Rudy Regalado (musician)

Héctor José Regalado (January 29, 1943 – November 4, 2010) was a Venezuelan Latin music bandleader, percussionist, composer and educator. He played professionally under the name Rudy Regalado.[1]

Rudy Regalado
Background information
Born(1943-01-29)January 29, 1943
Caracas, Venezuela
DiedNovember 4, 2010(2010-11-04) (aged 67)
Las Vegas, Nevada
GenresLatin, rock, Latin Jazz, Cuban music, Puerto Rican music, Music of Venezuela
InstrumentsTimbales, drums
Years active1960–2010
Associated actsAlex Acuña
El Chicano
Aretha Franklin
Alphonse Mouzon
Quincy Jones
Bill Summers
Zawinul Syndicate

Profile

Although he toured extensively in a career spanning more than 50 years, Rudy Regalado is better known for being one of the key members of El Chicano's percussion section, a popular Los Angeles-based group that surfaced during the Santana and Malo Latin-tinged rock era in the early 1970s. Besides this, Regalado led his own groups including the stage band Chévere and performed on countless recording sessions with distinguished artists. In addition to recording five albums with El Chicano, he also collaborated in projects led by Alex Acuña, Quincy Jones, Alphonse Mouzon, Bill Summers and Joe Zawinul, among others.[2]

Early life

Regalado was born and raised in a working-class family in Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela. Largely self-taught, he started to play drums and timbales as a teenager in his home town. A devoted baseball fan, he adopted his nickname after former Cleveland Indians infielder Rudy Regalado.[3]

Professional career

In 1963, Regalado moved to Puerto Rico and started playing in hotels and clubs in the San Juan area, while studying harmony and percussion at Pablo Casals Conservatory of Music. He settled in Los Angeles, California in 1970, where he played with local jazz and Latin groups before joining El Chicano late in the year.[2]

Regalado spent twelve years with El Chicano, singing and playing the timbales in five albums, which included Top 40 hits during the 1970s with the songs "Viva Tirado" and "Tell Her She's Lovely". El Chicano also created the theme song for the television series Baretta, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978.[1][4]

After spending 12 years with El Chicano, Regalado formed his own Latin Jazz All-Star Band in 1983, which included a select group of musicians from Los Angeles. Initially known as Todos Estrellas, the band eventually became known as Chévere and appeared at the Playboy Jazz Festival, Disneyland and Fiesta Broadway, among other engagements. The band also performed overseas in summer festivals in Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and throughout the European continent.[2]

As part of an El Chicano reunion in 2009, Regalado performed during the 40th anniversary of Woodstock Festival at the Golden Gate Park Music Concourse in San Francisco, where the group actually celebrated their own 40th Anniversary, and last played with them at the Greek Theatre of Los Angeles.[2][4][5]

Other credits

Regalado also toured with Aretha Franklin in charge of her percussion section, was a drummer for Los Melódicos on its 1980 tour of United States, and performed on The Tonight Show, the Nancy Wilson Show and American Bandstand.[2][6]

His film credits include The Skeleton Key (2005), as well in the television series Pepe Plata (1990) and Clubhouse (2004).[7]

Regalado moved later to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 67.[4]

Selected discography
YearAlbumArtistCredit
1972CelebrationEl ChicanoPercussion, drums
1973ChicanoEl ChicanoPercussion, drums
1974CincoEl ChicanoPercussion, drums
1974YaquiYaquiDrums
1975Pyramid of Love & FriendsEl ChicanoPercussion, drums
1976Viva El Chicano! Their Very Best    El ChicanoVocals, timbales, percussion
1977Blue Note Live at the RoxyAlphonse Mouzon (Various Artists)  Timbales, percussion
1977RootsQuincy JonesPercussion
1988ImmigrantsJoe ZawinulVocals, percussion
1990Thinking of YouAlex Acuña and the UnknownsPercussion
1992IrokoBill SummersComposer
1993Moliendo CaféRie Akagi and Rudy Regalado with ChévereTimbales, percussion
1994La GloriaRudy Regalado y ChévereProducer, drums, vocals, timbales
1996My PeopleJoe ZawinulPercussion, composer
1998Painting the MomentEl ChicanoPercussion, timbales
1999SuckersOriginal SoundtrackPercussion
2000Late Night SessionsCaravana CubanaCatá, timbales
2000Acuarela de TamboresAlex AcuñaMaracas, chekeré
2002Faces & PlacesJoe ZawinulPercussion
2002Cinco de Mayo CelebrationVarious ArtistsTimbales, percussion
2002Del AlmaCaravana CubanaTimbales, catá
200420th Century Masters - Millennium Collection    El ChicanoTimbales, percussion

[2][6][8]

Selected videos at YouTube.com

References
  1. "Los Angeles Times article". November 10, 2010.
  2. "Rudy Chevere website". Archived from the original on 2010-12-04.
  3. Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela – José Peñín, Walter Guido, Tomo 2, pag. 510. Publisher: Fundación Bigott, Caracas, Venezuela, 1998. Format: Hardcover, 778pp. Language: Spanish. ISBN 978-980-6428-03-4
  4. "Latin Rock Timbalero Rudy Regalado Dies at 67". Worldmusiccentral.org.
  5. "El Chicano Music : Official Website". Elchicanomusic.com.
  6. Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela
  7. Rudy Regalado at IMDb
  8. AllMusic.com credits
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