Mongo Santamaria - CHANGO! (Remastered) '1954; 2019

Tracks list

A Mongo Santamaria concert is a mesmerizing spectacle for both eyes and ears,
and even in his seventies, this seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader
could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master
conguero, Santamaria at his best creates an incantatory spell rooted in Cuban
religious rituals, quietly seating himself before his congas and soloing with
total command over the rhythmic spaces between the beats while his band pumps
out an endless vamp (a potent example on records is the hypnotic Mazacote
available on Afro-Roots [Prestige]). He has been hugely influential as a leader,
running durable bands that combine the traditional charanga with jazz-oriented
brass, wind, and piano solos, featuring such future notables as Chick Corea and
Hubert Laws. He also reached out into R&B, rock, and electric jazz at times in
his long career. No Cuban percussionist, with the possible exception of Santanas
Armando Peraza (and lets not count Desi Arnaz!), has reached more listeners than
Mongo.

Ramon Mongo Santamaria originally took up the violin but then switched to drums
before dropping out of school to become a professional musician. A performer at
the Tropicana Club in Havana, Mongo traveled to Mexico City with a dance team in
1948 and then moved to New York City in 1950, where he made his American debut
with Pérez Prado and spent six years trading percussive barrages with Tito
Puente and performing and recording with Cal Tjader (1957-1960). Mongos first
significant recordings in America were made in 1958 for Fantasy; his second
Fantasy album, Mongo (1959), contained a composition called Afro-Blue, which
quickly became a Latin jazz standard, taken up by John Coltrane, Dizzy
Gillespie, and others.

Santamarias breakthrough into the mass market may have come as a result of a bad
night at a Cuban nightclub in the Bronx in 1962. As the story goes, only three
people showed up in the audience, so the musicians held a bull session in which
the substitute pianist for the gig, Herbie Hancock, demonstrated his new blues
tune, Watermelon Man. Everyone gradually joined in, the number became a part of
Mongos repertoire, and when producer Orrin Keepnews heard it, he rushed the band
into a studio and recorded a single that leaped to the number ten slot on the
pop charts in 1963.

The success of Santamarias cross-pollination of jazz, R&B, and Latin music on
Watermelon Man and a string of Battle and Riverside albums led to a high-profile
contract with Columbia that resulted in a wave of hot, danceable albums between
1965 and 1970. With a brighter, brassy sound propelled by trumpeter Marty
Shellers driving charts, often covering hits of the day, the Santamaria band
perfectly reflected the mood of the go-go 60s, and Mongo continued to mix genres
into the 70s. Santamaria then returned to his Afro-Cuban base, recording for
Vaya in the early 70s, teaming with Gillespie and Toots Thielemans for a live
gig at Montreux for Pablo in 1980, recording several albums for Concord Picante
(1987-1990), a sole effort for Chesky in 1993 and a return to the Fantasy fold
via its Milestone subsidiary in 1995. He died on February 1, 2003, at Baptist
Hospital in Miami, following a stroke. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Tracklist:
2:49 | 01. Mongo Santamaria - Druma Kuyi (Remastered)
4:48 | 02. Mongo Santamaria - Consejo Al Vive Bien (Remastered)
2:52 | 03. Mongo Santamaria - Moforiborere (Remastered)
3:17 | 04. Mongo Santamaria - Oromiso (Remastered)
7:55 | 05. Mongo Santamaria - Congo Mania (Remastered)
2:48 | 06. Mongo Santamaria - Margarito (Remastered)
3:12 | 07. Mongo Santamaria - Caumbia (Remastered)
2:48 | 08. Mongo Santamaria - Columbia (Remastered)
2:58 | 09. Mongo Santamaria - Abacua (Remastered)
3:03 | 10. Mongo Santamaria - Yroco (Remastered)
2:55 | 11. Mongo Santamaria - Ochun (Remastered)
3:16 | 12. Mongo Santamaria - Bembe Kinigua (Remastered)
2:16 | 13. Mongo Santamaria - Chango (Remastered)
2:16 | 14. Mongo Santamaria - Conga Callejera (Remastered)
2:18 | 15. Mongo Santamaria - Meta (Remastered)
2:16 | 16. Mongo Santamaria - Guaguanco (Remastered)
8:31 | 17. Mongo Santamaria - Fiesta Abacua (Remastered)

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