Walfredo “Wally” Reyes, Jr. (sometimes stylized as Walfredo de los Reyes or Walfredo de los Reyes, Jr., born December 18, 1955) is a Cuban American expert in drum set and auxiliary percussion, a music educator, and a clinician.
He has performed with many jazz, Latin, World music, World fusion, Afro-Cuban, and rock bands as a touring, session recording, and full-time player. Reyes is known for his fusion of many of the world’s percussion techniques, including the ability to play a drum set with his hands in addition to the traditional use of drumsticks, whereby it is said that he can “sound like a drummer and a percussionist at the same time”.
He is well known for having been a long-term member of Santana, and for being the newest member of Chicago.
Walfredo Reyes, Jr. was born on December 18, 1955 in Havana, Cuba. His native name of Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV is a traditional Cuban combination of his paternal and maternal surnames. However, in his professional career, his name has taken on the Americanized truncation of Walfredo Reyes, Jr. He is a third generation musician in a prolific professional musical lineage on both sides of his family, including several globally notable percussion experts.
His father is percussion expert, Walfredo Reyes, Sr.; one brother is World music percussion expert Daniel de los Reyes; another brother is actor Kamar de los Reyes; and, his grandfather is trumpeter and Cuban orchestral organizer, Walfredo de los Reyes II. Coincidentally, his father had been professionally credited by the same name, Walfredo Reyes, Jr., for his own percussion work throughout the 1940s to 1960s, in order to differentiate himself from his own father.
To characterize his intense familial roots in the musical arts, Reyes jokes, “I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but they wouldn’t let me.”
Reyes has had a lifelong interest in the music of Chicago Transit Authority, now known as Chicago. He says that their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, was the first album that he had ever purchased as a youth with his own money.
CAREER.
Leading up to his present role with Chicago, Reyes had had a connection with the band as a lifelong fan of Chicago, as a long-time friend of and collaborator with Chicago’s drummer Tris Imboden, :47 and as brother of Chicago’s former auxiliary percussionist Daniel de los Reyes.
Reyes has globally toured or recorded with many major groups, including the following:
1983—1984 Tania Maria
1985—1988 David Lindley’s El Rayo X
1988 Jackson Browne
1988 Jimmy Barnes
1989—1993 Santana
1992 Boz Scaggs
1993 Gloria Estefan
1994 Traffic
1995 Robbie Robertson
1997—2004 Steve Winwood
1998—1999 Joe Sample
2000 Johnny Hallyday
2005 Khaled
2007—2011 Lindsey Buckingham
2008 Mickey Hart
2010—2012 El Chicano
2012—present Chicago
DISCOGRAPHY.
1986 Jackson Browne Lives in the Balance-conductor, conga, drum set.
1993 Santana Sacred Fire: Live in South America-member
1995 Frank Gambale Thinking Out Loud-percussion
2000 Johnny Hallyday 100% Johnny Live a la tour Eiffel
2000 Johnny Hallyday Olympia 2000 – Live a l’Olympia
2009 Thomas Lorenzo Quartet Spanish Breeze member
2012 Manny Charlton Band Hellacious member
2014 Chicago Chicago XXXVI: Now Member, percussion
VIDEOGRAPHY.
1981 Pippin: His Life and Times-Soundtrack musician, uncredited .
1993 Santana: Sacred Fire, Live in Mexico-Santana member
2000 100% Johnny Live a la tour Eiffel-Johnny Hallyday
2000 Olympia 2000 – Live a l’Olympia Johnny Hallyday
2003 The Studio Percussionist, Vol. 1-Michael McFall; Dave Witham;
Walfredo de los Reyes;Larry Klimas; John Peña.
2005 The Last Great Traffic Jam-Traffic
2005 Sound Stage featuring Steve Winwood-Steve Winwood member
2005 Global Beats for Drumset & Percussion-Walfredo Reyes, Jr.
INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS.
2011 Songs from the Small Machine Lindsey Buckingham Drums
2011 The Road Divides Carl Verheyen Band Drums, percussion
2014 Killer B3 Interviewee, drum set.
Agencies/Various/Wiki/InternetPhotos/youtube/thecubanhistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.