Barry Rogers

Barry Rogers
Image courtesy of Barry Rogers Jazz
Background information
Birth name	Barron W. Rogers
Born	(1935-05-22)May 22, 1935
Origin	The Bronx, New York, United States
Died	April 18, 1991(1991-04-18) (aged 55) Washington Heights, Manhattan, United States
Genres	Jazz, Pop, Salsa, Soul
Occupation(s)	Musician, Arranger, Producer
Instrument(s)	Trombone, Wagner tuba

Barry Rogers (May 22, 1935 - April 18, 1991) was a salsa musician and jazz fusion trombonist.

Born Barron W. Rogers in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews who came to New York City via London and was raised in Spanish Harlem. His family (original name: Rogenstein) possessed a strong musicality; his father and several of his uncles sang in the choir of notable hazzan Joseph Rosenblatt, and his mother had taught in Africa, Mexico, and elsewhere which inspired an interest in music from other nations. In addition to this foundation, the mambo and jazz genres were simply popular in the neighborhood.

As a student of the playing of jazz trombonists Jack Teagarden, Lawrence Brown and J. C. Higginbotham, Rogers began to play Latin music in the mid-1950s and would be most associated with it from then on. He developed his style working with Eddie Palmieri. Willie Colón regarded Rogers as his strongest musical influence, and would feature him in many of his productions. Bobby Valentín would feature Rogers in his classic song El Jíbaro y la Naturaleza, which lead then-singer Marvin Santiago to nickname him "El Terror de los Trombones" for the record (Rogers' trombone tone was regarded as one of the loudest in salsa music).

Rogers worked with musicians such as Palmieri, Machito, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Cheo Feliciano, Johnny Pacheco, Manny Oquendo, Chino Rodriguez, the Fania All-Stars, and many more. Although fundamentally known as a salsa trombonist, as a studio recording musician, he collaborated with jazz, soul and pop luminaries. A founding member of the jazz-rock band Dreams, which included the brothers Michael and Randy Brecker and Billy Cobham, he also performed with James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Grover Washington, Jr., Ron Carter, George Benson, Carly Simon, David Byrne, Bob James, Spyro Gyra, Bob Moses, Elton John and Don Grolnick, among others.

Rogers died of natural causes in his Washington Heights, Manhattan home at the age of 55.

Discography

With Eddie Palmieri

• La Perfecta (Alegre, 1961)
• El Molestoso (Alegre, 1962)
• Lo que Traigo es Sabroso (Alegre, 1963)
• Echando Pa'lante (Tico, 1964)
• Azúcar pa' ti (Tico, 1965)
• Mozambique (Tico, 1966)
• Molasses (Tico, 1967)
• Champagne (TIco, 1968)
• Sentido (Coco, 1973)
• The Sun of Latin Music (Coco, 1974)
• Eddie Palmieri (Música Latina, 1981)

With Dreams

• Dreams (1970)
• Imagine My Surprise (1971)

With Ron Carter

• Anything Goes (Kudu, 1975)

With Todd Rundgren

• Something/Anything? (1972)
• A Wizard, a True Star (1973)

With Lalo Schifrin

• Black Widow (CTI, 1976)

With Don Sebesky

• The Rape of El Morro (CTI, 1975)

External links

• Tribute page titled "Barry Rogers Jazz"
• Trombones Online