The flute world lost a major star this
year in March when Dave Valentin, a Grammy Award winner, passed away at the
young age of 64 from complications of a stroke. He had been dealing with the
effects of Parkinson’s disease for a number of years but had appeared to thrive
despite the debilitating effects of this ailment. I first heard and saw him, in
person, at a National Flute Association convention back in 1986 in New York City. I did not
know at the time that nearly all of us flutists had invaded his turf but he quickly
became a favorite, not only because he was a male in a female dominated instrumental
world but also because we noticed he was the most handsome flutist we had ever
seen. It was just a plus that he played like an angel in heaven. His only rival
was Ransom Wilson but Dave’s niche was jazz and he did some amazing things with
it, besides.
His manager, Richie Bonilla filled in the
gaps in my knowledge about him shortly after he passed. Born in the South Bronx
to parents who came from Puerto Rico, Dave
started in music playing conga and timbales by the time he was five. As a
teenager, he became attracted to a girl who played the flute and, to better
court her, switched instruments and taught himself to play. He went on to
become one of the pre-eminent flutists in Latin jazz. In 2003 his Grammy for
best Latin jazz album The Gathering was in collaboration
with the Caribbean Jazz Project, which also featured vibraphonist Dave Samuels.
Lauded by Jon Pareles in a New York Times
review back in 1984 he cited his sultry tone and amazing agility of technique
on the instrument as his strength in solos and always hovered around Latin and
funk rhythms or combinations of both. He’d played many instruments before
mastering jazz so his beginning was, of course, on piano by the age of nine. He
had already started to play professionally in real gigs by that time and was
considered a wunderkind all the while only receiving instructions from public
schools. He played in every collection he could- band, jazz band, orchestra and
chorus and out of seven music teachers, one-Stuart Soffer, recommended him to
the now famous High School of Music and Art in Manhattan. After graduating, he studied under
the acclaimed jazz/classical fusion flutist Hubert Laws, who became his mentor.
He also studied at Bronx Community College before becoming a music teacher and
taught seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade music for three years in the South Bronx. He told NYT in 2014, “I had a jazz band and
taught them how to play, so when they graduated they were ready.” His first
album as a headliner Legends was
released in 1979 on the GRP label, with which he had a long and fruitful
relationship as both a leader and a sideman.
I own several recordings with the GRP
label which include Jungle Garden,
Flute Juice and the ground-breaking Light Struck which was inspired and
promoted by Juan Novo who had invented the Fantasia flute- a hand-crafted flute
which incorporated modern tech as well. One song on Light Struck “Can’t Change
My Heart” included Angela Bofill’s vocals in a beautiful compliment. This album
coincided with his strong appearance at the NYC flute convention in 1986 and
put both of them in the All-Stars permanently.
In addition to releasing numerous albums
under his own name, he also recorded with singers Patti Austin and Chris Connor,
guitarist Lee Ritenour, McCoy Tyner’s Afro-Cuban All-Stars and many others. He
also toured with the well-known jazz percussionist Tito Puente and was named music
director of his Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars. After suffering a stroke in 2012,
he convalesced in a rented bungalow in the Harding
Park section of the Bronx
for a time, surviving without savings or health insurance and mostly depended on
donations, many handled by the Jazz Foundation of America.
He is survived by his brother, George and
many fans who will never forget his sound, his infectious verve and smile but
most of all his unflagging faith in Jesus who he always referred to as his Lord
and Creator in his liner notes when he dedicated his LPs. On Light Struck he wrote, “In my moments of
solitude, His light fills my spirit.”
Amen, brother !
The
Castle Lady
