Walfredo Reyes Jr. | |
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Background information | |
Native name | Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV |
Born |
Havana, Cuba |
December 18, 1955
Genres | Jazz, Latin, World music, World fusion, Afro-Cuban, and Rock |
Occupation(s) |
session and full-time musician; music educator and clinician |
Years active | 1974 | –present
Associated acts | Chicago, Santana, Traffic |
Website |
Personal site YouTube channel Profile at Chicago |
Notable instruments | |
Auxiliary percussion, Drum set |
Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV (born December 18, 1955), known as Walfredo Reyes Jr., is a Cuban American expert in drum set and auxiliary percussion, a music educator, and a clinician. He has performed with many jazz, Latin, World music, World fusion, Afro-Cuban, and rock bands as a touring, session recording, and full-time player. Reyes is known for his fusion of many of the world's percussion techniques, including the ability to play a drum set with his hands in addition to the traditional use of drumsticks, whereby it is said that he can "sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time". He is well known for having been a long-term member of Santana, and a current member of Chicago. He is also the title character of the Phish song "Walfredo".
Walfredo Reyes Jr. was born on December 18, 1955 in Havana, Cuba. His native name of Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV is a traditional Cuban combination of his paternal and maternal surnames. His professional name is the Americanized truncation of Walfredo Reyes Jr. He is a third generation musician in a prolific professional musical lineage on both sides of his family, including several globally notable percussion experts.
His father is percussion expert, Walfredo Reyes, Sr.; one brother is World music percussion expert Daniel de los Reyes; another brother is actor Kamar de los Reyes; and, his grandfather is trumpeter and Cuban orchestral organizer, Walfredo de los Reyes II. Coincidentally, his father had been professionally credited by the same name, Walfredo Reyes Jr., for his own percussion work throughout the 1940s to 1960s, to differentiate himself from his own father.