Juan Azarias Pacheco Knipping, 25 March 1935 – 15 Feb 2021, also known as Johnny Pacheco was a Dominican musician and arranger. He was also a bandleader and record producer. Pacheco was a flutist, bandleader and one of the most prominent exponents of Cuban charanga in the United States during the 1960s. Pacheco was the founder and musical chief of Fania Records and a prominent figure in New York’s salsa scene during the 1960s and 70s. He was the first to popularize the term “salsa”, and he established the Fania All-Stars to highlight the best performers in the genre. Pacheco was 9 times nominated for Grammys and received the Latin Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Juan Azarias Pacheco Knipping was born on 25 March 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. His father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco (bandleader and clarinetist in the Orquesta Santa Cecilia), was his inspiration for his love of music. He is best known for recording Luis Alberti’s merengue, “Compadre Pedro Juan”. Rafael was the grandchild of a Spanish soldier who came to Santo Domingo during the Spanish reannexation. His mother, Octavia Knipping Roit, was the grand-daughter of a French colonist and the great-granddaughter a German merchant, who was married to a Dominican girl born to Spanish colonists. His family moved to New York City in 1946 when Pacheco was 11. He continued to improve his musical skills by learning how to play clarinet, accordion and violin. In the 1950s, he also received an electrical engineering degree from Brooklyn Technical High School. However, he left his job as an engineer because of the low pay. He began playing percussion and singing with Gil Suarez’s 1953 band. In 1954, he founded The Chuchulecos Boys, with Eddie Palmieri on piano and Barry Rogers on trombone. Ray Santos was also a member of the new york salsa scene, along with Al Santiago, Mike Collazo, and Ray Santos. They performed at weddings and other social events. Later, he played percussion in several bands including Lou Perez’s late-night show, The Mambaleros and the popular orchestras of Tito Puente and Xavier Cugat. Pacheco met Charlie Palmieri in October 1958 and they recorded the Latin jazz album Easy Does It. Pacheco was a bongo player and congas player. In 1959, Pacheco and Palmieri formed the charanga Le Duboney. Pacheco was the flute player. He soon became dissatisfied by his role in the group. Palmieri was listed on the covers of the LPs, but not his name, despite being the lead arranger and codirector. Palmieri was also more marketable and sophisticated than Pacheco, whereas Pacheco preferred simpler, son-based arrangements. Pacheco quit La Duboney in 1960 to start his own charanga. He had only released one LP, “Let’s Dance the Charanga” (United Artists). Pacheco’s first recordings were “El guiro de Macorina”, and “Oyeme mulata”, which were recorded as a promotional single that received significant airplay in New York. Al Santiago, the owner of Alegre Records offered Pacheco a recording deal. Pacheco y su charanga was his first album. It sold 100,000 copies in the first year. The pachanga was a new dance fad that Eduardo Davidson created in 1959. It is a fast-paced mixture of merengue, cha-cha, and cha-cha, which Pacheco enjoyed great success with. Jose Fajardo’s charanga in Cuba helped popularize it. Pacheco was the first to show it off. The pachanga reached New York in 1960. He was an international star who toured extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia. His charanga was first Latin band to headline New York’s Apollo Theater in 1962 and 1963. Between 1960 and 1963 Pacheco recorded four more albums for Alegre Records (Vols II-V), the 1961 jam session Alegre All-Stars, which he co-directed alongside Charlie Palmieri, as well as several tracks for the album Las charangas. Pacheco was forced to leave the label due to financial difficulties. Pacheco, a lawyer, met Jerry Masucci in late 1963 and they soon co-founded Fania Records. Pacheco was AVP.
