chose to work as a backing musician, and began a remarkable career as a durable session man, collaborating with artists including Bette Midler, Ben Vereen, Ray Rivera and the late Jim Croce.
After two decades as a journeyman, Matos began recording his own material with a vengeance, and the 1990s saw a breathtaking array of extraordinary and influential releases. Collage — Afro Cuban Jazz (Nightlife Records, 1993) is an excellent album, delving into Matos’ signature cultural mash-ups, and highlighted by an insightful adaptation of the Pharoah Sanders classic, “The Creator Has a Plan.” It was followed by Chango’s Dance (Nightlife Records, 1996), an ambitious fusion of styles that features an oversized ensemble with chops to match. A battery of percussionists are joined by an extensive brass section, and they navigate with panache through African beats and drum conversations, Latin grooves, and a flawless medley of themes by John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Throughout is a diligent artistic adhesive, never overpowering his peers, but guiding them with subtlety and quiet, self-assured nuance. This successful template is evident in many of Matos’ best recordings from this period, including Footprints (Cubop, 1996), My Latin Soul (Cubop, 1997) and Live at Moca (Cubop, 1999). Mambo Jazz (Cubop, 2001) is an jubilant foray into mambo and poetry with fellow bandleader John Santos; there’s also a fascinating excavation from the vaults, Sessions (Cubop, 1997), which documents a fourteen-year period of especially florid and invigorating studio performances. Each of these recordings offers a bold and daring expedition, as Bobby Matos explores the past while inventing the future.
