Jimmy Sabater (April 11, 1936 – February 8, 2012) was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe Cuba Sextet in the 1960s and '70s, and later became the lead singer of various groups including

Charlie Palmieri Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards". Early years Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from P ...

's Combo Gigante. His son, Jimmy Sabater Jr., is a trumpeter and bandleader.

Life and career

Early life

Sabater was the son of Néstor Sabater and Teresa González of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

. Born Jaime Sabater in Harlem Hospital,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

,Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed February 12, 2012 he grew up in East Harlem, the Spanish Quarter of

known as "El Barrio". Like most teenagers in the neighborhood, he played stickball, flew kites, and harmonized the tunes of the popular R&B groups and vocalists of the day such as

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. He was inspired by percussionists such as

Willie Bobo William Correa (February 28, 1934 – September 15, 1983), better known by his stage name Willie Bobo, was an American Latin jazz percussionist and jazz drummer of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Latino m ...

, Uba Nieto, Papi Pagani, Monchito Muñoz, and Willie Rodríguez. With encouragement from many of these same drummers who were from "El Barrio", Sabater practiced playing the

, the standing drum kit made famous by the "Rey del Timbal", Tito Puente. It was during a 1951 stickball game between the Devils and the 112th Street Viceroys that Sabater's life would make a historic turn. A young man named Gilberto Calderón of the Devils met Sabater and invited him to a party. The two became fast friends. They had a lot in common. Both wanted to be musicians after being influenced by the music of

Machito Frank Grillo (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo; December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) known professionally as Machito (previously as Macho), was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music ...

, Marcelino Guerra, Noro Morales,

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 ...

and

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

Joe Cuba Sextet

1954 saw the Joe Panama Sextet as one of Spanish Harlem's most popular music groups. When Panama's conguero, or conga drummer, left the group, Sabater recommended his friend Gilberto for the job. Soon after, bandleader Joe Panama fired his sidemen and replaced them with others. The now unemployed musicians, which included vocalist Willie Torres and pianist Nick Jiménez, formed a group which included bassist Roy Rosa, vibraphonist Tommy Berríos, Sabater, and conguero Gilberto Calderón (who had been selected by the musicians to direct the band). One evening, the group appeared at La Bamba Club in midtown Manhattan under the name of "The Joe Panama Sextet". When Panama's mother threatened to sue Gilberto if he continued using the name, promoter Catalino Rolón recommended that the group change its name to "The Joe Cuba Sextet". They played gigs in the clubs of "El Barrio", as well as upstate New York venues such as The Pines Resort. The popularity of Cuba's sextet began to rise when José "Cheo" Feliciano joined the group. This occurred when José Curbelo's vocalist Santitos Colón replaced Gilberto Monroig in Tito Puente's band. Willie Torres then left Joe Cuba's Sextet, and replaced Santitos in Curbelo's orchestra. This opened the door for Cheo with Joe Cuba. This worked out perfectly for Cuba. Feliciano was selected to sing songs with Spanish lyrics, while Sabater was selected to sing songs with English lyrics. From the late 1950s and into the early 1960s the Sextet recorded on the Mardi Gras label, constantly increasing their popularity. In 1962, Seeco Records recorded Joe Cuba's album "Steppin' Out". This album would become a "monster hit", and Sabater would become part of history, as on the album he sang "To Be With You", by Willie Torres, and also wrote and sang the song "Salsa y Bembe", which may be the first known reference to "Salsa" as a music genre. Nick Jimenez composed the melody, but Cuba's decision to have Sabater sing the lyrics thrust him into almost immediate international recognition. Cuba's sextet signed with Tico Records in 1964. By showcasing the smooth vocal style of Sabater, the group had achieved tremendous fame, both in the United States and around the world. In 1966, they recorded two albums, ''We Must Be Doing Something Right'', and ''Wanted Dead or Alive''. ''…Something Right'' scored big because of the hit composition "El Pito (I'll Never Go Back to Georgia)". ''Wanted…'' was a landmark recording because it was the first "boogaloo" style album to sell one million records. This happened largely because of another smash composition of Sabater and Jiménez called "Bang Bang". Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Sabater also had a flourishing career as a soloist, releasing the albums ''The Velvet Voice of Jimmy Sabater'', ''El Hijo de Teresa'', and ''Solo''.

New projects and solo work

In 1977, Sabater left the Joe Cuba Sextet. From 1977 to 1981, he was the lead vocalist for Al Levy. In 1980 Sabater recorded ''Gusto'' on the Fania Records label. In 1982, he co-led "El Combo Gigante" with

until the latter's death in 1988. On November 12, 1997, Sabater became the recipient of an award from the City of New York for his contributions to the quality of life in the city, and in appreciation of his work since 1956. He was also the recipient of the "Outstanding Musician of the Year" award from the Comptroller of the City of New York, Alan G. Hevesi. In 1998, Sabater became the lead vocalist of the Latin Septet " Son Boricua", led by Maestro José Mangual Jr. Their first album, called ''Son Boricua'', was the winner of the ACE Award as best new Latin release of that year. A second, and recently, a third ACE Award were awarded for the albums ''Homenaje a Cortijo y Rivera'' and ''Mo!''. Later albums were ''Clasicos 60s'', released in 2002, and ''Fabulosos 70s'', released in 2004, which included renewals of salsa classics songs, originally by José Mangual Jr., Eddie Palmieri and others. Actually, in 2002 Sabater recorded two versions of the classics "Mama Guela" – one with his band Son Boricua, and one as a guest singer with Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

Death

Sabater died in February 2012, aged 75. The cause was complications of heart disease, according to his son, Jimmy Sabater Jr.

Discography

*''The Velvet Voice of Jimmy Sabater'' (Tico, 1967), with Joe Cuba *''Solo'' (Tico, 1969), with

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

*''El Hijo de Teresa (Teresa's Son)'' (Tico, 1970) *''Mano a Mano Melódico'' (Tico, 1971), with Bobby Cruz *''To Be With You (Mucho Love & Lotsa Boogie)'' (Salsa Records, 1976) *''Gusto'' (Fania Records, 1980) *''Mo!'' (Cobo, 2001) with José Mangual Jr.

References

External links

Musicofpuertorico.com

Findarticles.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabater, Jimmy 1936 births 2012 deaths American musicians of Puerto Rican descent American salsa musicians Timbaleros Musicians from Manhattan People from Harlem 20th-century American singers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from New York City