Manolo Badrena

• Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
• Genres: Jazz
• Instrument: Percussion

Biography

It was called the percussion boom of the '70s, but considering the subject matter might have just as easily been the bang, wham, clonk or sizzle. It was simply the presence of percussionists in practically every rock and jazz band of note and it was the start of the glory days for Manolo Badrena, a percussionist from Puerto Rico. While Badrena often makes the short list of guys who banged on things and rattled others with foriegn-sounding names that began making records after Airto Moriera got famous, he actually had a track record in the music business going back a bit further and involving jazz drummer and bandleader Art Blakey's experiments combining percussionists from varying ethnic backgrounds.

In the '70s, Badrena not only worked for several years with Weather Report, at that point one of the top modern jazz attractions, but also toured with the Rolling Stones as a supplemental percussionist. His credits on Zawinul albums such as Heavy Weather did more toward insuring ongoing employment then the wiggle of Mick Jagger's hips to a bongo, however. The association with so-called classic Weather Report led to sunny days with players such as Steve Khan and unfortunately to participation in the drek of Spyro Gyra as well. Badrena redeemed himself almost immediately with 1983 collaborations with Bill Evans--the saxophonist, not the pianist--and a stint with eccentric pianist and composer Carla Bley that lasted somewhat longer. He has also performed and recorded with the Zawinul Syndicate and Trio Mundo. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide

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