#339 Wally Reyes- Drummer for Chicago, Santana, Steve Winwood and More!
Photo of Wally by Rebecca Wolf.
This week’s guest is Wally Reyes! “Few drummers playing today can successfully combine the rich history of Latin, Afro-Cuban and World Percussion with the drum set. For Walfredo Reyes, Jr., fusing the two disciplines has been his driving passion. In fact, by blazing this path, Reyes has challenged the technical levels of our instrument. Born in Cuba, raised in Puerto Rico, and culminating his musical style in the U.S., Wally (Walfredo Jr.) learned the traditions from the master, his father Walfredo Sr. He married those principles with his love of the drum set, coming up with his own truly global rhythmic style. Simply put, Wally is able to sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time. Add blistering chops and a penchant for playing unusual patterns to the mix, and you have only a small idea of what this man can do.
Not surprisingly, this “one man percussion show” has gathered an impressive list of gigs over the years, including touring and / or recording with: Carlos Santana, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Jackson Browne, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, David Lindley, Ricki Lee Jones, Richard Marx, Sergio Mendes, Smokey Robinson, Robbie Robertson, Joe Sample, Boz Scaggs, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Johnny Hallyday, Khaled, Lindsey Buckingham, Chicago and many others.
Because of his versatility, Walfredo is one of the most in demand musicians in the world today. He continues to expand his talents to recording, producing, composing, education, live performance, and touring.”
Written by Rick Van Horn.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Kaoru Wantanabe! Composer and musician Kaoru Watanabe grounds his performance in traditional Japanese music while inhabiting a startling combination of musical worlds. He is renowned for his ability to collaborate with a diverse array of visionary international artists: Jason Moran, Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad, Spanish flamenco dancer Eva Yerbabuena, visual artists Simone Leigh and Alyson Shotz, calligrapher Koji Kakinuma, Japanese National Living Treasure Bando Tamasaburo, vocalists Alicia Hall Moran and Imani Uzuri, tap dancers Tamango and Kazunori Kumagai, Galician bagpiper Carlos Nuñez, So Percussion, Semba Kiyohiko, Reigakusha, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Adam Rudolph and Go:Organic Orchestra, the Aizuri and Parker String Quartets and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. In 2018, Watanabe debuted as an orchestral soloist and composer with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House. He is an advisor, composer and featured musician on the Oscar-nominated score of Wes Anderson’s film Isle of Dogs and was a guest artist on the Silkroad's Grammy Award-winning album Sing Me Home.
Born to Japanese parents who were both members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Watanabe started playing Western Classical music at an early age, then graduated from the Manhattan School of Music as a jazz flute and saxophonist, followed by a decade in Japan performing with and eventually directing the internationally acclaimed Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble Kodo. Watanabe returned to New York City to continue developing his ever-evolving musical voice, specializing on transverse bamboo flutes such as the shinobue, noh kan and ryuteki and various Japanese percussion. Watanabe has performed his compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Kabukiza and in all 47 prefectures in Japan. Watanabe continues to perform regularly across the North, Central and South Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As a passionate educator, Watanabe has taught at such prestigious institutions as Princeton and Wesleyan University and the Tanglewood Music Festival.
Happy Birthday to Akbar Moghaddam! Akbar is an innovator and master craftsman with a relentless passion for percussion. Working for the most celebrated brands in the industry, the man simply known as Akbar, has built a highly respected reputation for designing instruments that put the needs of
the player first. From his earliest days with the famed Valje brand in the late 80s, to his more
mainstream work with Latin Percussion and Gon Bops, the award-winning inventor has been
the architect of numerous design advancements, all while maintaining a healthy respect for the
traditions that percussion purists hold dear. Having worked in concert with legendary artists
such as Giovani Hidalgo, Alex Acuna, Karl Perazzo, Jesus Diaz, Orestes Vilato, Walfredo Reyes Sr.
and a host of other notable luminaries, Akbar’s talents have been immortalized on countess
recordings and played on the most prestigious stages throughout the world.
The blueprint for Akbar’s own brand, Sol Percussion, has been decades in the making. The ever-evolving
company he started in the Bay Area more than 30 years ago has recently been reborn as the
visionary re imagines a new line of premium, California-made boutique creations that will be in
keeping with the maker’s standards and attention to detail. With a new generation seeking
distinctiveness and uncompromising quality, this artisan will be answering the call—armed with
unmatched experience, an obsession for the art form and Sol.
Happy Birthday to Jamey Haddad! Jamey Haddad, Born in Cleveland Ohio, Percussionist/Drummer Jamey Haddad holds a unique position in the world of Jazz and Contemporary Music.
Haddad's musical voice transcends styles and trends, and the universal quality of his playing has attracted many international collaborations. Regarded as one of the foremost world music and jazz percussionists in the U.S., is an associate professor at Boston's Berklee School of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland institute of Music.
Haddad was voted one of the top 4 world percussionists in the world by the most largely read Percussion Periodical ‘Modern drummer” (July 2007). Recent tours include, The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music U.S. and the Paul winter consort tour in Japan. Mr. Haddad collaborates regularly with Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Osvaldo Golijov, Yo Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Joe Lovano, Elliot Goldenthal, Brazil's Assad Brothers, Daniel Schnyder, Simon Shaheen, The Paul Winter Consort, Nancy Wilson, Dave Liebman, Esperanza Spalding, Maya Beiser, Trichy Sankaran, vocalist Betty Buckley, Steve Shehan, Leo Blanco, Nguyen Lee, among others.
Most recently Haddad Performed with Paul Simon, one of America’s most respected songwriters and musicians, as Paul was the recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, this newly created award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture. Jamey has been a member of Paul’s band for 9 years.
Jamey is the recipient of three National endowments for the Arts Performance Grants and a Fulbright Fellowship. He can also be heard on more than 170 recordings and routinely has articles published internationally relating to the experiences of the contemporary world musician.
Happy Birthday to Jeff Stern! Known for performing “with precision and an impressive attention to timbral detail” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), percussionist Jeff Stern has developed a voice to listen for in today’s contemporary music scene. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has collaborated with and championed the work of a number of the world’s preeminent composers. Recent premieres include Alejandro Viñao’s Stress and Flow with The Percussion Collective, James Wood’s Secret Dialogues for solo marimba, and John Luther Adams’ Sila at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival. As a proponent for the music of our time, Stern also actively commissions works by composers of his generation, such as Thomas Kotcheff, Emma O’Halloran, Robert Honstein, and Juri Seo.
Stern is the executive director, co-artistic director, and founding percussionist of 2 piano/2 percussion group icarus Quartet. Winner of the 2019 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, icarus is quickly gaining the attention of composers, presenters, and audiences everywhere. The 2021-22 concert season brings the Quartet to Florida State University, Community Concerts at 2nd, Music in the Valley, Northern Iowa University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Kennedy Center’s REACH, and more, including an international debut at the Vienna Summer Music Festival. Fervently adding to its rich body of repertoire, icarus also premieres works by Ruby Fulton, Douglas Knehans, David Crowell, Amy Beth Kirsten, Scott Lee, and the two winners of its second annual student composer collaboration program, iQ Tests. The Quartet’s anticipated commercial album featuring the music of Michael Laurello, Brad Lubman, and Paul Lansky is slated for release on Furious Artisans records in Spring 2022.
With The Percussion Collective, Stern has toured the United States, performed on a live broadcast for WXQR’s Midday Masterpieces, and given a featured evening performance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. He rejoins the Collective in the 2021-22 season for Chris Theofanidis’ Drum Circles concerto for four percussionists with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michael Francis as well as the world premiere of a new work by Emmy Award-winning composer Garth Neustadter for the International Arts and Ideas Festival.
Additional highlights of Stern’s upcoming season include icarus Duo appearances with percussionist Matt Keown presented by Allegro Chamber Music Series in Philadelphia and Piano Spheres in Los Angeles with piano duo HOCKET. Stern also collaborates with the “Pershing’s Own” member Doug O’Connor playing duos for marimba and saxophone, with percussionist Nonoka Mizukami in Philip Glass’ Concerto Fantasy for two timpanists with the Peabody Wind Orchestra, and with members of the National Symphony Orchestra on Washington DC’s Constellation Chamber Concerts series.
Stern performs as an extra percussionist for the Baltimore Symphony and with several new music ensembles including Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, Mind on Fire, NewPrism Ensemble, NakedEye Ensemble, and ensemble mise-en, with whom he toured to Hong Kong in 2018. He has appeared at the Yellow Barn Music Festival, the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, and can be heard on the Albany, Elm City, Bright Shiny Things, figureight, and Cantaloupe record labels.
Stern serves as Lecturer in Percussion at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He holds a B.M. from UMass Amherst, an M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory, where he was awarded the Harold Randolph Prize in Performance, and an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.
Gig Alerts
The Ottawa Blues Fest is happening July 6th-16th.
The Mad Cool Festival is happening from July 6th-8th.
The North Sea Jazz Festival is happening from July 7th-9th
Taylor Swift has added new dates to her tour.
She also announced the European, Asian, and Latin American dates.
Educational Spotlight
There is an article that talks about treatment of your home studio and what to think about and address.
There is also the Drum Candy Podcast (episode 44) with friend of the show Mike Dawson and Mitch Zlotnik of Audimute where they get into more details.
Iconic Recording
The iconic recording was talked about in the interview with Wally. It is an album his dad and Louis Bellson recorded with an A-List cast of musicians involved (including a young Wally).
The song is called “Ecué” from the album titled, ‘Ecué (Ritmos Cubanos)’.
Music News
Following criticism for its low compensation for live music acts, SXSW has begrudgingly agreed to a pay increase for artists. Here’s the latest.
Applications for SXSW 2024 opened this week and include a slight pay bump from previous offerings. $350 per group and $150 for solo artists. That’s a bump of $100 for a group and $50 for solo performers. The new rates were posted earlier this month on the SXSW website, but the organization didn’t advertise the increase. -Article
Madonna puts her Celebration World Tour on hold after a health scare puts her in the hospital due to contracting a ‘serious bacterial infection.’
Madonna is recovering after a health scare, which will postpone her Celebration World Tour, initially set to begin next month. In a post shared to his Instagram, Guy Oseary, Madonna’s longtime manager, shared that the singer had “developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several-day stay in the ICU” on Saturday. -Article
Wally Reyes Interview
The song leading into the interview is called, “Deja Que El Alma Corra” from the ‘Wally World’ album.
Wally is currently on tour with the band Chicago (along with friend of the show, Ray Yslas).
Wally talks about the new structure with Live Nation and musical acts.
Damon brings up this recent Snoop Dogg clip about royalties. He also brings up the Ticketmaster congressional hearing.
Wally mentions his daughter, and friend of the show, Lilliana de los Reyes.
Wally and Damon talk about the multi-hyphenate career needed now-a-days to be successful. Wally mentions being told this in the 1900s by friend of the show, Alex Acuña.
Wally talks about the importance of not just knowing the notes to play for the various styles, but also the tuning and sound required and the correct vocabulary to play.
Wally talks about the Linn drum machine. There was an interview with Roger about who were the drum sounds from……..
As for who laid down the beats that made 8–bit sampling history, Linn tells Reverb, "It was a drummer named Art Wood, a good friend of mine with whom I had been in bands. It seems that no matter how many times I tell people that Art played the original drum samples, no one believes it, and they love to create myths. I’ve heard that the original samples were played by Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Dave Garibaldi, and others, but it was all Art." -Article
Wally talks about using the Roland TD-30 with Lindsay Buckingham.
Shout-out to Airto Guimorvan Moreira.
Wally mentions Pete Engelhart and Yogi Horton.
Wally talks about his dad working in Vegas. Here’s some history of music on the strip.
Wally talks about DJ Alan Freed and the phrase “Rock and Roll”.
Wally talks about navigating the darkness in your career while being open to new things.
Wally talks about staying versatile and things he does on and off of tour.
Damon brings up Gaylord Birch and his groove based drum solo.
Shout-out to the band Cold Blood.
Happy 90th birthday to Wally’s dad, (and friend of the show) Walfredo de los Reyes.
Wally talks about the song “Honky Tonk Woman”.
Wally explains the impetus for Walfredo sr’s set up and building independence.
Shout-out to friend of the show, Daniel de los Reyes.
Wally talks about the iconic recording for the week and the tune “Sentido en Seis” from the ‘Ecué (Ritmos Cubanos)’ album.
Wally talks about being Cuban in heritage, but being raised in Puerto Rico. He’s writing a book that will explai his past in more detail.
Wally attended UNLV.
Wally got paid $9 an hour for his first music gig playing drums for dance classes in 10th grade.
Shout-out to drummer Carlos Vega.
Wally brings up the Percussion Tutor app and Damon brings up The Clave app.
Shout-out to bassist, Armand Sabal-Lecco.
Wally shares some praise for his dad.
Wally uses Latin Percussion instruments, DW Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth Sticks.
You can follow Wally on his Website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. You can contact Wally on that hyperlinked page or HERE for lessons!
The song leading out of the interview is “Jin-Go-Lo-Ba” from the Santana album, ‘Sacred Fire’.
