Johnny Pacheco, an idol in the world of salsa and co – founder of Fania Records, a fan of many music stars, died Monday at the age of 85.
Grammy-winning pianist Eddie Palmieri had been in hospital for pneumonia for a few days in New York, according to a Facebook post written by her husband, Maria Elena “Cuqui” Pacheco.
Friends and colleagues praised his career and personality.
He was “the man most responsible for the genre of salsa music. He was a visionary and his music will live on forever, ”he tweeted on Fania Records.
“Pacheco leaves us with an important musical legacy, represented by all the collaborations he has made during his illustrious career,” Ruben Blades, one of Pacheco’s rising music stars, wrote to the media his social.
Singer Marc Anthony lamented the death of Pacheco’s “good friend and maestro maestro”. “Your humor was contagious and I am forever grateful for your support, for the opportunity to be present and for a wonderful legacy for you,” wrote Anthony.
On March 25, 1935, Pacheco was born into a family of musicians in the Dominican Republic. In the 1940s, the family moved to New York, where he began his musical journey. Self-taught Pacheco successfully matched accordion, violin, saxophone and clarinet, and studied Julliard’s percussion.
Along with Palmieri on piano, Barry Rogers on trombone and other musicians who are now famous in the world of salsa, such as Al Santiago, Mike Collazo and Ray Santos, Pacheco created The Chuchulecos Boys in 1954.
In 1963, Pacheco set Fania records with his partner, lawyer Jerry Masucci, a major milestone in his career.
Pacheco was a musical director, composer, arranger and producer overseeing the label’s musical genre now known as salsa – a mix of Cuban mambo, guaracha and chachachá, Puerto Rican rhythms and Dominican meringue.
Pacheco won many awards, including the Latin Recording Academy Musical Excellence Award in 2005 and was nominated for numerous Grammys and Latin Grammys.
President and Head of the Latin Recording Academy Gabriel Abaroa Jr. said. “His music and legacy will last forever and inspire music creators around the world.”