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Badrena, Manolo (17th March 1952-Present)

Percussionist from Puerto Rico who emigrated to the U.S. in 1974 and made his mark in the recording studio a couple of years later on Weather Report’s Heavy Weather album. He also appeared on the follow-up, Mr. Gone. Other artists and groups with whom he worked: Blondie, George Duke, Bill Evans, Henry Mancini, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, and Gino Vanelli.

In 1979, he appeared on Herb Alpert’s Rise and released his solo debut, Manolo. He hooked up with Spyro Gyra in the 1980s and did a handful of recordings with them, including City Kids, Incognito, and Stories Without Words. He even penned one of their hit records, “Nu Sungo”.

In 1997, he signed up with The Zawinul Syndicate, and toured internationally with them until 2004. He documented his globe-trotting adventures on the DVD, All That Percussion.

He started a new band, Trio Mundo, which became a quartet when Steve Slagle went from being a guest artist to a full-time member. A man of many hats, Manolo has also been known to do graphic design, play guitar and keyboards, and chip in vocals.

Here he is performing a solo with the Gustavo Casenave Trio….

Sources:

  1. http://www.myspace.com/manolobadrena
  2. http://jazztimes.com/articles/15143-manolo-badrena
  3. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-125485362.html
  4. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Manolo+Badrena
  5. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_9_14/ai_n8569127/
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manolo_Badrena