Percussionist Pete Escovedo was born July 13, 1935 in Pittsburg California. As a young boy he would sit on the steps of nightclubs and watch musicians play. Music became his conduit. When he was 15 years old he began to sketch and paint on wood or cardboard. Anything he could get his hands on he would start to draw.
His first musical instrument in school was the saxophone. It didn’t take long to discover that this was definitely not the right instrument for him. He decided to try another instrument, bongos. The first bongos set was made out of coffee cans and tape and he painted it himself. He was determined to play.
His brothers Coke and Phil joined Pete and formed The Escovedo Brothers Latin Jazz Sextet. They played all over town carrying their own instruments on the bus to get to their next gig and earn their $5. The sextet played in famous places like the Matador Jazz Workshop The Tropics and Basin St. West. The three brothers stayed together. After their late night gigs they would get something to eat and talk about music traveling and being famous one day. Music was everything to them it was their life.
Pete and Coke went on tour with guitarist Carlos Santana. Pete toured with Santana for three years performing internationally and playing on the albums Moonflower Oneness and Inner Secrets. To have the amazing opportunity to play percussion with Santana was like a dream he would never forget but something in his soul was still struggling. Pete’s vision grew bigger and he needed to make a name for himself and for the music that kept playing in his mind. He finally decided that it was time to leave.
In the 1970s Pete and Coke Escovedo founded the band Azteca and recorded two albums for Columbia the self-titled album Azteca and Pyramid Of The Moon. They made a name for themselves and accomplished their dream.
From the 1970s until now Pete has performed and toured with many admired artists such as Herbie Hancock Mongo Santamaria Bobby McFerrin Cal Tjader Woody Herman Stephen Stills Billy Cobham Anita Baker George Duke Boz Scaggs Andy Narell Al Jarreau Ray Obiedo Dionne Warwick Marlena Shaw Barry White Angela Bofill Arturo Sandoval Poncho Sanchez Chick Corea Dave Valentine Najee Gerald Albright Prince and Tito Puente.
Pete Escovedo and his Latin Jazz Orchestra play a mix of smooth jazz, Salsa, Latin jazz and contemporary music. He has recorded several acclaimed solo albums, two recordings with his daughter Sheila E. and the Latina Familia live album with Sheila and Puente.
Pete has continued to pain since the age of 15. Over the years he has created an impressive body of art work. All of his paintings and drawings consist of oils acrylics latex enamels pencil and crayons.
His album Live from Stern Grove Festival includes daughter Sheila E., Dave Koz, Ray Obiedo and Arturo Sandoval.
Discography:
Azteca, with Azteca (Columbia, 1972)
Pyramid of The Moon, with Azteca (Columbia, 1973)
Solo Two (Fantasy Records, 1977)
Happy Together (Fantasy Records, 1978)
Island (EsGo/Fantasy, 1982)
Yesterday’s Memories: Tomorrow’s Dreams (Concord Crossover, 1985)
Mister E (Concord Crossover, 1987)
Flying South (Concord Picante, 1995)
E Street (Concord Jazz, 1997)
E Music (Concord Jazz, 2000)
Whatcha Gonna Do (Concord Jazz, 2001)
Live (Concord Jazz, 2003)
From the Ruins with Azteca (Inakustic Gmbh, 2008)
Live from Stern Grove Festival (Concord Picante/Stiletto Flats Inc, 2013)
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.
