We lost another great Musician!

[JohnnyConga]

Bobby Paunetos music and sound was an inspiration to me as a young conga player growing up in NYC. My buddy Jerry Gonzales was fortunate along with other great musicians from NYcity to record with the Maestro. He passed away yesterday..Here is Bobby Sanabria's write up:

Marty Sheller has just informed me of the sad news that one of the greatest musicians in the history of the genre that has become known as Latin jazz, vibraharpist, composer, arranger Bobby Vincent Paunetto has just passed at Jacobi Hospital in Da' Bronx after a long illness.

For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, his albums, Paunetto's Point and Commit To Memory are must have examples of intelligent, accessible, and just plain freakin' great composing and arranging of the highest order utilizing Afro-Cuban rhythms with a total jazz sensibility. They have stood the test of time and inspired me when I was student at the Berklee College of Music way back in the mid to late 70's. BVP assembled a stellar cast of characters for these dates which included some of his old classmates, former teachers when he himself was a student at Berklee, as well as several members of this forum. Most notably John "Dandy" Rodriguez, and other well known all star Latino musicians.

Obviously he was/is a big hero of mine because he was the harbinger of what the music could and should be and what it represents in its most fundamental sense, total honesty and emotion. I met him at the Berklee College of Music one day when I was a student back in the mid 70's while he was just visiting catching up with old friends, colleagues, and former teachers. I was thrilled to have run into him in the lobby by accident in one of the buildings and a teacher of mine, Keith Copeland, personally introduced me to him. I already had his albums and listened to them constantly and played them for my fellow students in the dorm trying to get people excited about Afro-Cuban based jazz. Those were different times then. People would ask me, "Tito who?"

I can't say that we were close friends like Marty and many others can. But we became acquaintances and he was always very, very supportive of my work and always made you feel like you WERE his close friend. I guess it was the mix of his Puerto Rican and Italian roots that he embraced proudly and exhibited with love to and for everyone. We would have these massive 4 hour conversations, one of which was at a pay phone in midtown when I called him and he told me to give him the # and he would call me up so we could continue the conversation after I ran out of coins. Who the hell would spend so much time with someone who they had just met in passing several weeks before. I'll never forget that! That phone booth no longer exists in Manhattan, but that corner is sacred ground to me.

At this Saturday's event at Lincoln Center Out of Doors with my big band w/ Larry Harlow and Ruben Blades, in my opening remarks I will dedicate the evening to maestro Paunetto.

What a beautiful spirit and warrior!

What a musician!

What an inspiration!

He will never be forgotten.

RIP Bobby. You were/are the real deal.

Ibae y ache',
Bobby Sanabria

[Anonimo]

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[Bongobilly]

Wow i just posted a song on U tube i didn't know he past away. His music rock's! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyoGJuTWSg4