{{Short description|Puerto Rican jazz musician (born 1950)}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | name = Nicholas Jr. "Nicky" Marrero | image = | caption = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_date = {{Birth date|1950|6|17}} | birth_place = Bronx, New York City | genre = Afro-Latin jazz, salsa, son cubano, boogaloo, pachanga | occupation = Musician | instrument = Timbales, drums, percussion | years_active = 1967-present | label = {{flatlist| *Tico *Fania *HighNote Records *NYPRMusic, Coco Records *Timeless Records *Columbia Records }} | associated_acts = {{hlist|Fania All-Stars|Típica 73|Ray Barretto}} }}
'''Nicky Marrero''' (born June 17, 1950, in the Bronx, New York City)<ref>{{Cite book |title= A People's Guide to New York City |last1= Muñoz |first1=C. B. |last2=Lewis |first2= P. |last3= Molina |first3=E. T. |year=2022 |publisher= University of California Press |location=Jackson |isbn= 9780520289574 }}</ref> is an American Latin jazz percussionist, of Puerto Rican descent best known as the timbale player in The Fania Allstars<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=February 18, 2021 |title=All In The Mars Volta Familia |url=https://drummagazine.com/all-in-the-mars-volta-familia/ |access-date=October 30, 2022 |publisher=Drum Week Newsletter}}</ref> and as a recording artist during the 1970s salsa boom in New York.
==Early career== Nicolas "Nicky" Marrero, was born in the Bronx, New York on June 17, 1950. Better known as the wonderful timbalero Nicky Marrero, he began playing professionally at the age of 15 with ''Orchesta Caribe''. Thereafter, he was asked by Willie Colon to join his band where he recorded “Jazzy” on the "El Malo" album.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Kusama-Hinte, Jeffery (director) | date=2009 | title= Soul power (Director's Statement) | type=Motion picture | location=USA | publisher= Mongrel Media | URL= http://cdn.filmtrackonline.com.s3.amazonaws.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2Fe1%2Fe1eb1fdd-a1e9-4d1e-a302-77355897ed98.pdf | pages= 36–37}}</ref>
From 1965 – 1971 he performed with Eddie Palmieri's band.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Salsa Rising: New York Latin Music of the Sixties Generation |last= Flores |first= J. |year=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0199764907 |page=221 }}</ref> In 1968 he recorded the LP ''Champagne'' with Eddie Palmieri and His Orchestra, published by the label Tico Records. In 1970 he recorded the LP ''Harlem River Drive'' with Palmieri who brought together other Latin Jazz artists Victor Vinegas, Andy Gonzales, Ronnie Cuber along with African American Funk all-stars Jermey Jemmott and Bernard Purdie.<ref>{{cite news| last= Muhamad | first= Suraya| date= December 9, 2016| title= 'Harlem River Drive' Revisited With Eddie Palmieri|publisher= NPR| url= https://www.npr.org/2016/12/09/504712369/harlem-river-drive-revisited-with-eddie-palmieri| access-date= October 29, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Ratliff | first=B. | date =May 22, 2016 | title = Review: Eddie Palmieri Reprises a Tantalizing 'Harlem River Drive'| work = The New York Times| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/arts/music/review-eddie-palmieri-reprises-a-tantalizing-harlem-river-drive.html | access-date= October 30, 2022}}</ref>"The results of this experiment [were] a deeply funky and socially conscious album, addressing issues of poverty and unemployment and general conditions of ghetto living."<ref>{{Cite book |title= Chocolate Surrealism: Music, Movement, Memory, and History in the Circum-Caribbean | last= Njoroge |first=N. | year=2016 |publisher= University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson |isbn= 9781496830777 |page=131}}</ref> He has also performed and recorded with the Larry Harlow's orchestra from 1971 to 1973.
In 1974 he was asked by Jerry Masucci to join the Fania All-Stars, replacing Orestes Vilató where he would record Fania's greatest hits and tour the world.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Latin Scene |magazine=Billboard |volume=86 |issue=33|location=Los Angeles |date= August 17, 1974}}</ref>
==Later career== He has performed and record with many artists, including Tito Puente, Machito, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz, Celia Cruz, Orchesta Broadway, Joe Cuba, La Plata Sextet, Charanga America, Chito Velez, Ismael Miranda and Hector Lavoe, Dizzy Gillespie,<ref>{{Cite book |title= Vibrations: A Memoir |last= Amram |first=D. | year=1999 |publisher= Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-1594515835 |page=490 }}</ref> Manhattan Transfer, Esther Williams, Paul Simon, Spyro Gyra, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Farrell, Esther Phillips, Carlos and Jorge Santana, Jerry Gonzales, and Jorge Dalto.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Kusama-Hinte, Jeffery (director) | date=2009 | title= Soul power (Director's Statement) | type=Motion picture | location=USA | publisher= Mongrel Media | URL= http://cdn.filmtrackonline.com.s3.amazonaws.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2Fe1%2Fe1eb1fdd-a1e9-4d1e-a302-77355897ed98.pdf | pages= 36–37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States |last=Roberts |first=J.S. | year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780195121018 |page=211 }}</ref> He has also performed with Nelson Gonzalez, Jimmy Bosch, Willie Rodriguez, David Amram, Steely Dan, Bill Withers, Airto and Flora Moreira, Wynton Marsalis, Chico O'Farrill, Billy Cobham, Stevie Wonder, Manu Dibango, Average White Band, George Benson, and Xavier Cugat. He was also a member of Típica 73 He has also taught Latin percussion and music theory throughout New York City and abroad.<ref>{{Cite book |title= New York and the International Sound of Latin Music, 1940-1990 |last= Benjamin |first=L. | year=2020 |publisher= University Press of Mississippi |location=New York |isbn=9781496831323}}</ref> During the early 1990s, he taught at The Conservatory of Rotterdam in Holland; recorded and performed with Conexion Latina and Nueva Manteca. After returning to New York, he began performing with Larry Harlow and the "Fania" Latin Legends Band.<ref>{{Cite book |title= !Musica!: Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, & More: The Rhythm of Latin America |last= Steward |first=S. | year=1999 |publisher= Diane Pub Co |location=San Francisco |isbn=1422364666 |page=62 }}</ref> In 2008 he recorded a concert called "Live at Willie's Steak House" with Willie Rodriguez, Andy Gonzalez, Roland Guerrero and Richy Mely.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Kusama-Hinte, Jeffery (director) | date=2009 | title= Soul power (Director's Statement) | type=Motion picture | location=USA | publisher= Mongrel Media | URL= http://cdn.filmtrackonline.com.s3.amazonaws.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2Fe1%2Fe1eb1fdd-a1e9-4d1e-a302-77355897ed98.pdf | pages= 36–37}}</ref>
==Discography== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''El Malo'' (Fania, 1968) * ''The Hustler'' (Fania, 1968) * ''Champagne'' (1968, Tico Records) * ''Live at the Red Garter Vol.1 · 1968'' (Fania, 1968) * ''Live at the Red Garter Vol.2 · 1968'' (Fania, 1968) * ''Live at the Cheetah, Volume 1 · 1971'' (Fania, 1971) * ''Live at the Cheetah, Volume 2 · 1971'' (Fania, 1971) * ''Our Latin Thing (40th Anniversary Limited Edition) · 1971'' (Fania, 1971) * ''Salsa · 1974'' (Fania, 1974) * ''Salsa (Original Soundtrack Recording) · 1976'' (Fania, 1974) * ''Live In Africa · 1976'' (Fania, 1976) * ''Delicate & Jumpy · 1976'' (Columbia, 1976) * ''Rhythm Machine · 1977'' (Columbia Records, 1977) * ''En Orbita'' (Fania, 1977) * ''Spanish Fever'' (Columbia Records, 1978) * ''Habana Jam · 1979'' (Fania, 1979) * ''Cross Over · 1979'' (Fania, 1979) * ''Commitment · 1980'' (Fania, 1980) * ''California Jam · 1980'' (Fania, 1980) * ''Gaucho'' (MCA Records, 1980) * ''Latin Connection · 1981'' (Fania, 1981) * ''Guasasa · 1989'' (Fania, 1989) * ''Nueva Manteca And Nicky Marrero – Afrodisia'' (Timeless Records, 1991) * ''Bravo '97 · 1997'' (Fania, 1997) * ''Live in Puerto Rico · 1995'' (Fania, 1995) * ''Live at Willie's Steak House'' (NYPRMusic, 2008) {{div col end}}
==Filmography== {{div col start}} *''Our Latin Thing'' (Fania 1972) *''Salsa'' (Fania, 1974) *''Celia cruz and the Fania All Stars In Africa'' (Fania, 1993) *''Live'' (Fania, 1995) * ''Soul Power'' (2009) * ''Indestructible. El alma de la salsa'' (Live in salsa & Salon Indien Films, 2017) * ''Yo soy la Salsa'' (2014) {{div col end}}
==External links== * [https://www.discogs.com/search/?q=niky+marrero&type=all Nicky Marrero] Discography at Discogs * [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2161102/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Marrero] at IMDb * [https://www.facebook.com/NickyMarreroOficial Nicky Marrero Fan Page]
==See also== * Salsa * Charanga (Cuba) * Afro-Cuban jazz
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Biography|Music||Jazz|Latin music|New York City|United States|Puerto Rico}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marrero, Nicky}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Fania Records artists Category:Latin jazz composers Category:Musicians from the Bronx Category:Jazz musicians from New York City Category:Afro-Cuban jazz percussionists Category:American male singers Category:American musicians of Puerto Rican descent Category:American salsa musicians Category:Salsa musicians Category:Latin music record producers Category:Male jazz composers Category:Puerto Rican percussionists Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:Timbaleros Category:Fania All-Stars members