Jay Puente | SoultoneCymbals.com

Jay Puente

Jay Puente

Emilio “Jay” Puente was born on June 12, 1958, in East Chicago, IN. At the age of four, he began playing percussion with a set of bongos and maracas that were given to him by his father Emilio.

During his school years, he taught himself the rhythms of different music genres, while playing with records by Cachao, Noro Morales, Machito, and what he heard on the radio. While in high school, he took courses in chart arranging and was part of the high school band, playing the upright base for four years. It was during those years, that he studied classical & jazz. At the age of thirteen, he landed his first gig with a Chicago based R&B band called, “Peace”.

Over the last thirty-five years, Jay developed and fine tuned his talent which earned him the opportunity to share numerous stages with such known artists as: “La Lupe”, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jeff Loeber, Karen Briggs, Pamela Williams, Alex Acua, Abraham Laboriel, Gumbi Ortiz, Miguelito Valdez, Justo Betancourt, Jeff Kashiwa, Cece Winans, Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz, Jessy J., Samuel Hernandez, Lannie Battistini, Jeff Morales, Jose “Papo” Rivera, Piro Romero, Tito Rojas, Celso Clemente, Rie Akagi and Nate Najar. It was during these years that he mastered his musical abilities. He also studied percussion techniques with celebrated drummer, Ramon Lopez and Legendary Conga player, Giovanni Hidalgo.

Jay is proficient in his chart arranging and performance in the following music genres: Funk, R&B, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, Latin Jazz, Gospel, Contemporary Christian, Alternative, Reggeton, Latin Pop, Southern Gospel, Merengue, Samba and Salsa. He has also recorded over twenty-one albums, including his own album, “Jesucristo.com.” In which, makes Jay a complete Latin Percussionist.

Since 2004, he has been on tour with Billboard artist and Blue Note recording artist, Eric Darius. His travels have taken him all over the USA, South America and Asia. Even with all his travels, he has still found time to record three more albums which will be released in the coming year.

Currently, Jay resides in the Tampa Bay area with his wife and when not on tour, he is a dedicated Music and Youth Pastor at Tampa First Hispanic Church of the Nazarene.

Jay's timeline: http://www.jaypuenteproject.com/biography/timeline/

My Soultone Set: 

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