- Alex Acuña
Alejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña (born
December 12 ,1944 ) is aPeru vianAfro-Cuban jazz drummer andpercussionist .Born in
Pativilca ,Peru , Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved toLima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band ofPerez Prado , and in 1967 he moved toPuerto Rico . In 1974 Acuña moved to Las Vegas, working with artists such asElvis Presley andDiana Ross , and the following year he joined the jazz-fusion groupWeather Report , appearing on the albums "Black Market" and "Heavy Weather". Acuña left Weather Report in 1978, and became a session musician inCalifornia , recording and playing live with (amongst many others)Paul McCartney ,Joni Mitchell ,Ella Fitzgerald , Jim Walker (musician),Chick Corea ,Whitney Houston ,Plácido Domingo ,Phil Keaggy , Sergeant Petter, Sam Phillips, former Weather Report bandmatesWayne Shorter andJoe Zawinul ,Herbie Hancock ,Carlos Santana ,Antonio Carlos Jobim ,Beck ,Roberta Flack ,U2 , andAl Jarreau . He can be found on recordings by musicians as culturally diverse asLee Ritenour ,Peter Gabriel ,Johnny Clegg ,Robbie Robertson &Jackson Browne .In the 1980s Acuna also recorded and toured with the Christian jazz band Koinonia, which featured session musicians
Abraham Laboriel ,Justo Almario , Hadley Hockensmith, Harland Rogers, and Bill Maxwell. He played onWilly DeVille 's "Crow Jane Alley " album.He has also worked as an educator at
University of California, Los Angeles andBerklee College of Music .Discography
* (1976) "Black Market" -
Weather Report
* (1977) "Heavy Weather" -Weather Report
* (1992) "Thinking of You" - Alex Acuña and the Unknowns
* (2000) "Acuarela de Tambores" - Alex Acuña
* (2002) "Los Hijos del Sol: To My Country" - Alex AcuñaAwards
* "Best Latin/Brazilian Percussionist", Modern Drummer's Readers Poll.
External links
* [http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Alex_Acuna.html Alex Acuña at Drummerworld]
* [http://www.alexacuna.net Alex Acuña Official Website]
* [http://www.zawinulfans.org/modules/sections/index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=28 Interview with Alex Acuña]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
