Alex Acuña is a prolific drummer, percussionist, composer, and bandleader who has amassed more 900 recording credits. After touring with Perez Prado during the 1960s and playing with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas in the early '70s, he became a member of Weather Report from 1975 to 1978, playing on Black Market and Heavy Weather. He has been a recording and touring sideman to a dazzling array of artists ranging from Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell to Andre Crouch and Blondie. He issued Thinking of You, his debut leader date, in 1990 followed by Rumbero's Poetry (1999) and Bongó De Van Gogh (2002) each in collaboration with Tolú and Justo Almario. He released 2009's Jungle City ‎and 2012's Barxeta leading a jazz-funk trio. After recordings with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Moby in 2021, Acuña released the solo album Gifts in 2022. He was born Alejandro Neciosup Acuña in the farming town of Pativika, Peru, 100 miles north of Lima, into a musical family. His father and five brothers were all musicians and he taught himself to play the drums at age four. He progressed quickly. He played festival shows with his family and by the time he was ten, he was playing in several local bands. He left school and moved to Lima as a teen. There, he became one of Peru's most accomplished session drummers. He recorded numerous film and television scores as well as on recordings by the region's popular artists. His reputation spread across South America, and Perez Prado hired Acuña for his touring ensemble. The young percussionist worked across the United States and later that year, emigrated to Puerto Rico. He spent the next several years touring with Prado and playing with local bands; he started a family and studied at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. There, as a classical percussionist, he served in the orchestra of Spanish cello master Pablo Casals. In 1974, Acuña and his family moved to Las Vegas. He continued working with Prado's show band, and played for Elvis Presley's Las Vegas residencies in addition to serving in backing bands and orchestras for Olivia Newton John and the Temptations. Drummer/percussionist Don Alias heard him with the latter and suggested he try playing jazz. Alias arranged an audition with Weather Report and Acuña joined that band for their 1975 tour. He moved to Los Angeles and played on the band's two most successful studio outings, Black Market and Heavy Weather, and he toured with the group until 1978. During his tenure, Weather Report backed Joni Mitchell on Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. After leaving WR, Acuña began working with guitarist Lee Ritenour, saxophonist John Klemmer, and vocal group the Manhattan Transfer, among many others. His collaboration with the guitarist lasted into the '90s, resulting in hit albums such as The Captain's Journey, Lee Ritenour in Rio, and Rit. Between 1978 and 1990, Acuña was ubiquitous in the recording studio. He played on hundreds of recordings in genres ranging from Latin, R&B, and jazz to blues, gospel, CCM, and new wave (Blondie's "The Tide Is High"). Other recording highlights from the period included appearances on Los Lobos' Will the Wolf Survive?, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book, Ute Lemper's Crimes of the Heart, and Wayne Shorter's Atlantis, but there were many more. In 1988 he was part of Roy Orbison's large musical cast for A Black and White Night Live. The drummer's debut leader date, Thinking of You, appeared in 1990. Billed to Alex Acuña & the Unknowns, it was released only in Japan and featured guest spots from Carlos Santana. There was no time to take the band on the road as Acuña was metaphorically chained to the studio. That same year he played on Dave Grusin's score for Havana, and in 1991, worked as a studio ace for Richard Thompson, Lalo Schifrin, and modern rock artists including the Meat Puppets, Crowded House, and the Cult. He also reunited with Mitchell, playing on Night Ride Home. The rest of the '90s unfolded similarly. In addition to appearances on seminal recordings such as Los Lobos' Kiko and Rodney Crowell's Life Is Messy, he worked with Joe Zawinul, Lindsey Buckingham, Tracy Chapman, Don Grusin, and Michael Franks, among numerous others. In 1999 Acuña collaborated with Tolú and Justo Almario on the Latin fusion album Rumbero's Poetry. In 2000 he issued the solo percussion set Su Acuarela De Tambores and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album." The album included varying styles of Latin, South American, and African percussion. In 2002 he re-teamed with Tolú and Almario for Bongó De Van Gogh. In 2005 he issued Latino with Abe Laboriel and Otmaro Ruiz, and No Accent with the Unknowns. The following year he appeared on Zawinul's Brown Street with Victor Bailey and the WDR Big Band. In 2009, Acuña formed a jazz -funk trio with pianist/keyboardist Jan Gunnar Hoff and bassist Per Mathisen. They issued the long-player Jungle City that year. In 2011, he appeared on albums by Seal, Vince Mendoza, and European prog metal crew Opeth. His jazz-funk trio followed with Barxeta ‎in 2012. This proved an important year, as Acuña resumed a very busy schedule that included recordings with Randy Newman, Bette Midler, Chris Botti, and Micky Dolenz. Over the next several years, the drummer/percussionist focused his efforts on film and television work. He joined composer Michael Giacchino for the recorded scores for the Star Trek films Into Darkness and Beyond; Jurassic World; Star Wars' Rogue One; Spider-Man: Homecoming; Coco; Bad Times at the El-Royale; War for the Planet of the Apes, and The Incredibles 2. In 2018 he played a key role on jazz bassist Brian Bromberg's Thicker Than Water, and on Rupert Gregson-Williams' Aquaman soundtrack. The following year he played on Harry Gregson-Williams' Mulan. In 2020 he worked on Trent Reznor's and Atticus Ross's soundtrack for Soul. The studio work across the decade allowed Acuña the luxury of teaching. He recorded four solo instructional videos and provided seminars at universities such as UCLA, Berklee School of Music, and others. In 2021, Acuña appeared on the studio recording of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's revived West Side Story, and on Lin-Manuel Miranda's and Germaine Franco's Encanto. He sat in with Gregory Porter for Still Rising, and worked with Moby's studio group on Reprise. The following year, Moby enlisted him to appear on some remix EPs, and Giacchino for the soundtrack to Spider-Man: No Way Home. In September, Acuña issued Gifts on Le Coq, his first album as a leader in 17 years. Reunited with the Unknowns -- Venezuelan keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, Peruvian guitarist Ramón Stagnaro, and Nuyorican bassist John Peña -- and a new recruit, Peruvian tenor saxophonist Lorenzo Ferrero. Their approach on the set's ten tracks ranged the stylistic gamut from funk, fusion, and soul-jazz to ambient and Latin- and Brazilian-flavored jazz. It also included covers of Zawinul's classic "Mercy Mercy Mercy" and Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap." ~ Thom Jurek

Alex Acuña

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