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Phil Woods, Tito Puente and More

By Joe Dimino

This week we start with a cat straight outta Cuba. Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez does his magic on the drums with his Italuba Big Band followed by the great Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. We then hear a mix of Django Reinhardt, Melissa Aldana and Longineu Parsons. We profile the great Montreal cat Jacques Kuba Séguin and the talented South Korean-born Pureum Jin. As the show begins to wind down, we feature Miles Brown and Putte Wickman to round out ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez & Robby Ameen: Robby & Negro At The Third World War (La Timba No es Como Ayer)

By Jerry D'Souza

Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez and Robby Ameen pack a whole lot into this collaboration. The prime beat comes from Latin music, but there is hip-hop, classical, and jazz as well. How does it all fit in? Just perfectly, thank you!

The different strands go to make a compact body which the players get into and bring alive, with the arrangements adding to the potency. On “The Moon Shows Red (Tzuki...) Jerry Gonzalez sits in on trumpet and Ameen ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez/Robby Ameen: Robby & Negro At The Third World War (La Timba No es Como Ayer)

By Michael McCaw

Have you ever heard a salsa version of “Sympathy for the Devil ? With the piano carrying the melody and a myriad of percussion instruments forming the swaggering beat? No matter what preconceptions or feelings you have towards the original, it's hard not to find yourself moving with the opening track on Robby & Negro at the Third World War. And if you weren't swaying, as the song transitions into “el Cielo, the second part of the medley, there is ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez: Live at the Modern Drummer Festival

By John Kelman

With a breadth of ability, drummer Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez still maintains strong roots in the traditional music of his native Cuba. Despite playing in a variety of contexts since relocating to New York City a few years ago, and recording with artists including Victor Mendoza, David Samuels, Steve Turre and, most notably, on Carlos Santana's mega-hit Supernatural , the clave has never been far from the surface. No more evident is this fact than on Live at the Modern ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez: Italuba

By Dan McClenaghan

Drummer Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez arrived in New York from his native Cuba (via Italy) and slipped into the percussion driver's seat on recordings by pianists Michael Camilo and Chucho Valdes, trumpeter Roy Hargrove and guitar legend Carlos Santana, helping those artists snag a bunch of Grammy Awards. Italuba “"the title a melding of the names of his native land and that of the country that welcomed him on his initial expatriation""marks his overdue debut as a leader.

Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez : One Size Fits All

By R.J. DeLuke

Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez is a drummer for all seasons. One size fits all. A consummate pro with broad musical tastes, he graces the bands and recordings of a wide variety of performers, not just those in the jazz realm. He's a drummer. Period. Don't mistake that for “any ol' drummer," because he is far from that. He is determined. He worked hard to become a percussionist extraordinaire. He's passionate about his art, devoted to creating music.Simply stated, ...