By Elena Walker

Latin Jazz leaves some people cold: They don't get it. Their feet don't even twitch as they listen. But then again, they probably haven't heard Louie Cruz Beltran.

"... my music is based upon an impulse I get at the moment. Like if a melody comes in my mind, I immediately start to calculate what the rhythm pattern will be and most of the times, it comes up either a funky R & B or a Latin-Afro rhythm or sometimes I'll just mish them together, I'll do poly rhythms."

Beltran's music pulses with excitement.

"My choice of material is basically what I like...it's not [for] a big, it's not a real humongous audience but it is growing. And that's the Latin Jazz choice that I've made. I can't deny that I love this music. Using the jazz progressions and the Latin rhythms just totally captivate my essence."

Californian born and bred, Beltran's earliest musical memories draw from his life as part of a ten-child family with a mother Beltran clearly adores. "My mother was always singing and liked to play piano. There was always music in the house. She loved to sing everything from church hymns to Benny Goodman hits." The final track ("Cu Rumba") on his solo CD It's My Time, is based on a song he remembers his mother and father singing together. "Mom always sounded prettiest in Spanish".

Beltran's young Bakersfield friends added fuel to the fire, joining him in impromptu drumming sessions on junked washing machines and introducing him to influences beyond the home. Beltran and his brothers attended a local high school where most of the population were Afro-American and they were among the few Latinos. R & B surrounded him on all sides and he found himself drawn towards the powerful music.

Early recordings of Latin Jazz artists drew Beltran ever deeper into its mysteries. His curiosity was sparked by Afro-Cuban artists; such as the man credited with being the first U.S.-born percussionist to integrate the African-based conga drum into jazz, Ray Barretto. Beltran explains, "My congo influences are Francisco Aguabella, Mongo Santa Maria, Ray Barretto and Potato Valdez." "The beauty of Afro-Cuban music stole my heart," says Beltran. "I was born to play congas. I am a rumbero."

To feed his desire for knowledge, Beltran had to work hard at getting the information and experience he required. "The thing is that I'm 112 miles from Los Angeles so of course, I had to invest time and energy to go out and seek...live performances....we would go to the music stores and we'd find this music and we'd seek it out. You know, the few of us that were into this music in Bakersfield. There were very few of us."

By the early 70's, Beltran was attending Bakersfield College, pursuing a formal music education and stretching his leadership abilities. Friends from the time smile as they recall his natural leadership and determination to be part of the solution in civil rights issues. It was a time of great unrest and the world was hearing daily of Northern Californian groups organizing action such as the anti-war moratoriums and Black Panther activities.

In Bakersfield, Beltran was taking action as a Brown Beret. Local restaurants serving Mexican food were advertising it as "Spanish" so Beltran's group decided to protest. They began to patronize these restaurants and order from the menu, demanding Spanish tortillas when the Mexican version arrived. Apparently, it was Beltran who delivered the follow-up speech, explaining to both diners and management that they had nothing to be ashamed of and should remove any misleading signs.

It was while standing alongside Cesar Chavez in political demonstrations that Beltran met his first true conga teacher. Puerto Rican born, Jorge Claudio, met Beltran at a United Farm Worker's strike and went on to introduce the young player to the fundamentals of rhythm, especially highlighting those of Puerto Rico and Cuba. "Jorge's teaching was an unselfish gift."

During a later trip to San Francisco's Bay area, Beltran met and impressed Latin Jazz great, Coke Escovedo. Escovedo became Beltran's first professional mentor. "Coke's impact on my life is simply indescribable. His encouragement was instrumental in my decision to become a professional musician."

Escovedo's influence encouraged Beltran in reaching for his personal goals. He decided to form his hometown's first Latin/Salsa Rock Band, Sangre del Sol; Serving as bandleader to the eight-member band. Their repertoire was inspired by Santana, Azteca, Roberto Roena, Mongo Santa Maria, Tito Puente and various other Latin rock bands the players were listening to.

Beltran explains: "In Bakersfield, in my hometown, there's limited live performances of Latin jazz or salsa music...It's not a real small town but I think we've got about 300,000 people here; 250,000 city limits. The bottom line is that I came in as one of the fundamental initiators of Afro-Latin music. I formulated probably the first Latin-Rock, Latin-Jazz oriented band in this area, in terms of highlighting on Afro-Cuban rhythms."

Even today, Beltran describes his hometown as enjoying "...a very heavy Mexican, Anglo and Black population." With very few Asians. And unfortunately, there's not much support for Latin Jazz in the area. "Very little...there's not really a real concert effort or marketing effort to bring that kind of performance into Bakersfield."

Band leading brought other changes into his life. "My main instrument is the conga drum. However, I chose to play the timbale drums as a bandleader. I have learned to love the timbales...It's hard to tell you what draws me to them. It's...being able to manipulate the sticks, you know, a little bit more freely. What drew me to the timbales is listening to great timbale players like Coke and Pete Escovedo, Tito Puente, Orestes Dilato and Jose Luis Changuito Quintana. Also Nickey Marrero and Willie Bobo."

Beltran's percussive virtuosity is based firmly in his extensive knowledge, dedication and experience. To facilitate the growth of his understanding, his music had to move beyond Bakersfield's borders and into exploration of other musical realms.

In the late '70's, Beltran joined the group Starrfire and toured throughout the US, Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and Africa. While playing in France, he took advantage of the situation and also studied at the Conservatory of Percussion in Paris.

After returning to the US, Beltran worked as the studio percussionist for The Sylvers. He recorded the hits "Boogie Fever" and "Hot Line" with them before joining the band for a South Californian tour. Over this time, Beltran also extended the range of his work to include musical sound tracts and arrangements for Hollywood film and television productions.

By the mid-80's, Beltran was touring again. This time he traveled to Nicaragua with Luis Godoy Mejia and Mancotal, the renowned Nuevo Canto Salsa group. Observing the great political turmoil and people of Nicaragua caused him to re-evaluate his music and re-commit to his career.

Beltran returned to the US and started work as the studio percussionist for international entertainer Ray Camacho. The title song on the album they recorded, "La Ruca No Era Ruca", topped the Spanish Music charts and stayed in prime position for sixteen weeks.

In 1990, Beltran's composition "Pan Con Dignidad (Bread With Dignity)" was entered in the "Who's Who of Composers" published by Plaza de la Raza. This honor was also mentioned in Steven Loza's book, "Barrio Rhythms: Mexican-American Music".

Beltran toured the southwest US in 1992 with the reggae band O.P. Stylee. The band opened for groups such as Steel Pulse, Third World, Aswad, Eek-A-Mouse and Edgar Winter. He continued to develop his love of Latin Jazz while on tour by composing. Two of his most requested songs were written during this time: "The Ring" and "Cha Cha California".

The following year saw Beltran working as a studio percussionist for an Atlantic records project that included work with Laura and Paul Satterfield, Monty Byrom and Rita Coolidge. He also returned to Bakersfield and took up his long-standing position as bandleader at Cheney's Nightclub. Over the next seven years, he was to welcome many distinguished guests on to the Cheney's stage: Including Pete Escovedo, Brenton Wood, Bob Harris and Billy Haynes.

By the late '90's, Beltran's music was reaching an ever-widening audience. A performance for Cuban dignitary, Dr. Ariel Aguilar Reyes (University of Havana), received an enthusiastic reception and an invitation for Beltran to perform an instructional/cultural tour of Cuba in the future.

The new millenium saw Beltran eager to return to pursuing his personal goals. A self-produced CD, It's My Time, gave him the freedom to reveal the music dear to his heart: The culmination of his personal dedication to Latin Jazz and years of exploring and extending his art.

Beltran's performances at Jazz festivals and events, continue to extend his renown. Courtesy of his work for charity, his music has gained international attention and his CD sells worldwide. Beltran's motivation is focused on grabbing the attention of audiences that may not otherwise give Latin Jazz their consideration. He continues to play and teach throughout the West Coast, always laying a firm foundation of Afro-Latin rhythm and continuing to excavate his Latin Jazz roots.

These days, he splits his time between his much-loved Bakersfield and playing on the LA jazz scene. The endless possibilities excite and invigorate him!

"[LA is] the music industry capital of the world. Everything's there. All of the agents, all of the variety of venues that are set up and available. And then you have a higher influx of Cubans and Puerto Ricans...it's more of an international city and so therefore, you have the population market that can support bringing in world and national acts...We have great Latin Jazz groups in Los Angeles, we have great salsa groups in Los Angeles and the West Coast."

And now, more than ever (as bandleader, composer, arranger and performer), the rumbero has our attention. A Rumbero loves to lose himself in the music's beat and Mr. Louie Cruz Beltran is a prime example! It truly is his time.

Visit Louie Cruz Beltran's website at http://www.louiecruzbeltran.com.