Azteca was a

Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

band formed in 1972 by

Coke Escovedo Joseph Thomas "Coke" Escovedo (April 30, 1941 – July 13, 1986) was an American percussionist, who came from a prominent musical family including five musician brothers and his niece, Sheila E. He played in various genres, including R&B, jaz ...

and his brother Pete Escovedo, who had just finished stints with Latin rock pioneering band

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. Azteca was the first large-scale attempt to combine multiple musical elements in the context of a Latin orchestra setting, and featured horns, woodwinds, multiple keyboards, three vocalists, guitars, drums, and multiple Latin percussionists.

History

On stage, the band consisted of between 15 and 25 members, and toured with acts including

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. Other notable Azteca alumni included vocalists Wendy Haas and Errol Knowles, guitarist

Neal Schon Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...

, trumpeters

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

and Eddie Henderson, bassist Paul Jackson, drummers Lenny White and John H. Brinck Jr., and percussionist Victor Pantoja. The group was also a musical starting point for Latin percussionist Sheila E. (the daughter of Pete Escovedo), who appeared with the band as a teenager. Two albums were released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, the self-titled '' Azteca'' (1972) and ''Pyramid of the Moon'' (1973), before the band split up. On September 15, 2007, a number of the surviving members of Azteca performed together for the first time in more than thirty years in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. The concert was recorded for an eventual DVD release.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Azteca'' (1972) U.S. #151Billboard

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

* ''Pyramid of the Moon'' (1973)

Live albums

* ''From the Ruins'' (2008) * ''La Piedra Del Sol'' DVD (2008)

References

External links

Pete Escovedo website

Azteca MySpace site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azteca 1972 establishments in California 1976 disestablishments in California American rock music groups Latin music groups Columbia Records artists Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1976