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Horacio El Negro And Robby Ameen
Biography
Few percussionist have done as much to further the marriage of jazz, rock and Cuban music as Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez. Through his work with jazz luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo and Latin rock icon Carlos Santana, Hernandez has become Afro-Cuban music's most visible drummer. Growing up in a house filled with music in Cuba, Hernandez was exposed to the traditional music his Grandfather loved, the progressive jazz sounds of his father and the American rock music his brother tuned in from nearby Miami radio stations. U.S. rock music being outlawed at the time, Hernandez was detained at the age of thirteen for being caught playing Cream covers with friends from music school. El Negro worked his way up in the Cuban recording and performance community, playing with artists like Rubalcaba, and recording better than 300 records during his time in Havana. As the resident session player for two Havana studios, he kept a mattress in one of their spare rooms, sometimes not returning home for a week or more. Having built an international reputation via his work with Rubalcaba, Hernandez defected to Italy in hopes of transitioning from there to New York.