Barrabás

Barrabás are a Spanish musical group, most successful in the 1970s and 1980s when they were led by drummer and producer Fernando Arbex. The group's musical style was initially Latin rock with jazz and funk influences, and later developed into a more disco-orientated sound.

History

Arbex formed Barrabás in 1971 when his previous band, Alacrán, split. He and Alacrán's bass guitarist and vocalist Ignacio "Iñaki" Egaña were joined by several other musicians in preparation for the recording of their debut album Wild Safari released later that year. These were Filipino guitarist brothers Ricky and Miguel Morales; Portuguese keyboard player Juan Vidal and Cuban percussionist, saxophone and flute player Ernesto "Tito" Duarte.

Wild Safari spawned the hit singles "Woman" and "Wild Safari" which were successful in various countries across Europe and the Americas, including the USA and Canada. The group also toured throughout Latin America.

Arbex removed Egaña from the group after the recording of Wild Safari, and also decided to further reduce his own involvement as a musician, hiring two new members, José Luis Tejada and José María Moll, as vocalist and drummer respectively. Moll had played live with Barrabás from the beginning, with Arbex only playing on Wild Safari. This new line-up recorded two albums, Power in 1973 and ¡Soltad a Barrabás! in 1974. The latter album featured the hit single "Hi-Jack", which reached № 1 in Spain, and was successfully covered by American jazz musician Herbie Mann in 1975.