The New Horizons Jazz Band played Oye Como Va during its performance Friday July 8, 2016, at Oakwood Village. This jazz standard was written and popularized by the legendary Tito Puente. According to Wikipedia, Ernesto Antonio “Tito” Puente was born April 20, 1923 and grew up in New York City’s Spanish Harlem. Puente is often cited as “The Musical Pope”, “El Rey de los Timbales” (The King of the Timbales) and “The King of Latin Music.” He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz compositions that endured over a 50-year career.
During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his popularity, and helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha to mainstream audiences. Puente was so successful playing popular Afro-Cuban rhythms that many people mistakenly identify him as Cuban. Dance Mania, possibly Puente’s most well known album, was released in 1958. He suffered a massive heart attack and died June 1, 2000. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy LIfetime Achievement Award in 2003.
Watch the master at work in this live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1990.