For over 50 years, Carlos "Patato" Valdez has demonstrated how a musician can combine technical skill with superb showmanship. His conga playing fuses melody and rhythm, and his understanding of rhythm is rooted in dancing. Patato still dazzles onlookers with his famed dance moves at the age of 74 -- he's the man who gave Brigitte Bardot a mambo lesson in the film And God Created Woman- -- dancing to his own solo in front of the congas, behind them and on top of them, bringing them to sing in voices no other conga player is able to create, luring them to tell tales full of melodies and poignancy. It is Patato's spontaneity and charm that enables him to draw audiences from vastly different backgrounds and cultures into the irresistable Afro-Cuban rhythms which he creates.
Patato came to the United States in 1952 and worked at New York's Tropicana nightclub with Conjunto Casino. In 1954, he said good-bye to his homeland, Cuba and never returned. Patato's first jazz work was with Billy Taylor at Philadelphia's Blue Note jazz club. After that he worked at New York City's Apollo Theater with trumpet player Chip Murray and played on his first jazz recording, Afrodesia, with trumpet player Kenny Durham. Years later Patato formed a group of his own, which he named Afrojazzia.
Although Patato has recorded few albums as a bandleader, he is more influential than almost any other conguero because he invented the tunable conga, a revolutionary step in music history. Before Patato's innovation, the traditional conga consisted of a wooden body with a nailed-on drum skin, which was tuned by holding a candle beneath the skin, but the results of this technique were not very satisfactory, as the tension of the drum skin slackened as soon as the skin cooled down again. It was Patato's idea to fix the skin to a metal ring which, connected at various points with the conga body, could be stretched and loosened with the help of a square box wrench, thus enabling the musician to tune his instrument to specific pitches. Consequently, it was now possible to hit each half step of an octave, initiated by Patato's unique melodic style of employing multiple conga drums and using them as a melody-creating instrument, just as a piano player or a horn player would.
Patato patented this invention, and the company Latin Percussion Inc. began manufactured the instrument. Latin Percussion's "Patato Model" is the top star of their product family, and Patato's conga type is now used by hundreds of groups from Santana to the Rolling Stones, as well as by a lot of well-known congueros, many of whom are his former students.
Since the 1950's, Patato has been among the congueros who are in highest demand in the Latin music and jazz worlds. He has played, toured, and recorded with Miguelito Valdes, Perez Prado, Beny More, Cachao, Tito Puente (who called him "the greatest conguero alive today"), Machito, Herbie Mann, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Patato also acted in and composed the title song for the television series The Bill Cosby Show. In 1991 he contributed to the movie soundtrack of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Recently, Patato, along with The Machito Orchestra, Candido Camero, Armando Peraza, Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros and Francisco Aguabella, was chosen by the Smithsonian to participate, in the Mambo and Afro-Cuban Jazz seminar hosted by Musica de las Americas. This series was an unprecedented event that celebrated the long tradition of exchange among the diverse music cultures of the Americas.
On December 4, 2007, a renowned musician, innovative conguero, and Latin Percussion design collaborator, Carlos Valdez, whom the world knew affectionately as “Patatoâ€, died of respiratory failure. A Cuban of diminutive stature, born November 4, 1926, he generated an enormous tonal presence on congas that belied his modest size. And that rings especially true in light of his passing. Now we shiver when hearing recordings that display his monumental sound, the very thing death cannot claim.
As a youth, he was well known from Cuban television appearances, in which he combined a theatrical flare, sometimes dancing around and atop his congas, always maintaining solid musicality. Emigrating from Cuba to New York in 1955, co-sponsored by Candido and Mongo Santamaria, he quickly saw action with Kenny Dorham, Tito Puente, Herbie Mann, Dizzy Gillespie, and most major Latin and jazz figures of the day.
His melodic intentions frustrated by traditional fixed-tension instruments, Patato pioneered the first tunable congas, which he put to good use accompanying the great band leaders with melodic lines in addition to the customary indigenous rhythms. Soon after he became a close friend of LP founder Martin Cohen and advised Martin on a variety of technical and design issues. The two were bound by an implicit trust and passion for Latin music. Their collaboration resulted in the LP Patato Model Congas, which became among the top-selling congas of all time.
Patato’s dramatic style garnered him a role in the classic Brigitte Bardot film And God Made Woman. Here Patato gives the film goddess a lesson in dancing the mambo.
Patato was also well-recognized for his contributions to Latin music and culture. The Puerto Rican Jazz Festival, the International Latin Music Hall of Fame, and the New York Hispanic Entertainment Journalists were three among a distinguished list of institutions that recognized Patato’s lifetime achievements with awards.
Many recordings, on the LP and other labels, showcase Patato’s musicality. Examples on LP are Ready for Freddy and Authority. But two revered ensembles most clearly express Patato’s legacy—his indelible touch, organic tone, and sense of musical communion. One is the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble, assembled by LP founder Martin Cohen, which immortalized another LP artist, the late Tito Puente, documented on the recording Live at Montreux 1980. The other is a later collaboration, The Conga Kings, in which Patato performed with fellow icons Candido Camero and Giovanni Hidalgo, recording several significant albums. It was with the Conga Kings that Carlos “Patato†Valdez performed his last concert.
His melodic musical contribution and dancing legacy live on, as do the LP congas bearing his name. Latin Percussion mourns his passing. Indeed, we shed a tear for our friend, collaborator and inspiration, Carlos “Patato†Valdez.
Master conguero Giovanni Hidalgo: "Patato was one of the pioneers who brought congas to America. He was also a innovator of tuning the drums . He was our father and he showed us a many ways to survive in this life in personal and musical ways. He was a good example of how to be a great,respectful gentleman. He is still with us...physically he had to leave, but he lives on within all of us."
It is Valdez' spontaneity and charm that enabled him to draw audiences from vastly different backgrounds and cultures into the irresistible Afro-Cuban rhythms which he created. Patato will be remembered by all as a giant of a man, and his spirit shall live forever through his music.
This page was created in loving memory of Carlos "Patato" Valdes.
