Tito Puente is the undisputed king of Latin music in the hearts of most Americans. But beyond that public persona, he was also a prolific composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and even actor. This week on The New Jazz Archive, it's a full hour on the full spectrum of talents that made Tito Puente "El Rey." We’ll talk with the Bobby Sanabria about the many talents that made Tito Puente the undisputed King of Latin Jazz, and hear Bobby’s take on why Tito still matters to the 20 somethings he’s teaching at the Manhattan School of Music. And we’ll talk with Tito Puente friend and biographer Joe Conzo about the 1950s mambo craze that launched Tito’s meteoric rise to the top, and hear the story behind Puente’s most famous composition and why you might not even realize it’s a Tito Puente original.
Tito Puente
