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Eddie Rivera
As a youth, Eddie was influenced by two uncles who showed him percussive techniques. In addition, Eddie would spin record albums to hear the rhythm sections, then catch them live at local clubs. "It wasn't just timbale and conga players I was checking out," Eddie continues, "but also drumset players like Chick Webb, Papa Jo Jones, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Any stick instrument will have techniques I can transfer to the timbales. And when it comes to timbales, I'd have to say Willie Bobo was a prime influence. Of course, no one escapes Tito Puente, either. Tito was older than Willie and was the architect of Latin, the creator of the solo. But, from what I was hearing, I preferred Willie to Tito. Willie was very technical but he also had a great feel; he didn't sacrifice the feel for technique. It was exciting when he played with Cal Tjader and Mongo Santamaria live. I miss the originality of the sixties and seventies when you could really tell players apart, whereas now you have to look at the CD credits!" Eddie Rivera scored his first major gig with Josˆ© Mangual Jr. "His father owned two or three social clubs," Rivera recalls. "His son, who had played with Willie Colon, gave me my first opportunity. Then I went to Hector Lavoe's band; this was around 1981. Hector was notorious for showing up late. One night I went there and he didn't show up at all. I played and got a call next day to join the band. After that I played with the Joe Cuba Sextet. Then I played with Pete Elconde ("the count" in Spanish) for about five years, until he passed away." Nowadays Eddie Rivera plays with a band that mixes salsa and charanga, appropriately called The Charansalsa Band. Their first album was released in June, 2008, and was entitled Para Bailar E Gozar. < Back to the Toca Arists Main Menu |
A
New Yorker, born in October, 1956, Eddie Rivera emerges from the turbulent,
eclectic sixties and seventies as a viable, powerful force in Afro-Cuban
percussion. During that era, heralded by Woodstock, a diversity of Latin
sounds melded with funk and pop. This was especially evident in Manhattan
boroughs such as the Bronx and Harlem, where Eddie currently resides.
The musicians who grew up there knew how to incorporate modern influences
with traditional genres without compromising the integrity of the latter.
Eddie Rivera is a prime example of such a musician. He chooses to remain
in Harlem because New York is still his cultural Mecca. An elite