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Willie Bobo
143,871 plays (36,829 listeners)
jazz, latin, funk, lounge, latin jazz… see all
Willie Bobo (February 28, 1934 - September 15, 1983, real name: William Correa) was an American jazz percussionist.
Willie Bobo, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York made his name in Latin Jazz in the 1960’s and 70’s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument. He met Mongo Santamaria shortly after his arrival in New York and studied with him while acting as his translator, and later joined Tito Puente for 4 years from the age of 19. During the early 50’s the nickname Bobo is said to have been bestowed by the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams. His first major exposure was when he joined George Shearing’s band on the album The Shearing Spell. After leaving Shearing, Cal Tjader asked Bobo and Santamaria to become part of the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, who released several albums as the mambo craze reached fever pitch in the late 50’s. Reuniting with his mentor Santamaria in 1960, the pair released the album Sabroso! for the Fantasy label. He later formed his own group releasing Do That Thing/Guajira with Tico and Bobo’s Beat and Let’s Go Bobo for Roulette, without achieving huge penetration.
After the runaway sucess of Tjaders Soul Sauce, in which he was heavily involved, Bobo formed a new band with the backing of the Verve label, releasing Spanish Grease, of which the title track is probably his most well known tune. Highly successful at this attempt, Bobo released a further 7 albums with Verve.
In the late 70’s he moved out to Los Angeles, where he worked as a session musician for Carlos Santana among others, as well as being a regular in the band for The Bill Cosby Show. In the late seventies he recorded a couple of albums for Blue Note and Columbia records.
Willie Bobo, who grew up in Spanish Harlem, New York made his name in Latin Jazz in the 1960’s and 70’s, with the timbales becoming his favoured instrument. He met Mongo Santamaria shortly after his arrival in New York and studied with him while acting as his translator, and later joined Tito Puente for 4 years from the age of 19. During the early 50’s the nickname Bobo is said to have been bestowed by the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams. His first major exposure was when he joined George Shearing’s band on the album The Shearing Spell. After leaving Shearing, Cal Tjader asked Bobo and Santamaria to become part of the Cal Tjader Modern Mambo Quintet, who released several albums as the mambo craze reached fever pitch in the late 50’s. Reuniting with his mentor Santamaria in 1960, the pair released the album Sabroso! for the Fantasy label. He later formed his own group releasing Do That Thing/Guajira with Tico and Bobo’s Beat and Let’s Go Bobo for Roulette, without achieving huge penetration.
After the runaway sucess of Tjaders Soul Sauce, in which he was heavily involved, Bobo formed a new band with the backing of the Verve label, releasing Spanish Grease, of which the title track is probably his most well known tune. Highly successful at this attempt, Bobo released a further 7 albums with Verve.
In the late 70’s he moved out to Los Angeles, where he worked as a session musician for Carlos Santana among others, as well as being a regular in the band for The Bill Cosby Show. In the late seventies he recorded a couple of albums for Blue Note and Columbia records.
Similar Artists
Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaría, Jon Lucien, Joe Bataan, Tito Puente… see all
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always there - willie bobo
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Willie Bobo-Fried Neckbones and some home fries
Top Tracks
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Lisa
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Spanish Grease
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Roots
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Evil Ways
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Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
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Top Albums
Shoutbox
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rabia_solitaria wrote:
excellent!
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Kebab_Holokaust wrote:
Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries is awesome
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qalways3 wrote:
MY EARS!!!
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Recent Activity
- ATILES and kichirambutan added Willie Bobo to their libraries. 2 hours ago
- Hoffmanstropfen tagged Willie Bobo with ‘funky trippy tapes’. Thursday afternoon
- Xtian_DM tagged Willie Bobo with ‘jazz’ and ‘salsa’. Thursday afternoon
- lvinyals, tomakandela, anacester and 1 other person added Willie Bobo to their libraries. Monday afternoon
- mat85teo connected Willie Bobo to the group Modern Big Band and Swing. last month
- klimaz and nachtvorst added Willie Bobo to their libraries. last month
- lolasangarcia tagged Willie Bobo with ‘latin’ and ‘percussion’. last month
- mrbmatt added Willie Bobo to mrbmatt’s library. last month
- pulsar00 tagged Willie Bobo with ‘funk’. last month
- aisorna tagged Willie Bobo with ‘jazz’ and ‘funk’. last month
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Groups (9)
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Jazz Drummers
263 members
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Petőfi Rádió Listeners
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Very Cunning Music for not so Cunning People
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Modern Big Band and Swing
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mojo
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