Willie Bobo
A child of Puerto Rican immigration, Willie Bobo lived in Harlem, where he
taught himself percussion. He then joined a children's orchestra led by the
maracas player and conductor Machito. Gradually, he joined Latin music groups
and settled into an artistic compromise between the Latin music of his origins
and jazz. On the one hand, he performed with musicians such as Perez Prado, Tito
Puente and Mongo Santamaria; on the other, he took part in sessions with Herbie
Mann, Clark Terry, Miles Davis, etc., especially when the latter were looking
for a Latin coloring in a musician who ...
