Carlos Emilio Morales was born in Havana on November 6, 1939. He learned to play guitar at the age of 12. He studied guitar in the 1950s with Clara Nicola, García Gattel, Jesús Ortega and Federico Smith. Morales started his music career in 1959 with the Teatro Musical de La Habana orchestra, where classical guitarist Leo Brouwer was composer.
In 1967, Morales became a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, an 18-piece big band directed by Armando de Sequeira Romeu. The band included Chucho Valdés, Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval and Carlos Averhoff. These musicians, along with Morales founded Irakere in 1973, an essential group in the history of Cuban jazz.
Morales toured and recorded numerous albums with Irakere. He also taught master teaching classes at Escuela de Superación Profesional.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
