Johnny Pacheco – The Artist (1977)

Juan Pablo Pacheco Knipping (Santiago, March 25, 1935 – Teaneck, New Jersey, February 15, 2021), popularly known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, flautist, composer, arranger, director, and producer of Cuban and salsa music.

He is considered one of the most influential figures in Latin and Caribbean music for being the founder, along with lawyer Jerry Masucci, of the Fania record label. This was instrumental in the consolidation of salsa, a term applied to the genre created by musicians from the Spanish-speaking Antillean Caribbean, primarily from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, which has its rhythmic foundation and origin in the son montuno.