Artist page

Bobby Matos was a Latin jazz percussionist born on July 24, 1941, in the Bronx, New York, to a Puerto Rican mother and a Jewish father. He passed away on November 11, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. Matos began his musical journey by playing on pots and pans in his grandmother's apartment and later received informal lessons from conga drum masters Patato Valdez and Mongo Santamaria. His early gigs took place in the bohemian cafes of Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, but he quickly expanded his performances to a variety of venues, including Bronx dance halls, Carnegie Hall, elegant supper clubs, Central Park concerts, Off-Broadway theaters, and after-hours clubs in El Barrio. Inspired by Willie Bobo and Tito Puente, he began playing timbales and studied composition and arranging at the New School and the Manhattan School of Music in the late 1960s. During this vibrant period for Latin music in New York, he recorded "My Latin Soul" for Philips Records, which later became a cult classic influencing many Acid Jazz groups in the 1970s and 1980s. After touring and recording with notable artists such as Ben Vereen, Bette Midler, Fred Neil, Jim Croce, Ray Rivera, Joe Loco, and Miriam Makeeba, Matos relocated to Los Angeles. There, he experimented with an Afro-Cuban jazz band, blending various musical influences from

For any edit requests, please reach out to info@rovr.live