Biography
To certain audiences, Ruben Guevara—sometimes listed as Ruben de Guevara—stands out chiefly for founding Ruben & the Jets, the actual ensemble that materialized after Frank Zappa’s 1968 album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets and produced two of the strongest rock & roll records of the early-to-mid-1970s. Yet Guevara’s reach extends far beyond that project; across nearly five decades he has functioned as a multifaceted musician, performer, writer, and producer whose accomplishments include but are not limited to Ruben & the Jets. Born in California to a Mexican immigrant musician and composer who bore the same name, he grew up as the son of a man who had arrived in the United States after a 1941 Cinco de Mayo appearance in Los Angeles, where he met his future wife backstage and later married her. The younger Guevara passed his childhood in Santa Monica’s Mexican community before relocating to Los Angeles, where he began musical studies with his father, took up the trumpet at age nine, and advanced sufficiently to enter the California All Youth Symphony.
As rock & roll and R&B swept the country during his high-school years, Guevara sang doo-wop harmony in the style of the Penguins and the Flamingos; alongside Pablo Amarillas he formed the Apollo Brothers, whose influences ranged from Don & Dewey and Little Richard to the Cadillacs and, soon afterward, Ritchie Valens. The duo played local clubs and secured spots on regional television. Guevara continued his training at Los Angeles City College, performing sessions and accepting any vocal work available. In 1968 Frank Zappa’s doo-wop-inflected album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets caught his attention, and the following year, backstage at a Zappa concert at the Shrine Auditorium, the two spoke; their acquaintance resumed a couple of years later when Zappa encouraged Guevara to assemble his own band. Guevara complied, secured permission to adopt the name Ruben & the Jets, and received Zappa’s promise to produce an album.
The resulting For Real!, issued on Zappa’s In-discreet label through Mercury Records, was followed by a national tour opening for the Mothers of Invention. A second album, Con Safos, appeared under Denny Randell’s production. Ruben & the Jets enjoyed strong local support in Los Angeles, toured nationally with both the Mothers and Three Dog Night, and shared bills in the city with Malo and the comedy duo Cheech & Chong; saxophonist Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood later noted that frequent benefit performances prevented the group from achieving the financial stability needed to continue.
Over the ensuing years Guevara launched several solo ventures that stalled, while also examining his Mexican musical and historical heritage more deeply. In 1976 he and former bandmate Johnny Martinez cut doo-wop renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” to mark the American Bicentennial; those tracks became Rhino Records’ first single on its newly established Santa Monica imprint. In 1977 he appeared on trumpet in the band featured in Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke, a film whose script also referenced Ruben & the Jets. Close collaboration with Cheech Marin ensued, yielding the title song for Nice Dreams and contributions to the score of Born in East L.A. Mid-decade Guevara also acted in the film Gotcha!. He continued recording for Rhino and directed the short-lived Zyanya imprint, which specialized in Latin rock and organized showcase concerts by such Los Angeles acts as Cannibal & the Headhunters, Thee Midniters, and Ruben & the Jets; selected highlights later surfaced on the 1997 compilation Reconquista!: The Latin Rock Invasion.
Guevara’s focus subsequently turned toward poetry and theatrical performance. He produced the HBO special Caliente y Picante, spotlighting Tito Puente, Santana, Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Garcia, and Rubén Blades, among others, and supplied essential material to numerous art and multimedia exhibitions centered on Latin music and history.
As rock & roll and R&B swept the country during his high-school years, Guevara sang doo-wop harmony in the style of the Penguins and the Flamingos; alongside Pablo Amarillas he formed the Apollo Brothers, whose influences ranged from Don & Dewey and Little Richard to the Cadillacs and, soon afterward, Ritchie Valens. The duo played local clubs and secured spots on regional television. Guevara continued his training at Los Angeles City College, performing sessions and accepting any vocal work available. In 1968 Frank Zappa’s doo-wop-inflected album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets caught his attention, and the following year, backstage at a Zappa concert at the Shrine Auditorium, the two spoke; their acquaintance resumed a couple of years later when Zappa encouraged Guevara to assemble his own band. Guevara complied, secured permission to adopt the name Ruben & the Jets, and received Zappa’s promise to produce an album.
The resulting For Real!, issued on Zappa’s In-discreet label through Mercury Records, was followed by a national tour opening for the Mothers of Invention. A second album, Con Safos, appeared under Denny Randell’s production. Ruben & the Jets enjoyed strong local support in Los Angeles, toured nationally with both the Mothers and Three Dog Night, and shared bills in the city with Malo and the comedy duo Cheech & Chong; saxophonist Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood later noted that frequent benefit performances prevented the group from achieving the financial stability needed to continue.
Over the ensuing years Guevara launched several solo ventures that stalled, while also examining his Mexican musical and historical heritage more deeply. In 1976 he and former bandmate Johnny Martinez cut doo-wop renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” to mark the American Bicentennial; those tracks became Rhino Records’ first single on its newly established Santa Monica imprint. In 1977 he appeared on trumpet in the band featured in Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke, a film whose script also referenced Ruben & the Jets. Close collaboration with Cheech Marin ensued, yielding the title song for Nice Dreams and contributions to the score of Born in East L.A. Mid-decade Guevara also acted in the film Gotcha!. He continued recording for Rhino and directed the short-lived Zyanya imprint, which specialized in Latin rock and organized showcase concerts by such Los Angeles acts as Cannibal & the Headhunters, Thee Midniters, and Ruben & the Jets; selected highlights later surfaced on the 1997 compilation Reconquista!: The Latin Rock Invasion.
Guevara’s focus subsequently turned toward poetry and theatrical performance. He produced the HBO special Caliente y Picante, spotlighting Tito Puente, Santana, Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Garcia, and Rubén Blades, among others, and supplied essential material to numerous art and multimedia exhibitions centered on Latin music and history.
Albums
