Born roughly November 4, 1925, Carlos “Patato” Valdez was one of the most influential figures in the development of my career and that of the LP, percussion company I founded in 1964.  It was love at first sight for me.  He was talented, funny and a bit crazy.  He helped me hone my hanging out chops in the after hour clubs in the Bronx and in the parties in his apartment. He was a part of my life for nearly 40 years.  With his help I introduced a conga design that has his name and a bata drum set in fiberglass that was a bit oversized.  In 1979 he was part of a band I founded that included Tito Puente and Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez called the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble that made 3 European trips and one to Japan.  If the trips themselves were costly to me, they helped me develop a global business that became a powerful brand in percussion.

Patato died in a hospital outside of Cleveland, Ohio on November 11, 2007