ABAKUA wrote:Just to touch on 'El Pulpo' he does what he does well. ie the multi tasking and multi instrument playing. etc.
He was here several years ago, did a huge demo clinic in which he said a whole bunch of stuff and played a bit of everything....
He was then invited to get up and play with a local (and at the time no# 1) 12 piece salsa dura/latin jazz band which was to follow his performance...
He played congas for a track or two and was sad to see. He simply did not cut it. Same thing happened when he played timbal, he simply could not cut it.
He promptly bowed out and got off stage to quickly dissapear behind the curtain and was not seen for the rest of the night.
Player of many things at same time, master of none Id have to say.
From his biography below (
http://www.gajate.com/biography.htm), El Pulpo is described as being primarily a Latin
rock percussionist. So, to expect him to shine in a Salsa Dura/Latin Jazz band (or even in a folkloric rumba) is probably like expecting a heart surgeon to perform brain surgery. Rock and Salsa Dura/Latin Jazz are 2 different musical genres requiring 2 different sets of percussion skills.
For somebody described as a "Player of many things at same time, master of none", there's probably no denying that El Pulpo has been blessed with many bigtime gigs that's the envy of many percussionists, including some so-called "masters of one".
BIOGRAPHY"Richie Gajate-Garcia is a drummer, percussionist, clinician and educator. He has traveled the world and recorded with many renown artists. His nickname is "El Pulpo" (which means the octopus in Spanish) a nickname given to him for his unique independence and ability to play multiple percussion instruments simultaneously.
"Richie was voted to be one of the top Latin percussionists by his peers in the
Modern Drummer Reader's Poll and one of the top Rock percussionists in
DRUM! Magazine by its readers this year.
"Gajate. who is Puerto Rican grew up on the island with friends of his father which included Tito Puente and Armando Peraza and an appreciation for salsa and a love for Latin percussion. Gajate obtained his bachelor's degree in Music Education from the Conservatory of Music in Chicago, as well as his teaching credentials.
"Gajate is a sought after percussionist who has accompanied artists such as
Phil Collins, Sting, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Diana Ross, Hiroshima, Patti Labelle, Amy Grant, Brooks and Dunn, Luis Miguel, John Denver, Art Garfunkel and many, many more.
"He has recorded on soundtracks to films such as
"The Italian Job", "Maid in Manhattan" with Jennifer Lopez, "I-Spy" with Eddie Murphy and the classic "The Mummy Returns" with the London Symphony. He is the percussionist of choice for the
Disney Studios and has played on many of the Disney Animated films such as:
Kronk's New Groove, Emperor's New Groove, Brother Bear, Robots."Richie has toured the world as a top clinician for
Latin Percussion Inc. and
Sabian Cymbals Ltd. He has two instructional videos produced by LP and distributed by Warner Bros. entitled "Close-Up on Congas" and "Close-Up on Bongos and Timbales" from the Adventures in Rhythm series.
"He is an author and has three instructional books on the market published by Warner Bros. Publications entitled "Play Timbales Now", "Play Congas Now" and "Play Bongos and Hand Percussion Now". Richie is also a contributing author to "DRUM!" Magazine.
"Richie has three solo projects out. His "Entre Amigos" c.d. celebrates his Latin roots and showcases Richie and his musician friends. This c.d. is a celebration of Richie's life
"His c.d. "Mis Tres Hijos" is an instrumental work of art, which showcases his ability to master the finesse of graceful percussion.
"His third CD Reggaeson con tumbao with R & T, Richie and Thania. Reggaeson con tumbao is a hybred of today's popular style Reaggaeton."