Trumpeter, vocalist and percussionist Pete Rodríguez carries the bloodline of Nuyorican salsa, just as he takes the tradition of Afro-Cuban jazz to new places. The son of renowned salsero Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez and godson of Fania Records bandleader Johnny Pacheco, the younger Rodríguez revisits his father’s legacy on Caminando con Papi. Rodriguez sang on Tito Puente’s Grammy-award winning Mambo Birdland; as an instrumentalist, he’s appeared with legends including Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, Chico O’Farrill and Bebo Valdez. On Wednesday, January 29th he will make a welcome comeback to the sacred ground of the old Village Gate, where he often played “Monday Nights Salsa Meets Jazz” – now LE POISSON ROUGE – for an all-star evening celebrating his latest Destiny Records release, CAMINANDO CON PAPI, his third album as bandleader featuring featuring LUIS PERDOMO (piano), RICKY RODRIGUEZ (bass), RUDY ROYSTON (drums) & ROBERT QUINTERO (percussion).
 
The idea of saluting “El Conde” had been on Rodríguez’s mind since his father’s death in 2000, but he had been unable to move forward with the project until recently. “Our relationship went beyond father/son, we were more like brothers, as well as co-workers,” says Rodríguez, who became his father’s musical director at the age of 19. Coached by pianist Oscar Hernandez, the former director for “El Conde” and Ruben Blades, Rodríguez was playing trumpet, singing coro, playing maracas and giving cues to the band. He also served as his father’s travelling companion and manager when his mother was no longer able to fly. “When Papi passed away, I didn’t know what to do. I quit playing horn for three years, and I couldn’t listen to his music, especially while I was driving. It would feel like he’d be in the car with me; it was emotionally overwhelming.”
 
Rodríguez’s connection to his father, and the importance of his family, is obvious from the opening re-arrangement of Blades’ “Tambo,” one of his father’s signature songs. Originally an up tempo guaguancó, Rodríguez has put the lyrics at the forefront, with modern harmonies, a slower tempo, and a form stripped of the salsa signifiers of mambo and coro. “Tambo” opens with Rodríguez’s four-year-old daughter, Nayeli, paying homage to her abuelito before giving way to Rodríguez’s delicate and intimate delivery. The other vocal feature is Perdomo’s equally creative arrangement of Tite Curet’s “Cabildo.”
 
This contemporary sound of Latin jazz is a commonality among Rodríguez’s Puerto Rican jazz peers. Rodríguez was a high school classmate of saxophonist Davíd Sanchez at the Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan, PR, where Miguel Zenón would follow a few years later. While Rodríguez was a classical trumpet major, Sanchez was already well on his jazz trajectory and got Rodríguez into practicing the Charlie Parker Omnibook. Through practicing alongside Sanchez, saxophonists serve as a bigger influence on Rodríguez’s sound, as evidenced by the rapid-fire lines of “El Camaleón” and the introduction to “Arlene,” and Rodríguez’s penchant for the low and middle registers of his horn.
 
The legacy of Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez continues in his son, primarily in the quest to grow artistically. “Even the week before Papi died, he was listening to himself and to Beny Moré to perfect his craft,” Rodríguez remembers. “He always thought, ‘I can sing these tunes better.’ I think of him as the Miles Davis of Latin music.”
 
 
“Not only is this one of the best jazz albums of the year, it’s one of the best albums in any style of music released in 2013.” – Lucid Culture
 
“Following in the footsteps of his legendary salsero father, Rodriguez utilizes the lessons he’s learned to create a sound all his own….. Pete Rodriguez brings his life full circle with ‘Caminando con Papi,’ which pays homage to his late father ‘El Conde’ and opens with the voice of his 4-year-old daughter Nayeli.”
– NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
 
“Pete Rodriguez delicately combines/unites Cuban music and jazz in the masterpiece celebration of good music that every connoisseur and collector must be sure to buy.” – solarlatinclub.com
 
“Deep and profound music that conjures up the sound of Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard, with touches of free jazz. It’s intense…challenging material that doesn’t get in the way, by some of the heaviest musicians in New York who come from a Latin background but are more than capable of playing American jazz at the highest levels. Only a handful of people in that school…Historic stuff.” – Peter Watrous, Descarga.com
 
You can stream the music here:
“CAMINANDO CON PAPI”