NPR’s Tribute to Armando Peraza

This past April Latin music lost one of its iconic artist when Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza left us.

An article published on May 1 by NPR’s Felix Contreras (“Remembering Armando Peraza, An Afro Cuban Percussion Giant”) is a nice and well deserved tribute to the Cuban percussionist.

A childhood friend of Mongo Santamaria in Cuba (talking about iconic Latin music percussionsits), Armando emirgrated to the U.S. in the late 1940’s and immediately became a known artist in the Latin music scene.

But Armando Peraza’s talent and vision took him to extend his music farther than most. Armando was not content to be just part of the traditional Latin music playing Cuban music. Instead, he took opportunities to take the Afro Cuban rythms into jazz and rock.

I think the short article written by NPR’s Felix Contreras hits the nail in the head regarding Armando’s career. I’ll let you enjoy that. But please don’t miss the 5 songs Felix added at the end of the article that span Armando’s highlights during his career and showcase his talent.

Enjoy!

NPR’s “Remembering Armando Peraza; An Afro Cuban Percussion Giant”