Bobby Espinosa (April 29, 1949 – February 27, 2010) was an influential and important part of the Latin rock scene in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

from the late 1960s to the 2000s. He was a founding member of

El Chicano El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name came from the word Chicano, a term for Un ...

Background

Espinosa was born on April 29, 1949, in Los Angeles County. At a young age he was influenced by Salsa music in a big way. His parents, especially his mother would dance to

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 ...

Death

Having been ill for some time, Espinosa died on February 27, 2010, aged 60, at White Memorial hospital in East Los Angeles. He was survived by his son Bobby Espinosa Jr. and daughter Reyna Espinosa, six grandchildren as well as other family members that include a brother and sister.

Musical career

Espinosa was said to have his own unique sound. He had a percussive approach to playing the Hammond B-3 organ for which he is recognized by some of his peers, people and fans from Los Angeles. He is regarded as an icon in the Chicano community.

Early days

In the 1960s he was a member of East L.A. Surf group Mickey & The Invaders playing organ. The band which was previously called Mickey & The Cavaliers, was led by Mike James Aversa aka Mickey. He left the band in the mid-1960s to join the VIPs, a Chicano band. This group which was formed in 1965 by bass player Freddie Sanchez was a night club covers band. Espinosa was the first member brought into the band by Sanchez.

El Chicano

In 1969, the VIPs evolved into what became known as El Chicano. For forty years Espinosa was a force in the group. He also produced and wrote some of their material. He also played on every recording the group made. The recognizable sound of El Chicano mainly came from Espinosa's B-3 organ and the

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

styled guitar playing of Mickey Lespron. In the 1980s legal argument between Espinosa and fellow co-founder Mickey Lespron developed. This was over the ownership of the El Chicano name. As a result, there was a temporary halt on the group's career and the discontinuation of their association with Columbia. In a ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' review of the ''Latin Legends Live'' album that featured Malo, El Chicano and Tierra, reviewer Marcela Breton referred to Espinosa's playing as the standout on the three El Chicano tracks.

Post El Chicano and other

In 1998, the album ''Painting the Moment'' was released. Even though the album is credited with the El Chicano name, it is regarded as a solo album by Espinosa. In later years he guested on some artists recordings including ''Si Se Puede'' recorded in 1996 by Tapestree, a group made up of veterans of the L.A. music scene. Also the debut album by Thee Rhythm Kings, ''Killing Time''. In 2003, he was at one of Gilbert Esquivel's shows in his early days in Hollywood. He was on stage with Chicano singer Rocky Padilla, Sal Rodriguez from the group

WAR War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and Isaac Avila from Tierra. He was still playing music in spite of health issues right up until early 2010. He also played a concert at the Inland Empire with former bandmate and Tierra founder Rudy Salas at that time. He has been inducted into the "Hammond Heroes" society. He at the time had the distinction of being the only Latin organist recognized for his blues, Latin and jazz style. Francisco "Pancho" Tomaselli who was the bass player for the group WAR jammed with Espinosa. He recalled his first time playing "Viva Tirado" was with him.

Documentary

* ''El Chicano: In the Eye of the Storm''... Himself - (2009) * ''Hammond Heroes''... Himself

Discography

* ''Painting the Moment'' - Thump Records - (1998)

Appears on

* Con Safos - "C/S" - ''Los Angelinos (The Eastside Renaissance)'' - Zyanya Records – RNLP 062 - (1983) (various artists album) * Tapestree - ''Si Se Puede'' (''You Can Make It'') - (1996) * Thee Rhythm Kings - ''Killing Time''.ReverbNatio
Thee Rhythm Kings / Bio
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Bobby 1949 births 2010 deaths Chicano rock musicians American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians American male organists American male songwriters American rock songwriters Songwriters from California Musicians from Los Angeles County, California American organists