![]() Laboriel’s mother, Francisca Lopéz de Laboriel, was an actress, and the four children - Juan Jr., Abraham, Ela, and Francis - followed suit. He and his children share the same strong Garifuna features, energetic presence, and million-watt smiles watching Juan Jose Laboriel melt a bad guy’s heart by singing “Quiéreme Mucho” in the 1965 film Alma Llanera is a window into the power of the family’s strong genes. The senior Laboriel, already a seasoned musician when he arrived in Mexico City in the 1930s, would eventually become one of the country's most respected composers, lyricists, and actors, appearing in nearly 30 films between 19. ![]() In the late 18th century, the British exiled these “black Caribs” - also known as Garifuna - to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, where Abraham’s father, Juan Jose Laboriel, was born in 1906. Vincent, where they mixed with Carib Indians, creating a vibrant blend and a unique culture. His son Mateo - a composer, producer, recording engineer, and multi-instrumentalist - chimed in.Īs origin stories go, Abraham Laboriel’s is as epic and inspiring as any Hollywood hero’s journey.īack in the 17th century, West Africans whose slave ship ran aground managed to swim to the Caribbean island of St. We met at the home he has owned for more than 20 years in Tarzana, deep in the San Fernando Valley. ![]() This, then, is our celebration of the life and career of Abraham Laboriel, right in time for his 72nd birthday, in July. Thanks to his work on Frozen - as well as Giacchino-directed smashes like Coco, Inside Out, the Incredibles movies, Ratatouille, and Zootopia - Laboriel is making magic for a whole new generation. And in Hollywood, Laboriel’s friendship with acclaimed director Michael Giacchino has brought him work on TV shows like Lost and Alias and juggernauts such as Jurassic World, Rogue One, and Mission: Impossible III. On his own, Laboriel has continued to perform with his lifelong friends, including Justo Almario, Greg Mathieson, Vinnie Colaiuta, Michael Landau, Bill Maxwell, Alex Acuña, and Paul Jackson Jr., as captured on Laboriel Mathieson (2001), Live in Switzerland (2005), and a couple discs of shows at L.A.’s famed Baked Potato. The past two decades have found Laboriel laying it down for Michael McDonald, Luis Miguel, George Benson, Larry Carlton, and Lee Ritenour making crucial beauty with Paul Simon appearing on albums by country stars Allison Krauss, LeAnn Rimes, and Clint Black and working with artists as dissimilar as Ray Charles, Ziggy Marley, Andy Summers, Les Paul, Natalie Cole, Christopher Cross, and His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, the former monarch of Thailand. ![]() What would Lionel Richie’s string of hits - “All Night Long,” “Say You, Say Me,” “Penny Lover,” “Truly,” and “Dancing on the Ceiling” - be without that Laboriel magic? His massive output means that at any given moment, someone somewhere is almost surely listening to one of his bass lines. But the pop juggernauts are what sealed Abraham’s legacy. (Laboriel’s contributions were so undeniable that the Recording Academy gave him its MVP award in the bass category four years in a row, eventually granting him emeritus status so other bassists could have a chance to win.) When he wasn’t putting the bottom underneath iconic songs like Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” or contributing to the soundtracks of Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple, My Cousin Vinnie, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and There’s Something About Mary, Laboriel brought the joyful fusion grooves of his band Koinonia to sell-out crowds in Scandinavia and Western Europe. That was also him adding special sauce to #1 hits like Leo Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,” getting nasty on Jimmy Smith’s “Give Up the Booty,” and helping Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Dave Grusin, David Benoit, Herb Alpert, Bennie Maupin, Joe Farrell, John Klemmer, and the Crusaders create a new style of sophisticated, jazz-tinged pop music. If you were anywhere near a television in the past five decades, you’ve caught Laboriel on the themes to CHiPs, What’s Happening!!, Starsky & Hutch, Cheers, Knots Landing, Amen, Moonlighting, Melrose Place, Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, and Bernie Mac.
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