Percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto died Feb. 17 in Hackensack, N.J. He was 76.

Born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican parents, Barretto was a virtuoso conguero and a fixture in New York’s fertile Latin jazz scene, equally at ease as a sideman, frontman and session player. He recorded and played with greats like Red Garland (he received guest billing on the cover of “Manteca”), Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt.

Barretto’s health had been fragile since the beginning of the year, when he underwent a quintuple bypass operation in New Jersey. He was hospitalized Jan. 30 with post-surgical complications and pneumonia, according to a statement.

Read NY Times article here.