Francisco Aguabella - IBAE

Sadly I have heard the news that Francisco Aguabella passed away today, Friday May 7, 2010

Francisco Aguabella was a personal favorite of mine. As a musician he could do it all. Afrocuban Folklore, Rumba, Bata, Jazz, Latin Jazz, Salsa, etc. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to see him perform. A look at my music library shows an extensive collection of his works.

Francisco Aguabella:

• Agua de Cuba
• Cantos a los Orishas
• Cubacan
• H2O
• Hitting Hard
• Ochimini

Francisco Aguabella y Su Grupo Orishas

• Bembe y Afrocuban Music

Not to mention the several albums he  played on for Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente among others.

My favorite quote regarding Francisco comes from Dizzy Gillespie:

"Aguabella is the John Coltrane of the Conga Drums.” -- Dizzy Gillespie

 I was fortunate to see Aguabella play at Yoshi's on Filmore a couple of years back. An incredible show. The pictures in this post are from that show. I remember something Francisco said that night, which made me very happy

"Now I live in L.A., but San Francisco, is my city!"

We'll miss you terribly Francisco. Thanks for all the great music.