Gumbi Ortiz

Gumbi OrtizGumbi Ortiz has not wasted time, this master conguero who has traveled the world accompanying name artists. Brought up in New York's South Bronx of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage, Gumbi brings a substantial expertise in all manner of Latin rhythms to bear on each project he embraces-and this includes his own releases, such as the album Miami. Although he never abandons his Afro-Cuban/Puerto Rican roots, Gumbi has melded them into a diverse blend of pop, salsa, Afro-Cuban, South American samba and fusion. He's done many sessions for acts such as Los Hombres Calientes, and he's visited many a concert hall from Michigan to Malaysia.

Many of us recognize Gumbi Ortiz as a charter member of guitarist Al Di Meola's band. The relationship has lasted seventeen years. Gumbi has joined Al in the studio to record several key albums with the legendary guitarist. A live gig, even a duo of Di Meola and Ortiz, is exciting to watch. The interplay between Gumbi and Al, full of shadowing, call-and-answer, groove, and creative nudging, demonstrates that the two are a perfect match.

Over the years, Ortiz has become tight with other leading jazz artists of our time. Many of them, including Jeff Lorber, Dave Weckl, Eric Marienthal, and half of Spyro Gyra, appear on Ortiz' solo album Miami. Speaking of Florida, Gumbi leads the St. Petersburg-based unit The Latino Projekt, a popular band that has released two CDs.

Surrounded by music since birth, Gumbi Ortiz learned his craft largely by osmosis (a good thing, as he points out, because he was booted from a prominent NY arts school for his aggressive "attitude"). Early in life, following the example set by his father, Gumbi took up the saxophone but switched to drums. The catalyst was the Santeria rituals, held in his parents' New York apartment. Gumbi remembers being awestruck at the powerful role of the drums in the Afro-Cuban religious movement. In addition, early Santana albums with their stellar rhythm sections captured his imagination.

While the strong Cuban component in his playing is understandable, his success in the jam band arena is at first perplexing-until one realizes that, in the Bronx melting pot jam sessions were important leisure events. At any rate, Ortiz' band, The Gumbi Project, won a "Jammy Award" in 1995.

A live performer since age eleven, Gumbi graduated to the major leagues and began gigging with the likes of Ashford and Simpson, the Salsoul Orchestra, Charlie Palmieri and Tito Puente. In 1980, he relocated to Florida and immediately found work in Latin bands. Today as ever, Gumbi Ortiz is a vital force in percussion and an acclaimed recording artist. Although his secret may lie in his ease of crossing-and transcending-musical barriers, his clave is never too far distant!

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