Adalberto Bravo (born February 1, 1965), is an American-born Puerto Rican musician and songwriter.

Early life

Bravo was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1983. Bravo also spent much of his time living in Venezuela and Puerto Rico to study music. In the early 1980s, Bravo and his family moved to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, eventually relocating to

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, where he continued his music studies at

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

, mastering his skills in guitar, piano, and composing/arranging. Bravo later recorded his first album as a solo guitarist, ''Cuanto Te Amo'', in 1986 under his label.

Career

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Bravo collaborated with numerous artists, including

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, and performed with other bands such as

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

and

Son By Four Son by Four is a Latin music group from Puerto Rico, well known for their English U.S. pop hit " The Purest of Pain (A Puro Dolor)". The group is now independent, and they founded their label SB4 Music Group in 2003. Son by Four was created by ...

. Bravo also formed his own band, "Orquesta Identidad" (later renamed "Adalberto Bravo y su Orquesta"), backing artists such as

Tito Nieves Humberto "Tito" Nieves (born June 4, 1958; also known as "El Luciano Pavarotti, Pavarotti de la Salsa") is a Puerto Rican musician who became one of the leading Salsa music, salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Early life Humberto "Ti ...

Oscar D'León Óscar Emilio León Simosa (born July 11, 1943), known as Oscar D'León, and affectionately called ''The Pharaoh of Salsa'', ''The Lion of Salsa'', and the ''World's Sonero'', is a Venezuelan musician and bassist best known for his salsa music. ...

Melina León Melina León (born Yamillette Aponte Yunqué on 12 July 1973 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican merengue singer and actress. From an early age she performed with several groups including ''The Rubi'', ''Girls of Puerto Rico'' and ...

Gisselle Gisselle Ortiz Cáceres (born March 28, 1969 in New York City, U.S.), known mononymously as Gisselle, is an American merengue singer. Biography Musical career Gisselle was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents. She showed interest in ...

Frankie Negron Frankie is a diminutive of Frank, Francis, Francisco, Francine, and Francesca. People *Frankie (musician), indie pop musician from Los Angeles, California *Frankie Abernathy (1981–2007), American MTV Real World cast member *Frankie Adams (born ...

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halafta ...

, and many others during their performances in Florida. Bravo and his band released their first CD, ''Te Quiero'', in March 2000. In 2004, Bravo released his second solo guitar album, ''Smooth Passions'', consisting of his cover versions of compositions by

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian ...

and

Ruben Fuentes Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on the ...

among others. Bravo returned to recording in 2014, releasing a tribute album to the late

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira ...

, who died earlier that year. To date, Bravo continues performing with his band and as a solo guitarist in numerous venues and events throughout Central Florida, including the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...

and

Bongos Cuban Cafe Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Personal life

Bravo has been married to Maria Rivera since 2002, and both currently reside in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

. Bravo's two younger brothers, Richard and Jerry, are also musicians that have shared the stage with numerous A-list celebrity artists.

Discography

* 1986: ''Cuanto Te Amo'' * 2000: ''Te Quiero'' * 2004: ''Smooth Passions'' * 2014: ''Recordando a Cheo Feliciano''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bravo, Adalberto 1965 births Living people American male guitarists American male pianists American bossa nova guitarists American bossa nova pianists Latin jazz guitarists Latin music songwriters American lead guitarists Musicians from Brooklyn Salsa musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American jazz pianists American mandolinists Spanish-language singers of the United States