Mongo Santamaria
Wikimp3 information about the music of Mongo Santamaria. On our website we have 70 albums and 25 collections of artist Mongo Santamaria. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Mongo Santamaria represents Jazz genres.
Biography
[Edit]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 Santana's Armando Peraza (and let's 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). Mongo's 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.
Santamaria's 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 Mongo's 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 Santamaria's 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 Sheller's 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, Rovi
Title: Keep Calm And Listen Mongo Santamaria
Artist: Mongo Santamaria
Genre: Jazz, World Music, Latin, Pop
Title: Todos Sus Éxitos (Remasterizado) / Todos Sus Exitos (Remasterizado)
Artist: Mongo Santamaria
Genre: Jazz
Collections
Title: Cafe Miami
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Gospel, Jazz, Rock, Punk Rock, Latin, Pop, Funk
Title: Africa In Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Top 40 Latin Hits - The Ultimate Top 40 Collection (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Dancefloor, Latin, Disco, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: Latin Soul 2019
Genre: Jazz, Soul Jazz, Samba, Latin, Smooth Jazz
Title: The History Of Rhythm And Blues 1957-1962 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Jazz
Title: At Roots Of Funk
Title: Latin Caribbean Music
Title: Latitud Latina: Jazz & Sabor
Genre: Latin
Title: Jazz Latino: Calmante
Genre: Samba, Latin, Classical, Bossanova, Easy Listening
Title: Cuban Classic Music
Title: Boogaloo Hits
Title: Mr. K Digital Edits Vol. 14
Title: Sampled Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Best 50s Songs
Genre: Pop
Title: Essential Jazz Animals 2021
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Funk Essentials
Genre: Jazz
Title: Latin Jazz Essentials 2021 (CD1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Latin Jazz Essentials 2021 (CD2)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Mastermix Classic Cuts 074 - Latino Party
Genre: Pop
Title: Soul Hit Covers 2021
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Melodic Patterns Of Jazz (CD2)
Genre: Jazz, Instrumental, Instrumental
Featuring albums
Title: What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves [1967-1977]
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Ritmo de la Noche/Rhythm Of The Night - The Very Best Of Latin Jazz
Artist: Various
Genre: Jazz
Title: Cult Cargo: Salsa Boricua De Chicago
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin
Title: Salsa Explosion:The Sound of Fania Records
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin
Title: Salsa Caribe 100 Rumbas, Merengues, Guarachas, Mambos...
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Latin
Title: McFarland, USA (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: The Extravagant Mister Dizzy Gillespie - Volume 3: Latin Dizzy
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz