Steve Kroon was born in Spanish Harlem to parents who had moved to New York City from their native Puerto Rico. His surname comes from his grandfather, who emigrated to La Isla Encantada from the Dutch-speaking Caribbean island of Curaçao. At the age of nine, the family moved to Queens, where the youngster’s interest in music was further sparked by the presence of many noted jazz and R&B musicians. “In my neighborhood,” he recalls today, “I had Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis as a neighbor, and Lester Young was four blocks away. James Brown also lived in the area. But I came with all of my Latin roots, thanks to my father. I was fortunate in being able to hear the whole spectrum of music.”
He studied Afro-Cuban percussion with Tommy López, Sr. and later Brazilian rhythms with Dom Um Romão. With such a wealth of knowledge under his belt, it’s not surprising that Kroon quickly became a first-call percussionist for recording sessions that required a wide range of talents. Over the years, such diverse artists as Diana Krall, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, The Temptations, Bill Cosby, Kenny G, Ron Carter, Spyro Gyra, Bette Midler, Gary Bartz and Paul Butterfield have tapped Kroon’s seemingly endless array of skills for their projects. His two decade-long professional association with R&B crooner Luther Vandross underscores Kroon’s reputation as one of the world’s most versatile and respected percussionists.
After three decades of lending his remarkable percussive skills to dozens of the most popular pop music, R&B and jazz artists of our time as a key participant on hundreds of recordings and in concert settings around the world, Steve Kroon returns to the sultry Latin jazz style he grew up with. El Mas Alla, released on his own Kroon-A-Tune Records label, is a joyous homecoming for the master percussionist. It’s also a refreshing and much-needed reminder of the enduring qualities of the bedrock style of Latin jazz that has captivated fans for over half a century. And it’s a heartfelt tribute to some of the icons of the genre whose music and friendship have been part of Kroon’s artistic development since he first began to experiment with Latin percussion as a kid.
Kroon chose the title El Mas Alla for a simple but highly symbolic reason. “It means ‘Beyond,’” he explains, “but also refers to when a person transcends to another existence. In recent years, Mongo Santamaria, Patato Valdés, Ray Barretto, Don Alias and so many of the greats of the Latin percussion world had all passed away. So, I thought that the album could be part of giving something back to these great artists, who in many ways are my music ancestors.” “My time with Luther was great,” Kroon says today, “but when it came time to do my own thing, I was always knew that it was going to be Latin jazz, because that’s where my heart is.” El Mas Alla is loaded with the kind of instantly-likeable, melodically attractive and rhythmically intriguing performances that once made Latin jazz the kind of music a diverse audience could groove to.
Steve currently tours with his sextet: Igor Atalita, Keyboard, Bryon Carrott, Vibraphone, Craig Rivers, Flute and Sax, Donald Nicks, bass, Deigo Lopez, Drums.
|
|
