Official biography published on social media (December 12, 2016).
Marc Quiñones is an American percussionist, a longtime player in salsa music, and a member of the Southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band.
Born in The Bronx, New York Dic !8,The began playing drums and congas at the age of three and was playing professionally at the age of nine. In his youth he played timbale with Latin music stars such as Tito Puente and co-founded a group named Los Rumberitos. At the age of 17 he joined the salsa music band of Rafael de Jesus. He then graduated from high school.
After a chance meeting with Butch Trucks in 1991, he was recruited to join The Allman Brothers Band. There he plays alongside drummers Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson: the general pattern is that Trucks is the timekeeper, Johanson adds colors, and Quiñones establishes rhythms that the guitarists can play against.
When the Allmans are not active, Quiñones plays with various salsa bands and works as a session musician for albums (such as Marc Anthony's 2001 Libre), television soundtracks, and commercials.
.Boert Bobby Allende
Born and raised in New York City, Bobby's foundation in Afro-Cuban Percussion commenced at the age of three. With the patient and constant guidance of his Uncles Angel Allende and Papiro Allende (well-respected musicians) Bobby embarked on a journey that has taken him around the world twice over. His dedication to his craft and spirited personality has earned him the respect of some of the top names in the industry and the endorsements of Latin Percussion, Vic Firth, Zildjian and many others.
His performances with Buddy Rich on the Mike Douglas Show (age 7) and with Julio Iglesias at Madison Square Garden (age 10) helped open the doors of opportunity. At a performance at Madison Square Garden the legendary Tito Puente invited Bobby to perform alongside him. Thus, the formation of the juvenile group the "Rumberito All Stars" was born. The group continued to be the opening act for Tito Puente through 1980 and allowed Bobby to refine his craft under the supervision of a legend.
Bobby moved on to work with and tour with many other Latin musicians such as Hector Lavoe, Jose Alberto "El Canario", RMM All Stars and Ruben Blades among an extensive list of many others. Later, he became the Musical Director for Willie Colon, Marc Anthony and La India.
Bobby's expertise does not only limit him to the Latin Music Industry but has given him the opportunity to work with the likes of David Byrne, Grover Washington, Jr., Rodney Jones, Spyro Gyra and Marion Meadows.
His versatility with Latin rhythms did not escape the sights of Paul Simon and earned him a place in the orchestra for the Broadway musical "The Capeman." It also afforded him the opportunity to continue his working relationship with Salsa/Pop performer Marc Anthony. Bobby is currently the percussionist for Marc Anthony's Salsa band and Pop band.
Bobby is frequently called upon as a Musical Consultant to audition and hire musicians, rehearse and create set lists for new artists. His strong musical background and almost 30 years in the entertainment business have successfully allowed him a natural progression into this role.
Discography:
Marc Anthony
Mended (2002)
Percussion
Marc Anthony
Libre (2001)
Percussion
J.Lo
J.Lo (2000)
Percussion
Africando
Gombo Salsa (1996)
Bongos
Africando
Balboa (1998)
Bongos
Jose Alberto
Llego La Hora (1992)
Conga
Marc Anthony
Todo a Su Tiempo (1995)
Percussion
Marc Anthony
I Need to Know [CD Single]
Percussion
Miles Peña
Mis Ideas (1998)
Percussion, Bongos, Congas
Domingo Quiñones
Poeta Y Guerrero (2000)
Percussion
Danny Rivera
Tiempo Al Tiempo (1992)
Percussion
Robi Rosa
Frio (1994)
Congas
Safire
Atrevida (1996)
Percussion
Ray Sepulveda
Un Poquito Mas (1991)
Bongos
Paul Simon
Songs from the Capeman (1997)
Bongos, Cymbals, Bell Tree
Candi Sosa Cuba
Mi Corazon Te Llama (1994)
Bongos, Maraccas, Bells, Campana
Spyro Gyra
20/20 (1997)
Congas
Michael Stuart
Retratos (1998)
Bongos, Congas
Yomo Toro
Celebremos Navidad (1996)
Congas
Little Louie & Marc Anthony
When the Night Is Over (1991)
Congas
Grover Washington, Jr.
Next Exit (1992)
Percussion
Orlando Watussi
Como Nunca (1993)
Congas
Original Soundtrack
Blue in the Face [Luaka Bop] (1995)
Bongos, Congas, Timbales
Various Artists
Familia Rmm En Vivo (1994)
Congas
Various Artists
Best of Ellipsis Arts: Planet Soup (1995)
Bongos
Various Artists
Queen En Espanol: Tributo a Queen (1996)
Percussion
Various Artists
Familia RMM: Combinacion Perfecta (1996)
Bongos, Congas
Various Artists
Familia RMM Recordando a Selena (1996)
Bongos, Congas
Various Artists
Salsa Explosion (1996)
Congas
Various Artists
Divine Divas: A World of Women's... (1997)
Bongos
Various Artists
Tributo a Queen: Los Grandes del... (1997)
Percussion
Various Artists
Summer Solstice, Vol. 2 (1998)
Congas
Various Artists
2000 Latin Grammy Nominees (2000)
Percussion
More biographical information.
When it comes to dreams, Marc Quiñones is loath to voice them. In fact, after nearly two decades of success he's still in awe that he was able to become a professional in the music industry simply because he played Latin music. "I always knew I wanted to be a musician, but I never thought it would be possible for me to be a professional one. Fortunately, I'm being proven wrong-and I hope I continue to be proven wrong for the rest of my musical career." Marc adds that while he doesn't take his success for granted, he also has never looked back since 1982 when he traded working nine-to-five for the exciting, erratic world of the music industry.
Born in the Bronx, Marc Quiñones began playing drums when he was three years old. "My father and uncle played, so there were always drums in the house. I guess it was only natural that I began playing the conga." He was nine years old when he landed one of his first professional gigs-playing in a Latin opera at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Shortly after, he started performing with Tito Puente, who introduced him to Bobby and Tito Allende, and Jose Jusino. The foursome put together a group called Los Rumberitos and did shows with Puente's band for the next four years.
"I grew up listening to Tito's music, so playing side-by-side with him was amazing for me as a kid. The highlight of my career was being invited to play timbale on his one-hundredth record, which is a milestone in itself. Tito has always been my idol. He's an amazing person and an amazing musician who's still going strong."
Following Los Rumberitos, Marc Quiñones began doing gigs around New York with local Latin groups. At age 17, he hooked up with Rafael de Jesus and for the first time began performing with a well-known salsa band. "Rafael put me on his first solo production, which was another career highlight because I was able to work with [composer and musical director] Jose Febles and Papo Pepin, who I grew up trying to emulate on the congas."
Music is Music Shortly after graduating high school and entering the work force full-time, Marc got the call that would change the course of his life.. He was asked to fill in on congas in a rehearsal with Willie Colon, who was so impressed with Marc's ability to sight-read music that he kept him in the band. During his five years with Colon, Marc worked his way through the band, playing every percussion instrument in turn. During the last two years, he was musical director and co-producer of one of Colon's records.
A two-year stint playing jazz festivals with Ruben Blades followed before Marc Quiñones got his first taste of performing in the rock arena. More importantly, it was his first taste of being "managed." "I recorded a Latin-style record with David Byrne from Talking Heads, who took the show on the road for a year," recalls Marc. "With 17 Latin musicians, it was a traveling circus." However, Marc says he was amazed that Byrne was able to avoid the insanity simply by having management deal with any issues concerning the band. "Production assistants and a road crew handled stage and sound setups, took care of any problems, and made sure the musicians got to gigs on time-even if it meant carrying someone right out of their bed and onto a bus or plane. This was my first introduction to that side of music."
As it turned out, the eye-opening experience of being managed in a rock band as opposed to the "craziness" of playing with unmanaged musicians proved to a pleasant change of pace for Marc. He moved on to join Spyro Gyra in 1989, this time enjoying the organized atmosphere of jazz.
"Basically, music is music. But things are run efficiently in jazz and rock, and I enjoy having everything in order. On the other hand, while salsa is disorganized in nature, the music is grooving--which makes it a pleasure to be there as well."
Marc Quiñones' positive experience in the rock and roll arena compelled him to accept a job with the Allman Brothers Band after a chance meeting with Butch Trucks in 1991. "After watching me perform one night with Spyro Gyra, Butch came backstage and told management he was going to steal me from the band. Two months later, everything kind of fell into place."
Marc's Latin roots help him bring an unusual sound to the band. "I'm not really changing any sounds," he stresses, "but rather I'm adapting the salsa I learned as a kid to fit with the band's rock music." For example, he will adapt a salsa tumbao into a rock and roll setting, which makes the sound a little more swinging. In some tunes, he will play six-eight rhythms, which fit with the three-four pattern of the rest of the band without any modification.
Marc Quiñones is one of three percussionist drummers in the band. He explains his role is to establish a rhythm that the guitarist can play off. "It's not like a salsa band, which has a three-man percussion team and everybody is playing. I find a little niche between Butch, who's the timekeeper, and Jaimoe, who's the colorist. Occasionally, Jaimoe will let me play drums, but I'm a frustrated drummer."
Another source of frustration, according to Marc, is the unfortunate fact that Latin musicians must go outside of their realm to earn a living. "You can't make a living playing salsa music. Aside from the disorganization, the big names are keeping all the money."
Marc Quiñones says he's lucky his career has taken him this far, "because playing Latin music doesn't lend itself to making someone successful unless you're a Tito Puente, a Willie Colon, or a Ruben Blades. If you're not the main focus, if you're just the sideman, you're not going to be able to survive. You would have to play as a hobby."
Turning Dreams Into Reality Luckily, there is a growing use of Latin percussion instruments in music other than salsa. "Latin players need to get into playing toys and branching out a little. I'm one of the fortunate ones-I was able to branch out and have some degree of success." This "degree of success" includes performing 50 concerts plus 15 straight sold-out nights with the Allman Brothers in the last year alone. When he's not touring with the band, he's recording music with other Latin bands. Marc also recently recorded music for five episodes of the HBO series "Sex in the City," as well as recorded jingles for Folgers coffee.
Marc Quiñones attributes his steady work to two factors: the guaranteed quality of his musical contribution, and his ability to sight-read music. "I always recommend that percussionists learn to read music if they want to enhance their career. If they can read and get a job done quickly and efficiently, they're going to work." He adds that his ability to read music often lands him recording work in which he plays several parts. "Because I can read music, it's quicker and easier for me to do all three percussionist parts than to have one percussionist who reads and two who don't."
Marc Quiñones laments, however, that there is a general lack of work for musicians that he blames on economics. "Because of financial matters, there is a real struggle to keep clubs open and filled with people, especially in New York City where rents are extremely high," he says. "In my belief, we've lost a lot of good clubs, like the Village Gate, because people are more interested in making a quick buck than in investing the time and money it takes to start a club. At this point, I think there are more bands than clubs, so new talent is just falling by the wayside."
He also notes that there are too many musicians who do recordings for whatever price is being offered. "Musicians are shortchanging themselves. If you've worked hard at your craft, you should be paid appropriately for your talent. In that regard, I think Bobby [Allende] and I have raised the standard for musicians when it comes to recording and playing live gigs. A salsa gig back when I was coming up would pay $40 to play from midnight to four in the morning. That's ridiculous, and some people are trying to get away with that now."
Marc Quiñones' credo is to always put 110 percent of his effort into any job, and not only give quality work but also ensure that all accompanying music melds with his rhythm. "If someone hires me for a performance, I try to make their music, their dream, come to reality. I don't just play a part. I try to work things out to make the music better."
Marc Quiñones says the payback for his effort comes from musicians and other people who approach him to tell him they're fans of his playing. "My reward is that my name, my playing, and my reputation are solid as far as music is concerned."
Marc Quiñones has performed with Africando, Bobby Allende, Tito Allen, Herp Alpert, Marc Anthony, Jim Beard, Ruben Blades, Milton Cardona, Ray Colon, Willie Colon, Jose Feblez, Frogwings, Sergio George, Isidro Infante, Ite Jerez, Lewis Kahn, Joe King, Luis Lopez, John Patitucci, Papo Pepin, Leopoldo Pineda, Rubén Rodríguez, Reuben Rodriguez, Johnny Rivera, Los Rumberitos, Nestor Sanchez, Ray Sepulveda, Johnny Torres, and Kurt Upper among others.
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Steve Smith
