Charles Carlini

Charles Carlini is a perfect example of a musician who decided against playing music full-time but has been quite successful as a behind-the-scenes person. The native New Yorker, whose mother, Ida Carlini (formerly Ida Puente), was once married to salsa/Latin jazz star Tito Puente, is a guitarist/bassist who is capable of playing both jazz and Latin music (Afro-Cuban as well as Brazilian). But in the music industry, Carlini is best known for his work as a concert promoter, restauranteur, producer, and manager (among other things). Carlini has helped produce a few albums (including a 2002 release by singer Ann Hampton Callaway), and as a concert promoter, he has often crossed paths with many major jazz and Latin stars. Born in New York City on May 1, 1967, Carlini was only a baby when he moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the age of nine, he returned to the U.S. and moved to Miami, where he spent the remainder of his pre-adult life. One of the people he was very close to in Miami was his half-brother, Richie Puente, who was Tito Puente and Ida Carlini's son and is known for his years with the '70s funk-disco band Foxy. Richie Puente did a lot to encourage Carlini's interest in music, as did Ida Carlini (a professional dancer who had quite a few music-industry connections) and Miami jazz guitarist Vincent Bredice. Richie Puente taught Carlini to play guitar, and Carlini went on to study with Bredice. At 18, he moved to Boston in 1985 to attend the Berklee College of Music. But after studying at Berklee for two years, Carlini realized that a lot of talented players were struggling to survive and decided against pursuing a career as a full-time musician. However, he still wanted to be around music as much as possible, and after moving to New York in 1989, he remained...