{"id":17826,"date":"2020-01-18T09:56:47","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T13:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/?p=17826"},"modified":"2024-01-16T14:29:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T18:29:50","slug":"cachete-maldonado-was-the-son-of-the-drum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/2020\/01\/18\/cachete-maldonado-was-the-son-of-the-drum\/","title":{"rendered":"“Cachete” Maldonado was the “Son of the Drum”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angel “Cachete” Maldonado turned his curiosity for Latin music into knowledge, which he used to spark musical innovation, which he then used as a platform for advancing our music.<\/p>\n

Cachete was able to do this without much fanfare. But he grew a following, from which artists like Giovanni Hidalgo, Richie Flores, Jerry Medina<\/a>, Cheg\u00fc\u00ed Ramos, Anthony Carrillo, and many others flourished.<\/p>\n

Cachete’s Musical Curiosity and Knowledge<\/h3>\n

Angel “Cachete” Maldonado comes from a musical family. His father was a pianist, and Cachete started learning that instrument at an early age. But he naturally gravitated to percussion. He had access to good mentors and his curiosity and talent allowed him to learn quickly. At a young age, he began working professionally in Puerto Rico with groups like Johnny “El Bravo”.<\/p>\n

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Cachete Maldonado polished his knowledge of Jazz playing with Gato Barbieri.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As he learned more about the drum, particularly its African origins, he realized that the drum was more than just an instrument. Our African ancestors used it in their religious ceremonies to communicate with their God.<\/p>\n

As the Salsa music boom of the ’70s took hold of New York City, Cachete moved there seeking better opportunities. He worked with La Conspiraci\u00f3n and eventually worked his way to collaborate with the Tipica 73. During this time, he associated with other master drummers, and would eventually join the movement called Grupo Folklorico Experimental Nuevayorkino. This group gathered New York’s cream of the crop in percussion.<\/p>\n

An inflection point in Cachete’s musical career came when he traveled to Cuba with the Tipica 73. He had learned just about everything New York had to offer in percussion knowledge. Cuba opened his eyes to a whole new world of knowledge.<\/p>\n

As he would describe it in one of his Batacumbele concerts that I attended, “\u2026at that point, Cuba was rhythmically 20 years ahead of us”.<\/p>\n

Besides collaborating with the Tipica 73, by that time Cachete had spent a few years immersed in the jazz world, working with Argentinian saxophonist Gato Barbieri. At the time, Barbieri was one of the hot acts in the jazz scene.<\/p>\n

Cachete Joins Luis “Perico” Ortiz<\/h3>\n

Luis “Perico” Ortiz<\/a> was another Puerto Rican that, like Cachete, had gone to New York in the ’70s looking for better career opportunities. His talent as a trumpeter and arranger quickly gained him gigs in Latin music as well as in the jazz scene.<\/p>\n

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Cachete traveled to Cuba with the Tipica 73.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Perico gained fame within the Fania label, he realized that it was time to form his own band, and sign it with another label. Because of Perico’s reputation not only as a musician but also as a person, he had no problem recruiting great talent. He recruited renowned bassist Eddie “Guagua” Rivera<\/a>, percussionist Jimmy Delgado, singer Rafael de Jesus, and in congas Angel “Cachete” Maldonado.<\/p>\n

Cachete brought his expanded knowledge recently acquired in Cuba to his style of playing with Luis Perico Ortiz. When the song allowed, he would change the typical tumbao (for example, think of the start of “Pedro Navaja<\/em>“), for a more progressive one.<\/p>\n

In the below song, “Se Llora y Llora<\/em>“, you can hear Cachete’s tumbao. Also in this song, you can experience one of Cachete’s best attributes as a percussionist. He can fill in and “decorate” the music without over-powering the conga. He carries the rhythm, but very subtly and masterfully.<\/p>\n