 
Bobby Matos
Bronx born Bobby Matos began playing music beating on pots and pans in Grandma's apartment and went on to backstage informal lessons with conga drum masters Patalo Valdez and Mongo Santamaria.
His first gigs were in the early '60s "beast ‚ bohemian" Greenwich Village Cafes, but he soon found himself playing in every type of venue: from Bronx dance halls to Carnegie Hall, to elegant supper clubs. Central Park Concerts, Off Broadway theatres and "After Hours" clubs in El Barrio
He was inspired and encouraged to play timbales by Willie Bobo and Tito Puente, and in the late '60s attended the New School and Manhattan School of Music, studying composition and arranging. Around this exciting time for Latin Music in NYC, he recorded "My Latin Soul" for Phillips Records. This recording eventually became a much prized cult classic influencing many '70s and '80s Acid Jazz groups on both sides of the Atlantic.
After touring and recording with artists like Ben Vereen, Bette Midler, Fred Neil, Jim Croce, Ray Rivera, Joe Loco, Miriam Makeeba and many others. Bobby relocated to Los Angeles where he began experimenting with an Afro Cuban Jazz band where he could blend (and bend) musical elements from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Wayne Shorter, Eddie Palmieri and the rich legacy of Afro Cuban music.
In the '80s and '90s, he recorded several albums most notably five critically
acclaimed CDs for Ubiquity Records' "Cubop" label. He also produced CDs
for Ray Armando, Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, Dave Pike, John Santos
and Jack Costanzo. In 2004 he released the critically acclaimed "Made by
Hand", a live recording on the artist's collective Life Force Records. Bobby's
newest release on Life Force Records contains nine original compositions
and three Afro Latin arrangements of John Coltrane compositions, along with
an updated band that features power players like Theo Saunders ‚ piano,
John B. Williams ‚ bass, Robertito Melendez ‚ congas, Frank Fontaine ‚ flute
and tenor sax, Dan Weinstein- trombone and violin and Bobby's son Jud on
percussion. Mambo, Bembe and Jazz Latino represent healing energy, meditation
and medicine encoded as music. When musicians listen and communicate with
each other and their audience on this spiritual level the music becomes
much more than a performance. "..inviting..supercharged..compelling.., Matos'
music will capture even the most jaded ear.."
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