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Died On This Date (April 15, 1984) Machito / Influential Latin Jazz Singer

Posted by themusicsover on April 15, 2010

Machito (Born Francisco Grillo)
December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984

Machito was a Latin musician who, during the ’40s, took jazz improv and married it with Afro-Cuban rhythms to help popularize Latin jazz around the world.  As a band leader, he fronted the Afro Cubans, who also featured his sister, Graciela Perez-Grillo as lead vocalist for a time.   Machito was awarded a Latin Grammy in 1983 for his Machito & His Sals Big Band ’82, and his Kenya: Afro-Cuban Jazz of 1957 was memorialized in 2005’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.  Machito died of a fatal stroke he suffered while performing on April 15, 1984.  He was 74.

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Kenya - Machito

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