Johnny Pacheco
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Johnny Pacheco is a Dominican producer, musician, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in salsa music.
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Early history
Johnny Pacheco was born on March 24, 1935. Pacheco inherited his passion for music from his father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco, who was the bandleader and clarinetist of the “Santa Cecilia Orchestra”. In the late 1940s, when Pacheco was 11, his family moved to New York City from his native Dominican Republic. He continued polishing his musical skills, learning to play accordion, violin, flute, saxophone and clarinet. He attended the Juilliard School of Music to study percussion.
Playing the flute, saxophone and assorted percussion, Pacheco performed with Charlie Palmieri‘s Latin orchestra for a number of years before forming his own band in 1959. Experimentation was the focus of his new band, blending African music of Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican heritage into what came to be known as salsa.
In 1960, he organized his first orchestra, “Pacheco y Su Charanga”. The band signed with Alegre Records and its first album “Johnny Pacheco y Su Charanga” sold over 100,000 copies within the first year. Beginning then and through the end of 1963, Pacheco introduced a new dance craze called “Pachanga”. He became an internationally renowned star and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Moreover '"Pacheco y Su Charanga", was the first Latin band to headline the Apollo in 1962 and 1963.
Selected recordings
Early albums included
“Que Suene la Flauta” (1962)
“Las Charangas” (1963)
“Recuerdo de Arcaño” (1963),
“Guachinango” (1964)
“Que Suene la Flauta, Vol. 3” (1964)
“Latin Jam” (1965)
“Pacheco Te Invita a Bailar” (1967) and
“Para Gozar Belen” (1967) to name just a few.
Mid career highlights
In late 1963, Pacheco's career took another historical turn when he created Fania Records with Jerry Masucci. In 1964, the label released his next endeavor entitled "Cañonazo" ("Cannon Shot"). The album feature Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez on vocals and a switch from the Charanga to Conjunto style. This was the first of many recordings with the "compadres" (literally familial compatriots) (as they came to be known) and the beginning of a long friendship and working relationship. Together they recorded "Los Compadres" (1970), "Perfecta Combinacion" ("Perfect Combination") (1971), "Tres de Cafe y Dos de Azucar" ("Three Parts Coffee with Two Parts Sugar") (1973) and many others successful albums.
In June 1966, Pacheco was the first Latin music producer to receive the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) Governor’s Award in New York City. In 1968 he gathered many of the musicians from the Fania label and showcased them together in concert. This marked the birth of the legendary Fania All-Stars.
As the company’s executive, creative director and musical producer, Pacheco was responsible for launching the careers of many young stars that formed part of Fania Records family.
Original Fania band
The early Fania All-Stars band was made up of Johnny Pacheco, musical director and flute; Larry Harlow on piano, Bobby Valentin on bass guitar, Ray Barretto on conga, (replaced by Eddie Montalvo later on) Roberto Roena on bongo, Orestes Vilato on timbales, (replaced by Nicky Marrero later on); Willie Colón, Barry Rodgers, and Renaldo Jorge(replaced by several others) on trombones, Larry Spencer , Roberto Rodriguez (replaced by Victor Paz) and Hector “Bomberito” Zarzuela on trumpets, and Yomo Toro on the cuatro (a small Puerto Rican guitar with ten strings). The lead singers included vocalists from the Colon, Pacheco, Barretto and Harlow bands. Hector Lavoe, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, Adalberto Santiago, Ismael Miranda, were joined by Santitos Colon (from the Tito Puente band) and Jose Cheo Feliciano (from the Joe Cuba band). Early Fania All Stars guests were Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Joe Bataan, Monguito, Mongo Santamaria, Jimmy Sabater, La La, Louie Ramirez, Ralph Robles, Yomo Toro, Nicky Marrero, Ricardo Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The 1970’s line-up included Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, Papo Lucca, Eddie Palmieri, Andy Montañez, Jorge Santana (Carlos’s brother), drummer Billy Cobham and the Cameroonian sax player Manu Dibango, who appeared as a guest in concerts and live recordings in Africa and New York.
The 1990s
Throughout his 40-year involvement with the development of Afro Caribbean music, Pacheco has received many kudos.
In 1994, he established the Johnny Pacheco Scholarship Fund.
In 1996 the president of the Dominican Republic, Joaquin Balaguer bestowed him with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Honor. In 1997, he was the recipient of the Bobby Capó Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by New York Governor George Pataki. In November 1998, he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. That same year, Pacheco was presented with the First International Dominican Artist Award from the distinguished Casandra Awards.
Other achievements
Template:Unreferenced section He has recorded and composed more than 150 songs and most of them are now classics. Includng songs from other famed composers. Among them are “La Dicha Mia”, “Quitate Tu” (Pa’ Ponerme Yo), “Acuyuye”, “El Rey de la Puntualidad”, Tito Puente‘s “El Numero Cien” and Celia Cruz’s “Celia y Tito”. Pacheco was also inspirational to the younger generations. Rap artist Mangu asked him to write arrangements, sing chorus, and play the flute in his album “Calle Luna Y Calle Sol”. Pacheco also produced music for feature films. He was the musical director of the film, Our Latin Thing, the first film about salsa and its influence on New York Latinos. And in 1974, he worked on a second film entitled Salsa. During the 1980s, he wrote the musical scores and themes for the films “Mondo New York” and Something Wild. The last one was in collaboration with David Byrne, leader of the group Talking Heads. He also worked with the feature film The Mambo Kings released by Warner Brothers.
Throughout his career, Pacheco has turned out over 60 recordings. His nine Grammy nominations, ten Gold records and numerous awards acknowledge his creative talent as composer, arranger, bandleader and producer.
Pacheco has also been committed to the improvement of the Latin community worldwide. He participated in the AIDS benefit concert “Concierto Por La Vida”, in November 1988 at New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall. He demonstrated his solidarity with the victims of Hurricane Georges (Zhorzh) by collaborating with the Hispanic Federation Relief Fund during “Hurricane Georges Relief Fund 1998”. This event was transmitted live across the northeastern United States by the NBC television network. He also participated at an event at Hostos Community College for the same purpose.
On March 24th of 2009, Pacheco was awarded "El Soberano", the highest distinction given by the Association of Art Columnists of the Dominican Republic.
