HACKENSACK, N.J., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Grammy Award-winning Latin percussionist Ray Barretto has died in a Hackensack, N.J., hospital at age 76.
Barretto, surrounded by family, died Friday from pneumonia he caught after undergoing heart bypass surgery last month, the Hackensack (N.J.) record reported Saturday.
The New York native known as "Mr. Hard Hands" was a pioneer of the salsa movement and best known for infusing his conga playing with jazz.
He replaced Mongo Santamaria in the Tito Puente Orchestra in the late 1950s and went on to lead his own band for four decades.
Barretto released more than 70 albums, including the groundbreaking 1979 "Ricanstruction."
He won his Grammy in 1979 for the song, "Ritmo en el Corazon" (Rhythm in the Heart) with singer Celia Cruz and was nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for his September album, "Time Was -- Time Is."
He was named one of the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters of 2006 and is a member of International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
Barretto is survived by his wife and two sons.
