Tito Puente Jr. brings blast of Latin jazz to Georgia Tech

Tito Puente Jr. and his 11-piece orchestra will bring mambo, rumba, cha-cha and big-band swing to Georgia Tech's Ferst Center on Friday, Sept. 25, but he would prefer that you not call his music "salsa."

“Salsa is what you put your corn chips in,” said the percussionist and band leader.

Puente's father, Tito Puente, "El Rey de los Timbales," one of the best-known stars of Latin music in the U.S. and writer of the hit "Oye Como Va," felt the same way about the term "salsa" and preferred to call his music jazz, with a Latin feel.

As a child, the son wasn’t necessarily enthralled with “son Cubano,” and remembers falling asleep backstage on one tour after another. As a teen, he liked playing drums to tunes by Metallica, Slayer and other heavy metal, rather than to the music of Machito.

Not a great student, the son spent more time at the fraternity house than the library, and was invited to leave college. “Then, hey,” he said, “I got serious.”

Puente Jr. began touring with his father and fell in love with Latin music. Puente Sr. died in 2000 of a heart attack. Now the 44-year-old son is on a mission to bring his father’s music to the world, music that vibrates at the intersection of big-band jazz and Latin rhythms.

To do that music justice, you can’t skimp on the horns: Puente’s orchestra includes baritone, tenor and alto sax, one or two trombones and two trumpets. (“That’s something that’s lacking today,” he notes. “They don’t have that power of the brass section.”)

A five-piece rhythm section, with conga, timbales, bass, piano and trap set, completes the ensemble. The music is timeless, but there was a time in the 1950s, the "I Love Lucy" era, when Latin music permeated popular culture.

“I’m going to take you on time travel, back to the 1950s,” Puente said.

The Ferst Center is reserving some seats in row AA for those who feel the urge to dance, and the chances of that urge bubbling up are good.

“It is hard to be sitting down when you hear this music,” Puente said. “It is built for that, made for that.”

Much of his audience will be familiar with the different rhythms of Latin music, but he will offer a brief tutorial during the show, to tell the history of each style.

“I’m going to try to teach everybody mambo music,” he said. “I’m going to tell you about guaguancó, cha-cha, and rumba. It’s nice. You feel it more when I’m telling you what the rhythm is going to be like. You say, ‘I can dance to this one. That one’s a little too fast for me.’”