Escovedo has been at the forefront of Latin jazz for three decades. Born in Pittsburg, California on July 13, 1935, he was raised in an Oakland household suffused with music. Though the virtuoso percussionist and bandleader travels the world playing timbales, congas and other Latin percussion, he still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pete was widely exposed to jazz long before he ever picked up an instrument, as he and his siblings often accompanied his father, a frustrated singer, to see the big bands traveling through Oakland. "My dad was one of those frustrated singers and guitar players," Escovedo says. "I think his ambition was to sing in a band. He loved to party and sometimes he would hang out with the bands for two or three days, so my mom took a little insurance policy by having him take us along to gigs to make sure he would get back home. We would just wait for him at different places listening to all that music, so I guess it soaked right into our heads." But it wasn't until his first professional gig, opening for the Count Basie Orchestra, that he knew he had found his calling. "It was at the old Downbeat Club on Market Street in San Francisco, they were showcasing groups from high schools. Hearing the applause, playing in a nightclub and opening for a great band, the whole thing was overwhelming and I made up my mind that this is what I want to do."

While still attending Mc Clymonds High School, Escovedo began running with a music oriented crowd, including pianist Ed Kelly, a local legend who has nurtured numerous Bay Area jazz players. At first he aspired to play bebop saxophone, then he tried his hand at the vibes. But when a spot in Kelly's Latin jazz band opened up for a percussionist, Escovedo jumped at the opportunity. It was the early '50s, and there were no formal institutions dedicated to teaching Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Virtually the only way to learn was by studying recordings and catching the masters whenever they came through town.

"Me and my brother Coke, we just had to play, so whoever came into town right away we were there," Escovedo says. "We met Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, Patato Valdez, all these great musicians. That's where we got our schooling. And this was when they were in their prime, they were monsters then. Wherever they played, that's where we were, every night."

Together, Pete and Coke (who passed away a number of years ago) became the mostin-demand rhythm section in Northern California. "Eventually we thought maybe it's time to put our own band together," Pete says. The Escovedo Brothers Latin Jazz Sextet grew into one of the most popular Latin jazz combos in California. The addition of Pete's younger brother Phil Escovedo on bass cemented the family band, until the late '60s when guitarist Carlos Santana hired Coke and Pete for his hugely popular group. "That was our entry into the Latin rock scene," Pete says. Pete toured with Santana for three years, performing internationally and playing on three Santana albums: Moonflower, Oneness and Inner Secrets. Eventually, though, Pete and Coke felt the need to branch out on their own again and in 1970 they founded the band Azteca, a cooperative 14-piece Latin big band. Azteca recorded two albums for Columbia, an eponymous debut and Pyramid of the Moon. "Those were the days of Blood Sweat and Tears and Chicago, the big band sound," Pete says, "and we wanted to have that same kind of thing."

Pete's versatility and virtuosity make him one of the busiest Latin percussionists around. He's been featured in performance and on recordings by a wide range of artists, including Herbie Hancock, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Woody Herman, Billy Cobham, Anita Baker, Angela Bofill, Barry White and Boz  Scaggs.

As a solo artist, Pete Escovedo began recording for Concord Records in 1987. He's recorded five critically acclaimed CDs for Concord: a live album, “Yesterday's Memories- Tomorrow's Dreams”, the Grammy-nominated “Mister E”, “Flying South”, “E Music” and a 2 CD set “Whatcha  Gonna Do” On Pete’s newest recording for Concord Records “ Live” The grooves are tighter, the swing more intense and the solos more impassioned when it’s a live session. “Live”, the first live recording from Latin jazz legend Pete Escovedo in over 15 years, is a case in point. The storied timbalero and his all-star orchestra, which includes his talented offspring (daughter Sheila E and sons Peter Michael and Juan), devour a 10-track program that is the essence and heart of today’s most spirited Latin jazz sound.