Ladies and Gentlemen and Latin Rock music lovers, this is our inaugural year for the Armando Peraza Award. This award named after the legendary and world-renowned percussionist is for service to both the Hispanic and music communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. This year’s honorees will be the first to receive the award as they have displayed a great affection and service to both of these communities and we wish to applaud them with the presentation of this award.
Our special honoree tonite, who is in receipt of our Armando Peraza Award is a music industry innovator, a true original that we are proud to be presenting this too. In fact, he was the initial catalyst after contacting him in New York in 1985, for me later coming to the USA, meeting Mike Carabello, then Jeff Trager and Ron Sansoe and the Voices book and subsequent shows being born. He has also shared many stages around the world with Armando, so this award could not be more appropriate.
Santana & Shrieve - Voices 6
Voices 6 January 2010
Carlos & Michael-Voices 6
From an early age he displayed a restless search for both musical knowledge and excellence. After initially honing his craft playing with a group called Glass Menagerie and then various soul bands and organ quartets, around the Palo Alto area, he landed his first big opening with the original Santana band. Within months he had contributed genre- defining drums to their ground-breaking debut album. He also made a now iconic and electrifying appearance with Santana at the Woodstock festival later that year with the resulting ascent to stardom the group received.
The Santana group, in the space of the next two years, constantly toured the USA and around the globe, as they were a global phenomenom. He and they also managed to record two further Latino rock classics, the timeless Abraxas and the scorching Third Album.
By this time our recipient had amalgamated many diverse techniques into his drum kit playing, such as Latin, jazz, rock, fusion and funk, all folded into a flavorful and distinct
melding of styles.
He went onto to further influence the growth of Santana music with the critically acclaimed albums, Caravanserai, Welcome and Borboletta and the then Japanese import of the live Lotus recording.
After departing Santana, he was involved in one of the best bands you’ve never heard, the cult group that was Automatic Man, a group way before it’s time. (A shout out to Doni Harvey, the band bassist who’s with us here tonite!!) While residing in London, England and Europe, he also played on the Go trilogy with Stevie Winwood and the avant-garde Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashata.
These projects found him experimenting with the first wave of electronic percussion both onstage and in the studio.
A move to New York City, found him establishing the power pop band Novo Combo with two album releases. Plus work guesting with various acts, such as Todd Rundgren, Pat Travers, The Rolling Stones & Mick Jagger to name but few.
As well as this he has produced a series of critically acclaimed solo releases such as Transfer Station Blue, Fascination, Stiletto, The Leaving Time, The Big Picture, Two Doors and the current release Spellbinder, who we have enjoyed here tonight!
Apart from being a great musician, he’s an engaging and open person, a lyricist and a composer/producer, who has recently produced acts such as New Moonsoon, Douglas September, Ruby Dee & The Snake Handlers and many more.
He has a knack of linking with and has also played with a stellar array of guitarists – here are some; Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, Al Di Meola, Pat Thrall, Bill Frizell, Pat Travers, Buckethead, Shawn Lane, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Carlos Rios, Kevin Shrieve, Pete Hewlett, Jack Griffiths, Danny Godinez, Dave Edmonds, David Torn, Andy Summers among others.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his continuing delight in and innovation in the field of music.
The phrase “pushing the envelope” is often overused but this gentleman embodies that term with a non-clichéd and questing attitude for the new and daring in his musical search.
Tags: Bimbos,
Jim McCarthy,
Michael Shrieve
