# Bobby Valentin: Mind of a Master will provide a revelatory introduction to his sophisticated Latin-jazz: Videos, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2018/07/08/bobby-valentin-mind-of-a-master-will-provide-a-revelatory-introduction-to-his-sophisticated-latin-jazz-videos-photos/
- Published: 2018-07-08T23:10:13+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Last Friday evening, I stopped in to see Harry Sepulveda. Harry is my main man
for new and historic Latin music. (Ivan Acosta, too.) **

I’ve known Harry since the early 1980s, when his Record Mart used to be near the
BMT line in the Times Square subway station. Now it’s up by the shuttle to Grand
Central Terminal. As Harry and I talked jazz and Latin music, he put one finger 
up. “Papa, you have to dig this.” Harry left and came back with Bobby Valentin &
the LJ’s _Mind of a Master _(Bronco). Valentin, who’s known as El Rey del Bajo (
or King of the Bass), has long been at the forefront of salsa and Latin jazz. [Photo
above of Bobby Valentin]

[⌊Bobby-valentin-el-mensajero-front⌉⌊Bobby-valentin-el-mensajero-front⌉[
 Born in Puerto
Rico in 1941, Valentin moved with his family to the U.S. in 1956. After studying
the trumpet and flugelhorn, Valentin joined the Tito Rodriguez Orchestra in 1963.
He arranged for Rodriguez and for other bandleaders such as Charlie Palmieri, Willie
Rosario and Ray Barretto. In 1969, Valentin took up the bass. One night while touring
with Rodriguez’s band, the bass player didn’t show up for a gig. So Valentin stepped
in and figured it out.

[⌊Bobby-valentin-young-man-with-a-horn-front⌉⌊Bobby-valentin-young-man-with-a-horn-
front⌉[
 Valentin began recording as a leader in 1965 when he released _El Mensajero_(
_the Messenger_) and _Young Man With a Horn_. Both are superb. I have many of Valentin’s
leadership albums. One of my favorites is _Algo Excipcional_ (1985), a powerful 
salsa recording.

[⌊41CYXd+XM8L⌉⌊41CYXd+XM8L⌉[
 Recently, Valentin released _Mind of a Master,_ a 
richly textured Latin-jazz album that shifts restlessly from one groove to another.
There are adventuresome jazz adaptations such as Aaron Sachs’s _Blast Off,_ which
originally appeared on Louis Belson’s _At the Flamingo Hotel, Vol. 1,_ in 1959. 
Valentin arranged it with a Latin feel. There also are stealthy Latin-jazz fusions,
such as _Coco Seco _and the mid-tempo_ Smooth Ride,_ and beautiful ballads, including
_El Cumbanchero_.

The album is a vivid showcase of Valentin’s many gifts as an arranger, composer,
player and visionary who knows what he wants, musically, and finds the right musicians
to deliver. And he always means business. The LJ’s in Valentin’s band stands for
the Latin Jazzists.

[⌊Bobby Valentin - Algo Excepcional I⌉⌊Bobby Valentin - Algo Excepcional I⌉[
 As journalist
Jaime Torres Torres writes in the translated liner notes: “From the first mathematically
precise measure of these charts, Valentin tells stories of singular lyricism and
spirituality with Caribbean passion and romanticism, which we can appreciate in 
the sublime jazz ballad _Endless Love,_ arranged and orchestrated for strings by
Frankie Suarez, synthesized on the keyboards by Professor Orlando Santiago and a
memorable and well-articulated solo by Bobby on the flugelhorn.”

[⌊Screen Shot 2018-07-02 at 8.47.43 PM⌉⌊Screen Shot 2018-07-02 at 8.47.43 PM⌉[
 Joining Valentin
on the album are Eliut Cintron on trombone, Angie Machado on trumpet, Angel Luis
Torrez on alto saxophone, Eduardo Zayas on piano, David Marcano on drums and Javier
Oquendo on conga. Guest musicians are Ivan Renta on tenor saxophone (on _God Bless
the Child_ and _Blast Off_), Jose Nelson Ramirez on organ (_God Bless the Child_)
and the Orlando Santiago Strings Ensemble (on _Endless Love_).

[⌊Front⌉⌊Front⌉[
 If you’re unfamiliar with Bobby Valentin, _Mind of a Master_ will
provide a revelatory introduction to his sophisticated Latin-jazz. I just wish we
all were fluent in Spanish. There’s so much great Latin music out there. Sadly, 
a great deal of it remains unknown or underappreciated by our culture at large because
so many music fans are unfamiliar with the language and culture, and Latin record
companies don’t have the budgets to reach us.

I can’t wait to pop in on Harry again soon.

_Latin Gravy_…

_Coco Seco_…

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