Biography

Dave Valentin was born on April 29, 1952 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is known for I Like It Like That (1994), Great Performances (1971) and GRP All-Stars: Live from the Record Plant (1985). He died on March 8, 2017 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.

His parents were Puerto Rican immigrants. He grew up hearing the music of the popular Latin bandleaders of the day, like Tito Rodríguez, Eddie Palmieri and Machito. He began playing professionally in a Latin dance band when he was ten, emulating his hero Tito Puente on timbales. He played the New York nightclub circuit in his teens, and studied percussion at the High School of Music and Art.

He was a virtuoso jazz flutist. In addition to the concert flute, he played other members of the flute family from East Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe, including the Peruvian bamboo bass flute, the Romanian pan flute, and Bolivian pan pipes.