A celebration of the life and music of maestro Tito Puente, including the 1950s mambo craze that launched his meteoric rise to the top, and the many talents that made him the undisputed King of Latin Jazz. We’ll talk with Latin jazz historian Bobby Sanabria about why Tito still matters to the 20-somethings he’s teaching at the Manhattan School of Music, chat with Tito Puente’s friend and biographer Joe Conzo about Tito’s meteoric rise to the top of the mambo scene, and hear of the story behind Puente’s most famous composition and why you might not even realize it’s a Tito Puente original.
 
Episode Transcript
 
Host: Jeff Haas
Guests: Bobby Sanabria, Joe Conzo
 
Music

Tito Puente “Vibe Mambo”
Tito Puente “Cochise”
Tito Puente “Carnaval En Harlem”
José Curbelo “Rumba Rumbero”
Pupi Campo “Joe and Paul”
Tito Puente “Abaniquito”
Tito Puente “El Mambo Diablo”
Tito Puente “El Cayuco”
Tito Puente “Cuando Te Vea”
Tito Puente “Ritual Fire Dance”
Santana “Oye Como Va”
Tito Puente “Para los Romberos” 
Tito Puente “Letargo”
Tito Punete “Más Bajo”
Tito Puente “Sambaroco”
Tito Puente “Lotus Land”
Tito Puente “Hong Kong Mambo”
Tito Puente “Como esta Miguel”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Elegua Changó”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Mambo Buddha”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Ritual Fire Dance”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Birdland After Dark”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Alegre Cha-Cha-Cha”
Bobby Sanabria & MSM Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble “Autumn Leaves”
Tito Puente “Observalo”

 
Original Air Date: May 19, 2012
 
Radio broadcast produced by Lou Blouin and Jeff Haas
Radio broadcast audio engineering by Jack Conners and Brock Mormon
Podcast produced by Sam Boase-Miller and Erik Saras
Podcast audio remastering by Sam Boase-Miller
Transcripts and show notes by Erik Saras
 
Theme Song: Jeff Haas Trio & Friends “Giving In”
 
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The New Jazz Archive radio broadcasts originally sponsored by Chateau Chantal. The New Jazz Archive receives no revenue from podcast reissues of radio broadcasts.

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