Fred Ramirez

Fred Ramirez

In 1958, there was a loft on the second floor of a building on the corner of Highland and Hollywood Boulevards that was the residence of an artist/musician who called himself "The Mongolian Horse". He would invite drummers from all over the city to jam or rehearse or woodshed or just hang out at his place. Being a drummer and maker of drums himself, nobody had to bring any instruments unless they wanted to. Drums of all kinds, congas, bongos, timbales, hand percussion of all sizes and shapes and ethnic diversity were always available - even a five-foot Japanese gong.

Armando Peraza, Victor Pantoja, Luis Miranda, Modesto Duran, Carmelo Garcia, Eddie Caicedo, Rudy Regalado, Lee and Sergio Pastora, Cuco Martinez, Sr., Francisco Aquabella, Chencho Rivera, Lazaro Prieto, Umberto Cane, Pable Choro, Mike Guetierez, Eddie Talamantes and many others, Latino and non-Latino, would eventually play together or collectively, two or six or sometimes even seven days a week, bembe til dawn, learning from and teaching each other.

There was a piano there too and one pianist who loved to play and jam and perform with them all, Fred Ramirez. From 1963 through 1973, Fred toured with and accompanied a great number of major artists, among them: Willie Bobo, Robert Goulet, Eloise Laws, Glenn Yarbrough, Olga Guillot, Rolando Laserie, Celia Cruz and many others.

In 1973, a crossover dream was realized in Fred's love of the Afro-Caribbean rhythms being fused with the Blues, Funk, Pop, and Jazz consciousness' of musicians Lee and Sergio Pastora, Eddie Caicedo and Mac Uballez in a powerful nine-piece unit known as Macondo. While in the studio recording, they were signed on the spot by Ahmet Ertugen to Atlantic Records who brought in Sergio Mendez to complete their album one week after signing. Their version of Tito Puente's Oye Cayuco went gold in one month.

A second album, musically brilliant in its concept of taking the dream to even further explorations of the rhythms was, and still is, in the can, never realized because... who knows?

From this learning experience, the listening to and performance of jazz, and the early study of the classics through private teachers, Fred has developed an extraordinary and exhilarating distinctive piano style as well as a self-taught vibraharp technique derived from an appreciation for Cal Tjader and Milt Jackson but definitely his own.

The era of Club Virginia's and The M Club, The Crescendo, The Pasta House and Pancho's After Hours is never far from Fred's Authentic and genuine approach to his interpretation of El Sabor De La Clave.

Together with the insight of fellow musicians, the creative and spontaneous command of melodic compositions and arrangements in the Jazz Con Ritmos Autenticos tradition is the ultimate priority.

Presently, in his musical partnership with Tropical Songstress Ilyana in the '80s and '90s through composition of original Salsa and Latin Jazz, the legacy of the Inner City's creative '50s and '60s lives on through the heartbeat of today's extension of those musical values and ethics that are El Ritmo Musical y Creativo de Los Angeles.

"The cast of musicians on A Tribute to the Legends of Latin Jazz includes some of the L.A.'s best musical artists. Ramirez, who has been a well-kept secret, doubles on both piano and vibes, and in my estimation, establishes himself on this CD as a Latin music artist that must now be given his due - that of one of Latin music's leading virtuosos."

- Steve Loza

Professor of Ethnomusicology
University of California

"Fred Ramirez is an extremely gifted and inventive composer and arranger as well as a dynamic and exciting pianist and vibraphonist."

- Mal Sands

Writer and Music Critic
Latin Jazz Scene

"I am so pleased Fred Ramirez has been given the opportunity to present his ability to the international public, who can now from their own opinion of this most talented, gentleman musician."

"His arrangements and performance give Fred and his orchestra the long overdue opportunity to express Latin Jazz a la Fred Ramirez."

- Poncho Sanchez

Currently available from NETunes for only $9.99 per CD shipping included...

A Tribute to Legends of Latin Jazz

FREE MP3

For a FREE MP3 from Fred Ramirez' A Tribute To Legends Of Latin Jazz CD, click on below...

YUCCA CON?
(Fred Ramirez) 9:37

Fred@NETunes.com