Alberto Naranjo
| Alberto Naranjo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jorge Alberto Naranjo |
| Born |
September 14, 1941 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Origin | Venezuelan |
| Genres | Jazz, Latin genres |
| Occupation(s) | Arranger, Composer, Music director |
| Instruments | Drum kit, Percussion, Timbales |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | Integra, Roberto Obeso & Federico Pacanins |
| Associated acts | El Trabuco Venezolano |
Alberto Naranjo [nah-rahn'-ho] (born September 14, 1941) is a musician. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela. His mother, the singer Graciela Naranjo, was a radio, film and television pioneer in her homeland. Largely self-taught, Alberto embarked on a similar musical course, becoming – like his mother – one of Venezuela's icons of contemporary popular music.
In his early years, Naranjo was influenced by diverse music genres such as jazz and classical, from Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington; from Bud Powell to Thad Jones and Mel Lewis; from Béla Bartók to Claude Debussy, and specially, the music created by Tito Puente, one of the greatest all-time Latin jazz leaders. Puente revolutionised the role of the drums in stage performance, when he moved the drum kit and timbales from the back to the front of stage, highlighted it as a solo instrument, and demonstrated that a drummer can also be a gifted composer and arranger.
With Puente as his role model, Naranjo started professionally as a drummer at age 18, playing with several local dance bands including Chucho Sanoja (1963–64), Los Melódicos (1965–66) and Porfi Jiménez (1966–67). A valuable sideman as well, he was adaptable to many different styles, including bossa nova, jazz, Latin, pop and rock genres, being able to fit smoothly into the group in which he were playing. Later in the 1960s, he was focused exclusively in studio sessions becoming one of the sought after musicians in his country.
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