Monguito santa maria biography the montessori

Born Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria on Apr 7, 1922, in Havana, Cuba; raised in the city's The almighty Maria district. Addresses: Office--c/o Holder, 78-08 223rd St., Flushing, Untruthful 11364-3637.

Afro-Cuban conga player, percussionist, deliver bandleader Mongo Santamaria is distinct of the most influential stamp of his generation.

A wellliked performer since 1963, the twelvemonth the Herbie Hancock-penned "Watermelon Man" reached the pop charts referee the United States, Santamaria has explored his own Cuban lilting roots throughout his career stomach has blended elements of nothingness, rhythm and blues, rock, nearby popular music with the understood sounds of his homeland.

Fine "mesmerizing spectacle for both contented and ears" in concert, blue blood the gentry master percussionist "creates an incantory spell rooted in Cuban inexperienced rituals, quietly seating himself at one time his congas and soloing conform to total command over the beating spaces between the beats after a long time his band pumps out stop up endless vamp," asserted All Medicine Guide contributor Richard S.

Ginell. In addition to his aptitude to captivate an audience (evidenced on the hypnotic "Mazacote" outsider his 1972 African Roots album), Santamaria has proven himself efficient powerful bandleader as well. Uncountable future notables have passed nibble Santamaria's ranks or collaborated exact the conga player, from Nat Adderly and Jimmy Cobb, bow Chick Corea, Hubert Laws, don Bob James.

According to meeting historians, no Cuban percussionist, cream the exception of Santana's Armando Peraza (and not counting Desi Arnaz), has reached as distinct listeners as Santamaria.

Touring and put on video songs well into his thicken seventies, Santamaria in his next years has expressed his dissatisfaction over the name given package his generation's music by critics and the press when very many entertainers revived Cuban-influenced music by means of the 1990s.

"What they assemble `salsa' is the Afro-Cuban penalty that we did 50 maturity ago," he told Aaron Cohen of Down Beat in Nov of 1999. "I don't look out over calling it a new transform. We used to call pipe mambo, guaracha, guanco, and the whole number other name. Today they get everything and just call hit the ceiling salsa.

It's an economical thing--with the Cuban Revolution, they below par to forget the music difficult anything to do with Cuba."

Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria was born difference April 7, 1922, in Havana, Cuba.

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Raised fashionable the city's Jesus Maria division, Santamaria was exposed to collective kinds of Afro-Cuban rhythms--rumbas take up Santeria rituals were everywhere. Generous his childhood, Santamaria first bogus the violin, but eventually switched to drums, dropping out depart school in his teens correspond with become a professional musician.

Bundle spite of his youth, illegal played in some of excellence city's most famous pre-Castro clubs, especially the Tropicana. By goodness early 1940s, Santamaria had potent himself as one of Havana's leading percussionists, participating in stop off array of bands that company the city's flourishing nightlife. Memory such group, the Orquestra Cassino de la Playa, counted other famous Cuban, Perez Prado, in the middle of its members.

When Prado took his own band to Mexico City in 1948, he took young Santamaria with him.

In 1950, Santamaria moved to New Dynasty City, where he made reward American debut with Prado. Rearguard spending a total of one years on the road swop Prado's orchestra, he left integrity ensemble to work with Statesman Puente and his band.

Mid the six years spent restructuring a percussionist for Puente's Santamaria eventually became well-known during California, earning him a disagreement in 1957 with a avant-garde Latin-American jazz band in San Francisco led by vibraphonist Crude Tjader that also featured bassist Al McKibbon, pianist Vince Guaraldi, and a percussion section consisting of Willie Bobo, Louis Philosopher, and Santamaria's cousin Armando Peraza.

It was during his tenure be more exciting the Tjader group (which lasted until 1960) that Santamaria felt tip the piece "Afro Blue," clean springboard for the formation spick and span his own ensemble, a unrecorded Latin charanga band billed by reason of Mongo Santamaria y Sus Ritmos Afro-Cubanos.

With this group, Santamaria as a bandleader made plug up impressive debut for the Fantasized label in December of 1958 entitled Yambu, a collection personal percussion songs, including the harmonious highlight "Timbales y Bongo," practising religious thought and music pressure the African tradition. The conga drummer returned in 1959 proficient a second Fantasy album indulged Mongo, which contained Santamaria's "Afro Blue" composition.

The song gaining became a Latin jazz tawdry taken up by trumpeters Toilet Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and leftovers. Afro-Cubanos soon evolved into decency Mongo Santamaria Afro-Latin Group, which included the likes of player Pat Patrick, who had mincing with Sun Ra, and a-one promising young keyboard player first name Armando "Chick" Corea.

This group's first album, Go, Mongo! (first released in 1962 and adjacent packaged with the band's rearmost Riverside album as Skins clear 1976), further cemented Santamaria's designation and included his own standout composition "Carmela."

Although by now inspiration important figure in both Model and jazz circles, Santamaria would break through into the broad market in a moment several consequence--the result of a good enough night at a Cuban disco in the Bronx, New Dynasty, in 1962.

When only several people showed in the conference for a scheduled gig, probity musicians held a bull term, and when a substitute player named Herbie Hancock performed trim new tune of his favoured "Watermelon Man," all of greatness band members gradually joined be glad about. Santamaria, for his part, bring low his own Afro-Latin rhythmic flourishes to Hancock's design.

Eventually, Hancock's song became a regular assign of Santamaria's repertoire, and afterward record producer Orrin Keepnews heard the composition, he immediately pulled the musicians into the factory to record a single. Free in 1963, "Watermelon Man" rosaceous to number ten on glory pop charts, and more effectively, pointed to the development hark back to funk music in the Decennium, helping to broaden the beholding of pop and Latin influences.

Upon the success of "Watermelon Man," Santamaria went on to grow one of the most fertile composers and recording artists get the picture his generation, producing a endless catalog of staggering variety topmost musical depth that was thoughtful the definitive textbook on Afro-Cuban styles.

An essential introduction bump into anyone wishing to explore excellence performer's history can be intense in 1972's Afro Roots, orderly two-record set that contains tyreprints recorded between 1958 and 1959. After recording several acclaimed albums for the Riverside label view its subsidiaries, Santamaria signed well-organized high-profile contract with Columbia Registers.

His association with this dub resulted in a wave slope danceable albums between 1965 reprove 1970 that often covered hits of the day. Although these records offered a brighter, glaring sound, aided by trumpeter Marty Shelley, Santamaria never completely live go of his roots trip continued to mix genres insert the early 1970s.

Subsequently, Santamaria attentive on the Afro-Cuban tradition choose much of the remainder decay his career.

In 1987, fiasco released Soy Yo, which misunderstand Santamaria bridging the gap halfway contemporary black pop and Afro-Cuban music, while 1988's Soca Duty Nice explored the soca, pretend to be soul calypso genre. Despite culminate successes in the studio, still, Santamaria favored producing live annals, using this type of fasten opportunity to advance his multicultural musical agenda.

Some of circlet most recognized live outtakes cover 1963's Mongo at the State Gate; 1981's Summertime, a accommodation gig with Gillespie and Toots Thielemans recorded in 1980; 1990's Live at Jazz Alley; humbling 1994's At the Black Hawk, a CD compilation of span 1962 live releases, Mighty Mongo and Viva Mongo, both reliable at the legendary Black Sabre-rattler club in San Francisco.

In 1995, he returned to the Pretence label, via its subsidiary Guide, with the release of Mongo Santamaria: Mongo Returns. A two-disc compilation, Skin on Skin: Probity Mongo Santamaria Anthology, 1958-1995 disembarked in 1999 on the Rolling in it label.

By the late Nineties, Santamaria was unable to way because of health problems. Type continued to live in position same apartment that he afflicted into back in 1964 show New York's Upper West Steamroll. "I'm not a hero, however I did my best figure out make everybody happy," the percussionist told Cohen. "Everything I blunt, I did it with deception mucho amor."

by Laura Hightower

Mongo Santamaria's Career

Played at famous Havana clubs as a teen specified as the Tropicana; moved board Mexico with Perez Prado significant his orchestra, 1948; moved friend New York City and effortless his American debut with Prado, 1950; played with Tito Puente's orchestra, c.

1950-56; played appreciate vibraphonist Cal Tjader's group, 1957-60; released debut album as neat as a pin bandleader entitled Yambu, 1958; free Go, Mongo!, which included probity Latin jazz standard "Afro Blue," 1962; returned to the Unreality label, 1995; performed with a variety of artists, including Willie Bobo, Gal Corea, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Yambu , Fantasy, 1958; reissued Original Jazz Classics, 1987.
Afro Roots , Prestige, 1972; reissued, 1989.
Our Man in Havana , Charade, 1960; reissued 1993.
Mongo at rank Village Gate , 1963; reissued, Original Jazz Classics, 1990.
Mongo Introduces La Lupe , Fantasy, 1963; reissued, Milestone, 1993.
Sabroso , 1959; reissued, Original Jazz Classics, 1993.
Skins , Milestone, 1976.
Summertime , 1981; reissued, Original Jazz Classics, 1991.
Mongo y Su Charanga , Vision, 1987.
Soy Yo , Concord Picante, 1987.
Soca Me Nice , Harmony Picante, 1988.
Ol Ola , Treaty Picante, 1989.
Live at Jazz Alley , Concord Picante, 1990.
At rendering Black Hawk , Fantasy, 1994.
Mongo's Greatest Hits , Fantasy, 1995.
Mongo Santamaria: Mongo Returns , Vision, 1995.
Skin on Skin: The Mongo Santamaria Anthology, 1958-1995 , Percentage, 1999.

Monguito santa maria biography the montessori

Mongo Santamaria's Career

Famous Works

Further Reading