Standards Rican-ditioned

Standards Rican-ditioned is the last recording of legendary Puerto Rican percussionist Ray Barretto, who passed away unexpectedly on February 17, 2006. Barretto recorded Standards with an all-star ensemble of top Puerto Rican musicians in December 2005 in a fifties Blue Note-style straight-ahead blowing session, playing classic jazz standards. The band Barretto assembled for this recording features Hilton Ruiz on piano, David Sanchez on tenor sax, Papo Vazquez on trombone, John Benitez on bass, Adam Cruz on drums, and the reecording debut of Barretto's twenty-year-old son Chris Barretto on alto sax. This session was also one of the last by legendary pianist Hilton Ruiz, who passed away in June from injuries he received in an accident during a visit to New Orleans. Ray Barretto completed and approved the mixes for all but the last track, "Strange Music." Chris Barretto plays conga on this tune, and oversaw the final mixing and mastering of the recording. Standards Rican-ditioned stands as the last milestone in Ray Barretto's rich five-decade recording career, covering Latin jazz, straight-ahead jazz, and salsa in a unique Puerto Rican all-star format.