Morales worked locally - with vocalist Tito Allen, Beto Tirado’s la Predilecta and others -while studying to become an orthopedic technician. One of them would become Jimmy’s hero: conguero and future National Endowment of The Arts Jazz Master Ray Barretto. The industry leader in the genre, Fania had a roster of the best-known artists of the day. He fell in love with the conga drum through participating in a local parranda (Puerto Rican Christmas party and musical procession).īy his high school years, Morales was an avid record collector, and with his photographic memory he became an expert on the entire catalogue produced by Fania Records. At age 9, he moved with his family to the municipality of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, where he became fascinated with Afro-Cuban-based dance music (salsa) by listening to radio station KBM. A boyhood fan of The Beatles, he took up the guitar as his first instrument. 10, 1957 in Bridgeport, Conn., to Jaime Morales and Zoraida Siscot. “He was an inspiration to everyone who ever performed or recorded with him.” “Playing alongside Jimmie was like riding first class on an airplane,” he says. “In my humble opinion he was the best conga player that Willie Rosario’s orchestra ever had.”ĭavid Rosado Cuba, who played timbales in groups with Jimmie on many an occasion, extends that praise to virtually any musical setting. “I had written three or four hit arrangements for them and so that’s when I first saw him play,” Madera says. Percussionist and arranger José Madera, who met Morales in the context of the Rosario band, describes his contribution as unique. With Morales in the conga chair, the orchestra achieved great success on albums now considered classics, like From the Depth of My Brain, El Rey Del Ritmo, and Nuevos Horizontes. Rosario had a reputation for a rhythm section that ran like a well-oiled machine, earning the nom de plum “Mr. Morales first came to public attention with the orchestra of famed bandleader and timbale player Willie Rosario, where he spent eight years performing all over Latin America and stateside. He is a tremendous accompanying musician.” “His complimentary style adapts to the needs of any orchestra in which he plays. “Jimmie is one of the best congueros I’ve ever met,” he says. Among them is the famed bongocero Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez. Vázquez, confirms the high regard with which Morales was held by his peers. Slap.”Ī Conguero’s Conguero: A Memoir of Jimmie Morales, a new book by Bella Martínez with a translation by Ronald P.S. Because of this trademark, he became known by a nickname, “Mr. His signature sound was a defined slap - known by players as golpe seco (dry stroke) - that is used to keep time within the repetitive patterns known as tumbaos. He appeared on more than 250 recordings, primarily as a conguero. Highly respected as a live performer as well as a studio musician, Morales had a long and celebrated association with Gilberto Santa Rosa. His family shared news of his passing on social media, without stating a cause. Jimmie Morales, one of Puerto Rico’s most prolific percussionists, died on March 16 at his home in Gurabo, Puerto Rico.
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