DESCRIPTION:
This track features the virtuoso flute magic that can only be ... Dave Valentin!
This is the fifth track on the 1981 LP "Pied Piper."
Featuring Dave Valentin on Flute, Dave Grusin on Fender Rhodes Piano, Tito Marrero on Drums, Lincoln Goines on Electric Bass and Roger Squitero and Rafael DeJesus on Percussion
Arranged by Dave Valentin
Produced by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen for Grusin/Rosen Productions
© 1981 GRP Records
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Dave Valentin (born April 29, 1952, in New York City) is a world renowned jazz flautist.
He learned latin percussion first when he was a teenager, and then switched to flute. Valentin's teacher, Hubert Laws, suggested that he not double on saxophone because of his attractive sound on the flute. He studied at the Bronx Community College. He is of Puerto Rican descent.
In 1977, he made his recording debut with Ricardo Marrero's group and he appeared also on a Noel Pointer album. Discovered by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, Valentin was the first artist signed to GRP and he has been a popular attraction ever since. Valentin has recorded over 15 albums, combining the influence of pop, R&B, and Brazilian music with Latin and smooth jazz to create a slick and accessible form of crossover jazz.
In 2000, he appeared in the documentary film, Calle 54, performing with Tito Puente. He toured with El Negro and MioSotis. Since the mid-2000s, Valentin has been signed to Highnote Records releasing World On A String (2005) and Come Fly With Me (2006). He has done several collaborations with pianist Bill O'Connell and was a nominee for the Latin Grammy Awards of 2006. - Wikipedia

Jazz flutist Dave Valentin has toured the world as a headliner, playing with everyone from Tito Puente to McCoy Tyner, but he always returns to the Bronx, where he was born 59 years ago. Home is a modest one-story bachelor pad in Harding Park, a hidden waterfront stretch of winding streets, close neighbors — and the occasional crowing rooster — better known as Little Puerto Rico. He won a Grammy in 2002 with Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project, and this month he will release his latest album, "Pure Imagination," in which he overdubs himself playing five flutes. Not surprisingly, Sundays usually include at least one practice session.

DAVE ON PICKING UP THE FLUTE: "I started out as a percussionist in school. But I wanted to meet this girl, Irene, who was a flutist. She showed me a scale, and I played it immediately. Do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do. Without knowing nothing! So, I borrowed a flute, bought a Herbie Mann record and learned "Comin' Home Baby." Three weeks later, I went to her and played it. I knew I had her! She said, "I've been taking lessons for three years and you come in here in three weeks and play like that? Don't ever talk to me again!" I lost the girl, but kept the flute." - NY Times (6/5/2011)