Bobby Matos

Who is Bobby Matos?

Bobby Matos is a Latin jazz percussionist.

He began playing music by hitting pots and pans in his grandmother's apartment. As a youth, he studied with conga drum masters Patato Valdez and Mongo Santamaría. While playing all over New York, he was encouraged to play timbales by Willie Bobo and Tito Puente and in the late 60s attended The New School and the Manhattan School of Music. Around this time, he recorded "My Latin Soul" for Phillips International Records, which made his reputation as a bandleader.

Matos has toured and recorded with artists Ben Vereen, Bette Midler, Fred Neil, Jim Croce, Joe Loco, Ray Rivera, Miriam Makeba, and scores of others. He has an extensive discography and 5 critically acclaimed albums with Ubiquity Records. His latest record is "Gratitude" on Dawan Muhammadd's LifeForce jazz label.