Died On This Date (April 15, 1984) Machito / Influential Latin Jazz Singer
themusicsover 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.
What You Should Own
Known as the “First Lady of Latin Jazz,” Graciela Perez-Grillo was pioneering Afro-Cuban jazz singer who got her start in New York City during the 1940s. Perez-Grillo was born in Cuba to a musical family that also included fellow Latin jazz great,