115: Ignacio Berroa (Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Tito Puente, Solo Artist)

Born into a musical family, Ignacio Berroa was a first call session musician in his native Havana, Cuba, before emigrating to the US during the Mariel Boatlift. Shortly after his arrival in NY, Ignacio began a twelve year association with Dizzy Gillespie, which led to gigs with a who’s who of jazz and Latin luminaries. Ignacio tells Joe about the advantages of growing up in Cuba; losing his mother at an early age; the agonies of a perfectionist outlook; navigating through marriages and divorces; and his lifelong love of baseball.