Ray Santos

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Ray Santos (born December 28, 1928 in New York City ; † October 17, 2019 ibid) was an American musician ( saxophone , composition , arrangement ) and music producer of Latin Music , who was awarded several Grammys as an arranger .

Live and act

Santos grew up in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. Influenced by Lester Young , he attended the Juilliard School of Music , where he studied saxophone; he took arranging lessons from his fellow student Hall Overton . Then he played for numerous orchestras in the Latin American music industry. In the early 1950s, under the influence of CuBop , he began to arrange music and also to compose ( 3D Mambo ). As an arranger, he produced charts that were interpreted and recorded by two generations of contemporary American and Caribbean musicians such as Noro Morales , Machito , Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez . In the 1960s he wrote music for television in Puerto Rico, where he also produced recordings for established and emerging salsa bands and played for many top stars in the industry.

On his return to New York, Santos taught (until 2013) at the City College of New York , where he directed the Latin band , but also contributed arrangements for Eddie Palmieri's 1986 Grammy-winning album Solito . Santos worked as a music consultant and arranger for the soundtrack of the film Mambo Kings . His arrangement of “Beautiful Maria of My Soul” for this film was nominated for a Grammy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1992 for best movie song . He also wrote the arrangements for the songs "Perfidia" and "Quiereme mucho", which were sung by Linda Ronstadt in the film . Enthusiastic about these arrangements, she commissioned him with the arrangement and execution of the material for her album Frenesi with Latin American standards, which was awarded the 1992 Grammy for "Best Tropical Latin Album". He also arranged for the Puerto Rico All Stars album De Regreso (1996) . He was also involved in the last three productions of Mario Bauzá as arranger (two of which were nominated for a Grammy).

In 1998 Santos conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in three concerts, which presented Con Alma / Jazz with A Latin Tinge and were received with great enthusiasm. In 1999 he assisted Paquito D'Rivera in the production of Tropicana Nights , which was awarded a Latin Grammy . In the same year he co-produced the album The Conga Kings with David Chesky featuring Candido Camero , Patato Valdes and Giovanni Hidalgo , which was followed by a second album in 2001, in which Phil Woods was also involved. In 2000 he arranged the album Masterpiece by Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri, which won a Grammy.

Santos received the 2011 Latin Grammy Trustees Award in recognition of achievements in his career. Actress Cynthia DeCure is his daughter.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Obituary (WBGO)
  2. ↑ Cynthia DeCure in the Internet Movie Database (English)
personal data
SURNAME Santos, Ray
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician (arrangements) of Latin music; music producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH 17th October 2019
Place of death New York City