Early life and career Barreto was born in
Havana on August 11, 1929. His father was Primo Barreto, a clarinetist who taught music to all of his children: Lita, Josefina, Estela, Alejandro "Coco", Roberto "Bobby", and Guillermo. As a young man, Guillermo became a skilled interpreter of Cuban
pailas. In the 1940s, he was part of several
big bands: the
Cabaret Tropicana resident orchestra (directed by
Obdulio Morales), the Sans Souci resident orchestra (directed by Rafael Ortega) and
Armando Romeu González's orchestra. Soon he was playing his own arrangements and compositions. Between 1943 and 1946, he studied piano under the supervision of Rafael Ortega. This
swing background would allow him to take his music into the realm of
Afro-Cuban jazz as part of the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna, which he founded in 1958 alongside
Frank Emilio Flynn. He was so highly regarded that during a visit to Cuba by
Stan Kenton's orchestra, Guillermo replaced an ill
Buddy Rich for one night's performance.
Descarga and Afro-Cuban jazz Inspired by bop drummers like
Max Roach and
Roy Haynes, by the early 1950s, Guillermo would organize the Sunday afternoon jam sessions (known as
descargas) at the legendary
Cabaret Tropicana (featuring stars such as
Bebo Valdés), often doing the
transcription necessary to explain American jazz music to his bandmates to play. He played in
Cachao's famous 1957 sessions, and in 1959 the first Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna LP came out under the name
Grupo Cubano de Música Moderna. By the early 1960s, he was amongst the most prolific drummers in the Cuban jazz scene, playing with the likes of
Chucho Valdés,
Fernando Mulens,
Peruchín and, since 1967, the all-star big band known as
Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. would later evolve into Los Amigos in the 1980s. The band would include guest musicians such as Miguel O'Farrill and Elio Valdés, and they backed singer
Merceditas Valdés, Barreto's wife since the late 1950s. Friends with another younger Cuban drummer,
Hilario Durán, (Hilario worked with Guillermo in the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna) in 1991, he introduced Hilario to the Canadian flautist
Jane Bunnett. Both men then went on to appear on her famous Afro-Cuban recording
Spirits of Havana.
Death On December 14, 1991, two months after the recording of
Spirits of Havana, Barreto died in his hometown, Havana. Barreto has been considered a notable influence by many Cuban drummers such as
Conrado "Coky" García. == Discography ==