Hello, .
Today's artist is a seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master conguero, who 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. 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. .......N'Joy
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Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a rumba quinto master and an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue", recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York City where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All Stars, etc. He was an integral figure in the fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with R&B and soul, paving the way for the boogaloo era of the late 1960s. His 1963 hit rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" (recorded on December 17, 1962) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Santamaría learned rumba as a kid in the streets of Havana's Jesús María barrio. He reminisced: "In the neighborhood where I came from we had all kinds of music, mostly from Africa. We did not leave it alone; we changed it our way. The music we made dealt with religion and conversation. The drum was our tool and we used it for everything" (1979: 19). Gerard points out: "Santamaría, like other drummers of his generation, learned music in the streets by observing different drummers. When he started playing professionally, he learned on the job. His approach was utilitarian, not theoretical". Santamaría was mentored on bongos and rumba quinto by Clemente "Chicho" Piquero, who played in Beny Moré's band. He recalled: "I would go with Chicho and play the tumbadora and also the quinto. I would play everything because I learned a lot from Chicho—because he could play everything"
When Santamaría soloed in jazz, you heard brilliant phrasing with roots firmly in the folkloric rumba, the authentic rumba of the street where he grew up. In addressing that authenticity, he once told Downbeat Magazine: "You can't learn to play things like guaguancó here.... You have to have been where it came from.... You can't listen to records and get those feelings". Santamaría recorded some of the very first recorded folkloric rumbas. Because he recorded for mainstream jazz labels, his folkloric records were consistently available to the public. Santamaría's albums tended to list the personnel and their instruments; so record buyers came to know other Cuban rumberos, such as Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, Julito Collazo, Carlos Vidal Bolado, Modeto Duran and Pablo Mozo. The 10 inch 33 1/3 rpm phonorecord Afro-Cuban Drums by Santamaría was recorded in SMC's New York City studios on November 3, 1952. Santamaría's next recordings with folkloric rumba were on Changó (re-issued as Drums and Chants) recorded in New York (1954). Yambú (1958), Mongo (1959), and Bembé (1960) followed.
Santamaría's quinto phrasing was dynamic and creative; he had an unmistakable sound, that was uniquely his own. He did not analyze his personal style: "When I play I don't know how I do it, or what I do ... I just play" (2001: 29).[5] The following example is an excerpt from a quinto performance by Santamaría on his composition "Mi guaguancó" (1959). The excerpt shows variations on two main motifs, marked as A and B. Santamaría's repetition of what is typically a secondary phrase (B), makes it the primary motif here.
Santamaría began playing bongos with Septeto Beloña in 1937. In the 1940s he worked in the house band of the prestigious Tropicana nightclub. When Chicho could not join a tour in Mexico in the late 1940s, he recommended Santamaría for the job. Mexico opened Santamaría up to the wider world beyond his island home. After returning from Mexico in 1950, Santamaría moved to New York City, where he became Tito Puente's conga player. In 1957 Mongo Santamaría joined Cal Tjader's Latin jazz combo.
In 1959 Santamaría recorded "Afro Blue," the first jazz standard built upon a typical African 3:2 cross-rhythm, or hemiola. The song begins with the bass repeatedly playing 6 cross-beats per each measure of 12/8, or 6 cross-beats per 4 main beats—6:4 (two cells of 3:2). The following example shows the original ostinato "Afro Blue" bass line. The slashed noteheads indicate the main beats (not bass notes), where you would normally tap your foot to "keep time."
In 1960 Mongo went to Havana, Cuba with Willie Bobo to record two albums "Mongo In Havana" and "Bembe y Nuestro Hombre En La Habana." After recording, he returned to New York City to form the charanga orquestra La Sabrosa.
In late 1962 Chick Corea had given notice and Santamaría needed a pianist to fill in for the upcoming weekend gigs. Herbie Hancock got the temporary job. Hancock recalls what happened the night that Santamaría discovered "Watermelon Man" the only tune of Santamaría's to reach the top of the pop charts:
The sudden success of the song (which Mongo Santamaria recorded on December 17, 1962) propelled Santamaría into his niche of blending Afro-Cuban and African American musics. Santamaría went on to record Cuban-flavored versions of popular R&B and Motown songs.
Santamaria died in Miami, Florida, after suffering a stroke, at the age of 85. He is buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum) in Miami, Florida.
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In reaching for another shot at the big time, Mongo Santamaria sold much of the heart out of his music by turning himself over to producer Bob James, his arranger Jay Chattaway, and the fading disco fad. The result is a near disaster, an overproduced, overdubbed, rhythmically overbearing affair, staffed largely by James and his family of New York session players (including the Brecker Brothers, Eric Gale, and Steve Gadd) with only a handful of Mongo's sidemen, polished to a slick fare-thee-well. "You Better Believe It" is the sole Marty Sheller-arranged track; despite the Anglo-sounding chorus, the Guajiro groove conquers the production. Mongo alumni Hubert Laws has some nice moments in the Brazil-flavored "Sambita," but when you hear "Watermelon Man" redone to a horrible disco beat ... goodbye.
Mongo Santamaria - Red Hot (flac 249mb)
01 Watermelon Man 6:34
02 A Mi No Me Engañan (You Better Believe It) 4:40
03 Jai Alai (Rena) 7:38
04 Jamaican Sunrise 5:54
05 Afro-Cuban Fantasy 7:36
06 Sambita 5:45
Mongo Santamaria - Red Hot (ogg 98mb)
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Mongo Santamaria leads a potent octet over two nights at Birdland in this live CD taped in 1992. The conga master is joined by trumpeter/flugelhornist Eddie Allen (who serves as music director as well), tenor saxophonist/flautist Craig Rivers, and alto saxophonist/baritone saxophonist/flautists Jimmy Cozier, with pianist Ricardo Gonzalez leading the rhythm section. Among Santamaria's seven originals, the peppy "Brazilian Sunset" especially stands out, along with two pieces by Marty Sheller, his former musical director. Cozier penned the upbeat "Costa Del Oro," a sizzling Latin blues that features its composer on tenor sax. There's also a fun Afro-Cuban arrangement of the standard "Summertime" and a hip-swaying treatment of Herbie Hancock's huge hit "Watermelon Man."
Mongo Santamaria - Brazilian Sunset (flac 431mb)
01 Bonita 4:10
02 Costa Del Or 5:39
03 Summertime 6:26
04 Gumbo Man 6:11
05 Brazilian Sunset 6:47
06 When Love Begins 6:01
07 Being Here With You 5:41
08 Soca Mi Nice 3:59
09 Dawn's Light 5:15
10 Breaking It In 6:13
11 Watermelon Man 3:47
12 Sofrito 11:24
Mongo Santamaria - Brazilian Sunset (ogg 177mb)
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This is as close to Latin purist Mongo as we have heard in recent years, an eight-piece salsa band -- including several members of the 1997 Tito Puente ensemble, like trumpeter Ray Vega, altoist Bobby Porcelli and tenorman Mitch Frohman -- playing a brace of Mongo classics and Latin jazz pieces live before a hushed crowd in Seattle's Jazz Alley. There are no pop covers, one electric instrument (a bass), lots of extended jazz solos (Porcelli and Frohman really burn on the pioneering Afro-Cuban classic "Manteca"), and an unusual (for Mongo) emphasis on the timbales on many tracks, which shoves the rhythms closer to the salsified Puente manner.
However, tracks like "Juan Jose," "Home" and "Bonita" do have the smooth Mongo cha-cha and guajira grooves, and elsewhere, Mongo lifts himself out of the background often enough to deliver some stirring polyrhythmic conga salvos. For a specific jolt from Mongo's own past, there is "Para Ti" and 10 1/2 stimulating minutes of "Afro Blue." Though the general electricity level of the gig could be higher, Mongo's ageless spirit triumphs again.
Mongo Santamaria - Live At Jazz Alley (flac 363mb)
01 Home 6:00
02 Bonita 4:39
03 Philadelphia 5:57
04 Para Ti 5:54
05 Manteca 6:47
06 Ponce 6:51
07 Come Candela 5:20
08 Ibiano 4:55
09 Juan José 5:22
10 Afro Blue 10:31
Mongo Santamaria - Live At Jazz Alley (ogg 157mb)
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Mango Santamaria utilizes a colorful cast of musicians on this CD. Flutists Hubert Laws and Dave Valentin are featured on two songs apiece (although unfortunately not together) and the nonet has trumpeter Eddie Allen, altoist Jimmy Cozier, and Craig Rivers on tenor and soprano, along with three percussionists. There are a lot of percussion features including the closing nine-and-a-half minute "La Mogolla," making this an excellent if not quite essential recording.
Mongo Santamaria - Mambo Mongo (flac 350mb)
01 Dark Before The Dawn 5:42
02 Caribbean Sunrise 4:43
03 Mambo Mango 6:53
04 Los Ninos Del Mundo 6:02
05 Cali 5:04
06 Are They Only Dreams 5:02
07 Cuco Y Olga 6:04
08 Azteca 5:25
09 La Mogolla 9:32
Mongo Santamaria - Mambo Mongo (ogg 150mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Today's artist is a seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master conguero, who 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. 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. .......N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a rumba quinto master and an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue", recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York City where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All Stars, etc. He was an integral figure in the fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with R&B and soul, paving the way for the boogaloo era of the late 1960s. His 1963 hit rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" (recorded on December 17, 1962) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Santamaría learned rumba as a kid in the streets of Havana's Jesús María barrio. He reminisced: "In the neighborhood where I came from we had all kinds of music, mostly from Africa. We did not leave it alone; we changed it our way. The music we made dealt with religion and conversation. The drum was our tool and we used it for everything" (1979: 19). Gerard points out: "Santamaría, like other drummers of his generation, learned music in the streets by observing different drummers. When he started playing professionally, he learned on the job. His approach was utilitarian, not theoretical". Santamaría was mentored on bongos and rumba quinto by Clemente "Chicho" Piquero, who played in Beny Moré's band. He recalled: "I would go with Chicho and play the tumbadora and also the quinto. I would play everything because I learned a lot from Chicho—because he could play everything"
When Santamaría soloed in jazz, you heard brilliant phrasing with roots firmly in the folkloric rumba, the authentic rumba of the street where he grew up. In addressing that authenticity, he once told Downbeat Magazine: "You can't learn to play things like guaguancó here.... You have to have been where it came from.... You can't listen to records and get those feelings". Santamaría recorded some of the very first recorded folkloric rumbas. Because he recorded for mainstream jazz labels, his folkloric records were consistently available to the public. Santamaría's albums tended to list the personnel and their instruments; so record buyers came to know other Cuban rumberos, such as Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, Julito Collazo, Carlos Vidal Bolado, Modeto Duran and Pablo Mozo. The 10 inch 33 1/3 rpm phonorecord Afro-Cuban Drums by Santamaría was recorded in SMC's New York City studios on November 3, 1952. Santamaría's next recordings with folkloric rumba were on Changó (re-issued as Drums and Chants) recorded in New York (1954). Yambú (1958), Mongo (1959), and Bembé (1960) followed.
Santamaría's quinto phrasing was dynamic and creative; he had an unmistakable sound, that was uniquely his own. He did not analyze his personal style: "When I play I don't know how I do it, or what I do ... I just play" (2001: 29).[5] The following example is an excerpt from a quinto performance by Santamaría on his composition "Mi guaguancó" (1959). The excerpt shows variations on two main motifs, marked as A and B. Santamaría's repetition of what is typically a secondary phrase (B), makes it the primary motif here.
Santamaría began playing bongos with Septeto Beloña in 1937. In the 1940s he worked in the house band of the prestigious Tropicana nightclub. When Chicho could not join a tour in Mexico in the late 1940s, he recommended Santamaría for the job. Mexico opened Santamaría up to the wider world beyond his island home. After returning from Mexico in 1950, Santamaría moved to New York City, where he became Tito Puente's conga player. In 1957 Mongo Santamaría joined Cal Tjader's Latin jazz combo.
In 1959 Santamaría recorded "Afro Blue," the first jazz standard built upon a typical African 3:2 cross-rhythm, or hemiola. The song begins with the bass repeatedly playing 6 cross-beats per each measure of 12/8, or 6 cross-beats per 4 main beats—6:4 (two cells of 3:2). The following example shows the original ostinato "Afro Blue" bass line. The slashed noteheads indicate the main beats (not bass notes), where you would normally tap your foot to "keep time."
In 1960 Mongo went to Havana, Cuba with Willie Bobo to record two albums "Mongo In Havana" and "Bembe y Nuestro Hombre En La Habana." After recording, he returned to New York City to form the charanga orquestra La Sabrosa.
In late 1962 Chick Corea had given notice and Santamaría needed a pianist to fill in for the upcoming weekend gigs. Herbie Hancock got the temporary job. Hancock recalls what happened the night that Santamaría discovered "Watermelon Man" the only tune of Santamaría's to reach the top of the pop charts:
The sudden success of the song (which Mongo Santamaria recorded on December 17, 1962) propelled Santamaría into his niche of blending Afro-Cuban and African American musics. Santamaría went on to record Cuban-flavored versions of popular R&B and Motown songs.
Santamaria died in Miami, Florida, after suffering a stroke, at the age of 85. He is buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum) in Miami, Florida.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
In reaching for another shot at the big time, Mongo Santamaria sold much of the heart out of his music by turning himself over to producer Bob James, his arranger Jay Chattaway, and the fading disco fad. The result is a near disaster, an overproduced, overdubbed, rhythmically overbearing affair, staffed largely by James and his family of New York session players (including the Brecker Brothers, Eric Gale, and Steve Gadd) with only a handful of Mongo's sidemen, polished to a slick fare-thee-well. "You Better Believe It" is the sole Marty Sheller-arranged track; despite the Anglo-sounding chorus, the Guajiro groove conquers the production. Mongo alumni Hubert Laws has some nice moments in the Brazil-flavored "Sambita," but when you hear "Watermelon Man" redone to a horrible disco beat ... goodbye.
Mongo Santamaria - Red Hot (flac 249mb)
01 Watermelon Man 6:34
02 A Mi No Me Engañan (You Better Believe It) 4:40
03 Jai Alai (Rena) 7:38
04 Jamaican Sunrise 5:54
05 Afro-Cuban Fantasy 7:36
06 Sambita 5:45
Mongo Santamaria - Red Hot (ogg 98mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Mongo Santamaria leads a potent octet over two nights at Birdland in this live CD taped in 1992. The conga master is joined by trumpeter/flugelhornist Eddie Allen (who serves as music director as well), tenor saxophonist/flautist Craig Rivers, and alto saxophonist/baritone saxophonist/flautists Jimmy Cozier, with pianist Ricardo Gonzalez leading the rhythm section. Among Santamaria's seven originals, the peppy "Brazilian Sunset" especially stands out, along with two pieces by Marty Sheller, his former musical director. Cozier penned the upbeat "Costa Del Oro," a sizzling Latin blues that features its composer on tenor sax. There's also a fun Afro-Cuban arrangement of the standard "Summertime" and a hip-swaying treatment of Herbie Hancock's huge hit "Watermelon Man."
Mongo Santamaria - Brazilian Sunset (flac 431mb)
01 Bonita 4:10
02 Costa Del Or 5:39
03 Summertime 6:26
04 Gumbo Man 6:11
05 Brazilian Sunset 6:47
06 When Love Begins 6:01
07 Being Here With You 5:41
08 Soca Mi Nice 3:59
09 Dawn's Light 5:15
10 Breaking It In 6:13
11 Watermelon Man 3:47
12 Sofrito 11:24
Mongo Santamaria - Brazilian Sunset (ogg 177mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
This is as close to Latin purist Mongo as we have heard in recent years, an eight-piece salsa band -- including several members of the 1997 Tito Puente ensemble, like trumpeter Ray Vega, altoist Bobby Porcelli and tenorman Mitch Frohman -- playing a brace of Mongo classics and Latin jazz pieces live before a hushed crowd in Seattle's Jazz Alley. There are no pop covers, one electric instrument (a bass), lots of extended jazz solos (Porcelli and Frohman really burn on the pioneering Afro-Cuban classic "Manteca"), and an unusual (for Mongo) emphasis on the timbales on many tracks, which shoves the rhythms closer to the salsified Puente manner.
However, tracks like "Juan Jose," "Home" and "Bonita" do have the smooth Mongo cha-cha and guajira grooves, and elsewhere, Mongo lifts himself out of the background often enough to deliver some stirring polyrhythmic conga salvos. For a specific jolt from Mongo's own past, there is "Para Ti" and 10 1/2 stimulating minutes of "Afro Blue." Though the general electricity level of the gig could be higher, Mongo's ageless spirit triumphs again.
Mongo Santamaria - Live At Jazz Alley (flac 363mb)
01 Home 6:00
02 Bonita 4:39
03 Philadelphia 5:57
04 Para Ti 5:54
05 Manteca 6:47
06 Ponce 6:51
07 Come Candela 5:20
08 Ibiano 4:55
09 Juan José 5:22
10 Afro Blue 10:31
Mongo Santamaria - Live At Jazz Alley (ogg 157mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Mango Santamaria utilizes a colorful cast of musicians on this CD. Flutists Hubert Laws and Dave Valentin are featured on two songs apiece (although unfortunately not together) and the nonet has trumpeter Eddie Allen, altoist Jimmy Cozier, and Craig Rivers on tenor and soprano, along with three percussionists. There are a lot of percussion features including the closing nine-and-a-half minute "La Mogolla," making this an excellent if not quite essential recording.
Mongo Santamaria - Mambo Mongo (flac 350mb)
01 Dark Before The Dawn 5:42
02 Caribbean Sunrise 4:43
03 Mambo Mango 6:53
04 Los Ninos Del Mundo 6:02
05 Cali 5:04
06 Are They Only Dreams 5:02
07 Cuco Y Olga 6:04
08 Azteca 5:25
09 La Mogolla 9:32
Mongo Santamaria - Mambo Mongo (ogg 150mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
4 comments:
Dear Rho-Xs
First of all: Thanks for all the music you've been sharing with us. I truly appreciate your dedication to your blog - and your passion for the music!
And then, of course, I wish you all the best for 2019!
But I have a small question:
Am I the only one to have problems with Depositfiles?
No matter how hard I try, i can't download the following 3 files recently posted on Depositfiles:
Mongo Santamaria - Mongo at the Village (Roots 1851)
Alien Sex Fiend:: Maximum Security (Aetix 1852)
Mongo Santamaria - Mambo Mongo (Roots 1852)
I've tried to download these albums several times with Safari, Firefox and Chrome, but every time, the download is interrupted after a few minutes. It says, in german, "Fehler - unzulässig", meaning "mistake - inadmissible/unallowable/incorrect".
I can't figure what the problem could be, I'll go on trying anyway, but maybe it's a problem not with my computer and internet-connection but with Depositfiles? Who knows ...
Anyway, thanks for having a quick look into Depositfiles, if you have some spare time.
Thanks & best wishes
Frank
I had no problem downloading Mambo Mongo from depositfiles. No German message here. Others were downloaded from zippyshare with no issue.
Thanks for the music Rho.
-Joel
Hello Frank as you note there's no problem with Deposit but with your connection, it looks to me either your IP is proactively blocking Deposit or you've caught a virus. Best advice i can give you get a VPN, surf and download anonymously, it will cost you a few euro's each month if you want a decent one, do some research. Best of luck, Rho
Dear Rho -
Thanks for the good advice. The Depositfiles-downloads work fine with VPN. Actually I have a VPN for certain work-related stuff but never thought about using it for private surfing ...
Again: Thanks for the music and your dedication. I really appreciate it!
Best
Frank
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