Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros

Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros (4 April 1928 – 6 January 2016) was a Cuban trumpeter. Thought of by some as the Louis Armstrong of Cuba (although he has been primarily a sideman), Armenteros has been a fixture on the Cuban and Latin jazz scene for quite a few decades.

He played with artists such as Arsenio Rodríguez, Generoso Jiménez, Chico O'Farrill, Orchestra Harlow, Eddie Palmieri and Cachao. Due to his characteristic approach to Afro-Cuban trumpet playing as well as his extensive recording career, several monographs have been written on his music.

Armenteros was born on April 4, 1928, in Santa Clara, Las Villas Province, Cuba, into a musical family. He took up the trumpet quite young and was playing with a local orchestra at the age of 11. 

Later, he moved to Havana and worked with the band Septeto Habanero, making his recording debut in 1949 with René Alvarez y su conjunto Los Astros, also recording with Arsenio Rodriguez.

The nickname "Chocolate" was bestowed on him owing to a case of mistaken identity, when someone took him for Kid Chocolate, the champion boxer. After the Cuban Revolution, Armenteros moved to New York, where he lived until his death.

Armenteros went on to play with José Fajardo, Beny Moré, Tito Puente, César Concepción, Machito, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, Marcelino Guerra, Charlie Palmieri, John Santos, Israel "Cachao" López, Noro Morales, Johnny Pacheco, and many others. He was a member of La Sonora Matancera from 1977 to 1980. He died of prostate cancer on 6 January 2016.

Solo Albums

• Chocolate... En El Rincon (Salsoul Records, 1976)
• Y Sigo Con Mi Son (SAR Records, 1979)
• Monsieur Chocolate Prefiero El Son (SAR Records, 1980)
• Chocolate Dice (SAR Records, 1982)
• Chocolate y Su Sexteto Rompiendo Hielo (Caiman Records, 1984)
• Chocolate & His Cuban Soul (Caiman Records, 1997)

With Generoso Jiménez

• Ritmo (Kubaney, 1957)

With Mongo Santamaría and La Lupe

• Mongo Introduces La Lupe (Riverside, 1963)

With Orlando Marin

• Qué chévere (Alegre, 1964)

With Orchestra Harlow

• Heavy Smokin' (Fania, 1965)
• Gettin' Off / Bajándote (Fania, 1966)

With Eddie Palmieri

• Champagne (Tico, 1968)
• Justicia (Tico, 1969)
• Superimposition (Tico, 1970)
• Vamonos Pa'l Monte (Tico, 1971)
• Lucumí, Macumba, Voodoo (Epic, 1978)

With Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino

• Concepts in Unity (Salsoul, 1975)

With Cachao

• Cachao y su Descarga 77 (Salsoul, 1977)
• Dos (Salsoul, 1977)
• Master Sessions, Volume 1 (Epic, 1994)
• Master Sessions, Volume 2 (Epic, 1995)

With Machito

• Machito!!! (Timeless 1983)

With Cedar Walton

• Eastern Rebellion 4 (Timeless, 1984)

With Kip Hanrahan

• Tenderness (American Clavé, 1990)

With El Trabuco Venezolano

• El Trabuco Venezolano Vol. II (YVKCT con músiC.A., 1979)