Hard hands, get your soul together

Thursday music corner: New York-born Latin musician Ray Barretto (1929-2006) had his first hit, El Watusi, in 1962 and was a stalwart touring artist until his death. A variety of names for the genre of music he help popularise include salsa, boogaloo and pachanga, all influenced by his Puerto Rican heritage. Barretto was primarily a solo artist, but was also a long-term member of the Fania All-Stars until 1990, when he formed his own New World Spirit jazz ensemble. His many collaborations with fellow artists include playing congas for the Bee Gees on their 1975 album Main Course (which featured the smash single Jive Talkin'), and playing percussion on George Benson's 1970 album The Other Side of Abbey Road.

Hard Hands is the title and opening track of Barretto's 1968 album Hard Hands, his second album released on the Fania label. Prior to joining Fania he had released two albums on the Riverside label, five albums on Tico, and five further albums on United Artists in the three years from 1965 to 1967. 

In a 2003 interview with Jazz Times Barretto discussed his formative years:

“I got my first congas from a bakery on 116th Street in Harlem that used to import drums from Cuba. For 50 bucks you would get yourself a nice drum with a tacked-on head that you heated up with Sterno to get in tune. Chefs used to keep food warm by putting these cans of flames under trays. So you would put the Sterno on the floor and turn the conga over, and it would dry the moisture from the skin and bring it up to pitch. This was before there was a rim on the conga drum. Now you just turn a wrench and it tightens the skin.

I used to take those drums and put them on my shoulder and get on the subway, and anywhere between 110th Street and 155th Street in Harlem there were places to jam every night. I spent three, four years just going to jam sessions. It turned out to be the best thing I ever did. I met Charlie Parker, Dizzy, Max Roach, Roy Haynes and Art Blakey.”

Ray Barretto - Hard Hands (1968)