A Brief History of Walfredo Reyes
Walfredo Reyes Jr. was born in Cuba and raised in Puerto Rico. He started his professional career playing with Lola Falana and has had recording and, or touring gigs with Steve Winwood, Traffic, Santana, Richard Marx, Sergio Mendes, and numerous others. Phish paid tribute to Reyes in their song “Walfredo.” Reyes continues to write and record. A great example of his playing skills and styles can be found on his album “Live at The Baked Potato.”
If This Is Goodbye
In 2022, Chicago released its latest album “Born For This Moment,” which was recorded during the height of the pandemic in 2021 at Loghnane’s studio in Arizona.
“We were in Las Vegas when the shutdown happened,” Reyes said. “We went home the next day thinking we would be out on the road again soon. But that wasn’t the case. We were home for a long time. While I was home, I had to learn how to do new things like recording remotely and using Zoom. The album started with Robert writing a few songs. It was going to be for a Robert album. Things changed. But, I knew I had to learn how to do that stuff. So, I learned how to become an engineer. Songs started coming in and I would play on them and send the files. Then another song would come in and I would send another file. It’s a brand new world. With technology, you can do anything. Nothing replaces playing together live, but it’s expensive. So, I was recording the Chicago album and recording for some other people during the pandemic. Then finally, we got that first show back in Lincoln, Nebraska. And then we started touring again. The freight train has to keep going forward. It’s been an amazing experience to be in this band. The first record I ever bought was the first Chicago album when I was a teenager in Puerto Rico. Isn’t that weird? Chicago is the soundtrack to people’s lives. They tell me that all the time. Chicago’s music is timeless. It always sounds fresh.”
Photos courtesy Walfredo Reyes Jr.
