Machito Singers – Artists
Founder of Machito and his Afro-Cubans: with Mario Bauzá as musical director, Machito brought Cuban rhythms and big band jazz together in New York, laying the foundation for Afro-Cuban jazz (Cubop) and later salsa.
About
Machito (Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, 1909 – 1984) grew up in the Jesús María district of Havana, together with his foster sister, the singer Graciela. His year and place of birth are uncertain: he himself gave several versions, from Havana to Tampa. As a teenager he was already a professional musician, playing in several groups in Cuba from 1928 to 1937.
- New York (1937): he came as a singer with Las Estrellas Habaneras and recorded with, among others, Cuarteto Caney and Xavier Cugat.
- The Afro-Cubans (1940): on 3 December 1940 he held the first rehearsal in Harlem. From January 1941 his brother-in-law Mario Bauzá was musical director, for 34 years. The line-up was a big band with trumpets and saxophones, plus Cuban percussion. Machito was the front man and played maracas.
- First hit: Sopa de pichón (1941).
- Cubop: in 1948 he named the style himself, with the tune Cubop City. He recorded with Charlie Parker and played Carnegie Hall in 1949.
- Graciela: from 1943 she sang in the band. They alternated solo songs and sang duets such as Sí sí, no no, and Graciela played the claves.
- Later: from 1975 he toured Europe with a smaller band, with his son Mario Grillo. In 1983 he won a Grammy for Machito & His Salsa Big Band '82. He died in April 1984 in London, after a stroke just before a concert at Ronnie Scott's.
Influence
Machito and the Afro-Cubans were among the first bands to combine Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz improvisation and big band arrangements. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Stan Kenton, George Shearing and Cab Calloway named him as an influence. An intersection in East Harlem is named Machito Square after him.
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