Carlos Patato Valdes

Nicknames

Like most Cuban musicians, Carlos Valdes had several nicknames throughout his artistic career. Early on he was known as "El Toro" (The Bull) as a young dancer and boxer. In school he was known as "Patato" (Potato) due to his short stature; more despectively he was known as "Remache" and "Tampon de banera" around his neighbourhood. While playing alongside Armando Peraza in Havana's Zombie Club, he was known as "El Zombie", "Zombito" or "Pequeno Zombie" (Little Zombie). Due to his dancing style he was known as "Pinguino" (Penguin). Nonetheless, "Patato" was the name that stuck and he carried this pseudonym to the US, where he was often miscredited as "Potato Valdez".

Early life and career

Carlos Valdes was born in the neighbourhood of Los Sitios in La Habana on November 4, 1926. His father, Carlos Brito Valdes, was a tres player who was part of the seminal son group Sexteto Habanero. The rest of his family included many other musicians and santeros; his cousin was the singer Francisco Fellove aka "El Gran Fellove". Carlos soon followed his father footsteps, learning to play the tres and a wide variety of percussion instruments, including the marimbula, the botija, the shekere, the tambourine, the cajon and the double bass. He became a member of the comparsa Las sultanas in which he played the congas (tumbadoras). He became a master of the instrument at a young age, playing alongside other greats such as Mongo Santamaria, Candido Camero, Julito Collazo and Armando Peraza. The latter was his neighbour and partner in the Conjunto Kubavana led by Alberto Ruiz. He was only 18 years old when he joined this band in 1944. He left the group in 1947 to join the well-known Sonora Matancera, where he stayed for a year. From 1949 to 1954 he played for the Conjunto Casino, one of the most popular bands in La Habana at the time. In 1952, they toured New York City, where fellow drummer Candido Camero decided to stay. Patato would make the same decision two years later.

Exile

Attracted by New York's thriving jazz scene, Patato left Cuba definitely on October 5, 1954. His first full length recording as a sideman was the notorious LP Afro-Cuban by Kenny Dorham. He went on to perform live alongside Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente in Harlem. He then joined several ensembles, including those led by Willie Bobo, Machito and Charlie Palmieri. He recorded with jazz drummers Art Blakey, Art Taylor and Max Roach. By the early 1960s, Patato was amongst the most sought-after conga drummers in New York. His association with flautist and bandleader Herbie Mann would last over fifteen years. In 1959, the United States Department of State funded a trip for bandleader Herbie Mann to visit Africa, after they heard his version of "African Suite." The grueling 14 week tour took place between 12/31/1959 to 4/5/1960 featuring Mann (bandleader, flute and saxophone), Johnny Rae (vibraphone and arrangements), Don Payne (bass), Doc Cheatham (trumpet), Jimmy Knepper (trombone), Carlos "Patato" Valdes (conguas) and Jose Mangual (bongos). They toured Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Tanganyika, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco and Tunisia.

Patato accompanied Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones on extended tours throughout Europe. He acted in and composed the title song of The Bill Cosby Show. In 1977 he took part in the recording of Cachao's comeback albums. In 1991, he contributed to the movie soundtrack for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Patato was the leader of his own band, Afrojazzia, which toured Europe in the spring of 1994. In 1995 he recorded the album "Ritmo y candela" with fellow percussionists Changuito and Orestes Vilato. Similarly, together with Giovanni Hidalgo and Candido Camero he released an album in 2000 entitled The Conga Kings. That year he appeared in the documentary Calle 54. In 2001, Patato was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.

Death

A lifetime smoker, Patato had emphysema and died of respiratory failure in Cleveland, Ohio on December 4, 2007.

Style and craft

For over 60 years Carlos "Patato" Valdes demonstrated how a musician could combine technical skill with superb showmanship. His conga playing demonstrated the fusion of melody and rhythm. It also reflected his keen understanding of rhythm as a biological constant that is rooted, quite literally, in the human heartbeat. During his performances, Patato even mastered the art of playing his congas while dancing on top of them, to the delight of the audience.

Valdes dazzled audiences well into his seventies with his rumba moves. He is also the man who gave Brigitte Bardot a mambo lesson in the film And God Created Woman. Valdes also expressed his understanding of melody through bass and tres.

During the late 1940s he helped develop the first tunable congas, as earlier models were tuned by the unwieldy method of heating them with a sterno can. His interest in design, as well as his friendship with LP Founder Martin Cohen, led to the development of the LP Patato Model Congas, one of the top-selling conga drums of all time.

Personal life

Valdes was the father of Carlos Hernandez, better known as Chick Hernandez, a sports anchor/reporter for Comcast SportsNet/NBC sports.

As leader

As sideman

With Art Blakey

With Willie Bobo

With Alberto Beltran & Conjunto Casino

With Cachao

With Antonio "Chocolate" Diaz Mena

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Johnny Griffin & Matthew Gee

With Johnny Lytle

With Machito

With Herbie Mann

With Johnny Pacheco

With Charlie Palmieri and His Charanga "La Duboney"

With Duke Pearson

With Dave Pike

With Tito Puente

With Max Roach

With Alfredo Rodriguez

With Onelio Scull

With Sonny Stitt

With Art Taylor

With Cal Tjader

With Bebo Valdes

Compilations

Contributing artist