Home » Jazz Musicians » Pete Rodriguez

Pete Rodriguez

Trumpeter, vocalist and percussionist Pete Rodríguez carries the bloodline of Nuyorican salsa as he takes the tradition of Afro-Cuban jazz to new places. The son of renowned salsero Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez and godson Dr. Pete Rodriguezof Fania Records bandleader Johnny Pacheco, the younger Rodríguez cut his teeth backing up some of the greatest names in Latin music. He 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. As a vocalist, he 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. Now, as a bandleader, Rodríguez is drawing on these experiences to take his brand of Afro-Cuban jazz in exciting new directions.

Rodríguez’s music comes from a deeply personal place, reflecting on his connections to his father and heritage, as well as other unexpected influences. Rodríguez lived through the birth of Hip Hop during his early childhood in Bronx, New York. As a sharp contrast, after moving to Puerto Rico, he focused on classical music, performing trumpet with the Symphony of Puerto Rico at the young age of 15. While in the United States Army, he discovered his love for jazz and made it the focus of his professional and educational pursuits after leaving the military. The diversity of these life experiences can be heard both in Rodríguez’s compositions and playing style.

While pursuing his musical career, Rodríguez has also always made time for prioritizing education. He holds his bachelor and master of music degrees in jazz from Rutgers University. He obtained his doctorate of musical arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.

Tags

3
Album Review

Angel Roman & Mambo Blue: Festive Interplay

Read "Festive Interplay" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Latin Jazz as presented by guitarist Angel Roman, is a combination of Afro Latin rhythms from a variety of sources, but when blended with Brazilian, pop, and fusion the music results in a new stew which, while recognizable, has different flavours, fragrances and textures. Delivering this mélange is the band Mambo Blue, whose membership ebbs and flows depending on Roman's residency. This iteration is composed mainly of musicians from Austin, Texas, and they have delivered on their talents with a ...

Album Review

Pete Rodriguez: El Conde Negro

Read "El Conde Negro" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Le splendide doti di Pete Rodriguez evidenziate due anni fa nel debutto Caminando con Papi le ritroviamo in questo nuovo lavoro, registrato ancora in quintetto, dove ritroviamo il pianista Luis Perdomo e il percussionista Robert Quintero ma si aggiungono Rudy Royston alla batteria e Ricky Rodriguez al contrabbasso, rendendo jazzisticamente avvincente la dimensione ritmica. Il risultato è smagliante non solo per l'evidente virtuosismo del trombettista e l'elevata partnership, ma per la ricercata creatività con cui rilegge la tradizione musicale portoricana. ...

7
Album Review

Pete Rodriguez: El Conde Negro

Read "El Conde Negro" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Pete Rodriguez isn't a purist. He knows his salsa, as one would expect of the offspring of famed salsa vocal icon Pete “El Conde" Rodriguez, and he knows his jazz. But this trumpeter-vocalist sees no need to draw strong separation between the two. In creating El Conde Negro, Rodriguez mines Nuyorican musical veins and jazz lodes, ultimately mixing his finds together to create a form of music that's loyal to both camps yet highly original and completely mutable.

2
Album Review

Pete Rodriguez: Caminando con papi

Read "Caminando con papi" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Una questione antica e irrisolta della psicologia riguarda il peso che l'ambiente o la dimensione biologia hanno nel determinare ciò che siamo. Nella storia della disciplina si è dato preminenza all'uno o all'altro fattore, con posizioni talvolta radicali con innatisti e comportamentisti in aperto conflitto. Se poi andiamo nel campo artistico il discorso si complica ancor più: i figli dei grandi innovatori sono spesso figure mediocri magari schiacciate dal peso del confronto col padre (Freud insegna) ma talvolta arrivano a ...

284
Album Review

Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista (The Alchemist)

Read "El Alquimista (The Alchemist)" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins


"Jive State Suite" sure is an attention getter. The introduction to the first track of Pete Rodriguez's El Alquimista (The Alchemist) makes clear this is an album with a difference. Rodriguez, a trumpeter, vocalist and composer, has performed with a virtual who's who of Latin music, as well as other styles. Among his many associates are Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Chico O'Farrill. “Jive State Suite" is a set of five songs ...

266
Album Review

Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista - The Alchemist

Read "El Alquimista - The Alchemist" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Puerto Rican trumpet wonder Pete Rodriguez blends his style of Latin music with a modern jazz sound, forging an impressive musical statement on El Alquimista - The Alchemist, his third album as leader. Serving as a sideman on many other recordings, performing with some of the best Latin jazz artists in the business including Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Chico O'Farrill and Carlos “Patato" Valdez, the trumpeter's developed chops draw comparisons to those of Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard.

While Rodriguez ...

Read more articles
96

Recording

New Pete Rodriguez CD: Mind Trip

New Pete Rodriguez CD: Mind Trip

Source: All About Jazz

Mind Trip is the debut CD of trumpeter, percussionist and composer Pete Rodriguez, who has played with such music legends as Eddie Palmieri, Bebo Valdez, Celia Cruz, and Tito Puente, including performing on Tito Puente's Grammy-winning album Mambo Birdland and the soon to be released Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project.

Kenny Barron says of Pete's playing and compositions on Mind Trip: “He possesses a full rich sound on both trumpet and flugelhorn and his technique is incredible. His articulation is precise. ...

“He possesses a full rich sound on both trumpet and flugelhorn and his technique is incredible. It is as a composer that his development is even more amazing.” - Kenny Barron

His latest release, Caminando con Papi, a tribute to his father, was recognized as: “[n]ot only … one of the best jazz albums of the year, [but] one of the best albums in any style of music released in 2013.” - Lucid Cuture

“Rodríguez taps his Nyorican roots and merges them with Miles Davis sonic questing for a set that shows it's ethnic pride with glee but has so many subtle genre fusions going on that your ears are sure to be spinning just keeping up.” - Midwest Record

Read more

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Festive Interplay

Self Produced
2021

buy

Reconnected

Next Level
2021

buy

El Conde Negro

Destiny Records
2016

buy

El Conde Negro

Destiny Records
2015

buy

Caminando con papi

Destiny Records
2014

buy

El Alquimista - The...

Self Produced
2008

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.