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All Music Guide:
Drummer/percussionist Francisco Aguabella emigrated to New York City from his native Matanzas, Cuba -- where African music was a tradition -- in 1957. He followed a long line of Cuban drummers who made their mark in America: Chano Pozo, Patato Valdez, Candido, and Mongo Santamaria. Aguabella's music fuses traditional African and Latin rhythms with smooth jazz/soul for an electrifying sound.
His proficiency on the bata (talking drums of Yoruba origin) made him a wanted man. He first worked with Dizzy Gillespie, then Peggy Lee, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Weather Report, Cal Tjader, Frank Sinatra, Louie Bellson, Walfredo de los Reyes, Nancy Wilson, Lalo Schifrin, Machito, and Carlos Santana. He was an original member of Malo, which included Jorge Santana; Malo had three LP releases and crisscrossed the States before disbanding.
The legendary drummer participated in movie soundtracks and television scores. Producer Les Blank chronicled Aguabella's career in the documentary Sworn to the Drum. He also received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment of the Arts, and served as a visiting professor in U.C.L.A.'s Department of Ethnomusicology, where he taught a basic and an advanced course in Afro-Cuban music. He also performed along the West Coast with his group, Francisco Aguabella's Latin Jazz Ensemble. Francisco Aguabella died in Los Angeles on May 7, 2010; he had been battling cancer, and was 84 years old.
Wikipedia:
Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban master percussionist whose career spanned folkloric traditions, popular dance bands, and jazz.
Biography
Francisco Aguabella accompanying dance class, in the annual Explorations in afro-cuban dance and drum workshop on the Humboldt State University campus. Photo: Alison Hong (2005).In Cuba
Aguabella was born in Matanzas, Cuba. He demonstrated a special aptitude for drumming at an early age, and was initiated into several Afro-Cuban drumming traditions, including batá, iyesá, arará, olokún, and abakuá. Aguabella also grew up with rumba.
The first thing you hear when you wake up in the morning is the drums. It’s a national sport, as important as baseball. You see a bunch of guys on the street, and someone will start clapping his hands, or tapping out a rhythm on a Coke bottle with the bottle cap. Then they’ll be pounding on wooden crates, or a wall, or splashing in the puddles of water dripping out of an old air conditioner, or playfully tapping on somebody’s head. You can’t escape the rumba—Aguabella (1999).
In the United States
In the 1950s, he left Cuba to perform with Katherine Dunham in the Shelley Winters film Mambo filmed in Italy. After touring with Katherine Dunham he came to the United States and performed and toured with Peggy Lee for the next seven years. Francisco Aguabella is one of a handful of Cuban percussionists who came to the United States in the 1940s and 50s. Other notable Cuban percussionists who came to the U.S. during that time include Chano Pozo, Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Julito Collazo, Carlos Vidal Bolado and Modesto Duran. During his long career Aguabella performed in Europe, Australia, South America, and all over the United States (including the White House). Francisco enjoyed an extensive music performing and recording career and delighted many audiences with his masterful and powerful rhythms.
Francisco performed with many great Jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, Lalo Schifrin, Cal Tjader, Nancy Wilson, Poncho Sanchez, Bebo Valdes, Carlos Santana, and numerous others. Francisco was honored to receive numerous awards including the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Durfee Foundation's Master Musicians' Fellowship, and recognition by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. He is featured in the documentary, "Sworn to the Drum" by filmmaker Les Blank, and is featured in a documentary, "Aguabella," currently in production, directed by actor/filmmaker Orestes Matacena (The Mask, Bitter Sugar). He has also appeared with his ensemble on television programs including the Orlando Jones Show on FX.
During the 1970s he was a member of the Jorge Santana Latin rock band Malo. Francisco was a widely recognized master conguero and bata artist, a caring and knowledgeable instructor. In 1992 he won a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Aguabella was a faculty member at the annual Explorations in afro-cuban dance and drum workshop hosted by the Humboldt State University Office of Extended Education in Arcata, California. He lived in Los Angeles, California where he taught Afro-Cuban drumming to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Aguabella died in Los Angeles on May 7, 2010 of a cancer-related illness.
