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 Mongo Santamaria's Profile |
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1917 - 2003 |
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| Country: |  Cuba |
| Last Login: | May 22, 2008 (587 days back) |
About Me |
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| Ramón Mongo Santamaria enjoyed a long and successful career in Latin music. His recordings and concert performances ranged from the authentic percussion music of Afro-Cuban religious rituals through to Latin-jazz reworkings of American jazz and pop hits.
His song Afro-Blue became a contemporary jazz standard, best-known in the coruscating version by saxophonist John Coltrane. In 1963, his own adaptation of Herbie Hancocks Watermelon Man provided the biggest hit of his career and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, Watermelon Man is regarded as a classic artefact on the Lounge Music scene. He was born Ramon Santamaria in Havana, Cuba on April 7 of 1917, and nicknamed Mongo by his father (the word denotes a tribal chief in Senegal). He began learning violin, but quickly switched to drums and then congas, and left school early to work as a musician on the highly active local scene in Havana. He graduated to the famous Tropicana Club with bands like Conjunto Matamoros and Conjunto Azul, then moved to New York in 1950. He was able to pursue his interest in American jazz at its epicentre, while gaining valuable exposure playing with two of the most important Latin band leaders in the city, Perez Prado and later Tito Puente. Their explosive percussion battles became a major attraction in Puentes band, but in 1958 he left the band to work with the jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader, who was beginning to explore the Latin jazz direction which made his reputation. He spent some years in California in this period, but returned to New York in 1962. He was already making records under his own name while working with Tjader, and soon formed his own band in New York. He came across Herbie Hancocks Watermelon Man when the pianist sat in with the band at a Cuban music club in the Bronx in 1962, and immediately saw the possibilities. He also continued to work with the Fania All Stars. His own version was a top ten entry on the American pop charts in 1963, and launched the percussionist on a new and more commercial direction, although the standard of his musicians generally remained high, including jazz artists like Chick Corea, Ray Vega, Sonny Fortune and Hubert Laws. He pursued the strategy of adding a Latin groove to jazz and pop tunes throughout the next two decades, and became an acknowledged leader in the highly popular Latin-soul fusion movement of the era. He became one of the best known names in Latin music, and reached a wide audience with his accessible, dance-oriented approach to the music. Although he never scored another hit of the magnitude of Watermelon Man, his other successes of the period included an energised version of La Bamba in 1964 and another big American success with his version of The Temptationss Cloud Nine in 1969. He received several Grammy nominations in the Seventies and Eighties, and won the award in 1977 for his album Amancer. In the early Eighties he returned to a more jazz influenced direction. He continued to perform into the early Nineties, and made further recordings even after he retired from concert appearances. Mongo Passed on February 1 of 2003 He is survived by his wife, Yolanda; six children, eight grandchildren, a great-grandchild and two sisters. Thank you for visiting Mongo Santamarias Myspace fan page. If you know of any additional credits that should be posted, please feel free to message me. This tribute page has been created in loving memory of Mongo Santamaria. |
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My Interests |
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Music:Member Since: 6/8/2006Sounds Like: Beny More canta "Roncona" y Mongo Santamaria toca tumbadora Beny More-Silvestre Mendez-Mongo Santamaria-Meche BarbaMongo Santamaria "Sofrito"Mongo Santamaria "Leah" Mongo Santamaria "Come Candela"Mongo Santamaria "Sofrito"Mongo Santamaria "Afro Blue"Mongo Santamaria "Mambo Mongo"Mongo Santamaria "Guajiro" Buda All Stars Type of Label: None |
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My Background and Lifestyle |
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| Occupation: | Music Artist (Latin / Jazz / Soul) |
My Pictures |
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My Blog |
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MONGO SANTAMARIA En Vivo DVD |
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| MONGO SANTAMARIAEn Vivo - DVD Budda/West Side BeatOriginally released: 2007Category: DVD; LATIN JAZZEditorsPick: Live performance from club Lulu White, in Boston's south side, circa '70s. An interview... Posted by Mongo Santamaria on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:35:00 PST |
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My Friends |
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Carlos Patato Valdes, Tata Güines, Kako Bastar, Skip Howlett R.I.P, Long John Oliva (Penalty), Richie Bastar, Eladio Perez, Eddie Montalvo, David La Mole Ortiz, Jimmie Morales, Pedrito Martinez, Johnny Rodriguez Jr, Georgie Padilla, Victor Pantoja, Papo Pepin, AFRO-CUBA DE MATANZAS, los Papines, Monguito Santamaria, Francisco Aguabella, ERNESTO LECUONA, Frankie Malabe R.I.P., CHINO NUNEZ, LA LUPE, Ernie Conga, Gumbi Ortiz and The Latino Projekt, Jafet, Pablo El Indio Rosario, ’’EL NENGUE’’, Melena, Roberto Roena Y Su Apollo Sound, Sammy Garcia y El Sabor De Puerto Rico, Chembo Corniel, los muñequitos de matanzas, Sandy Perez, Marvin Diz, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo Y Conjunto, Stefano Balboni, Arepa Funky, massimiliano, EDWIN MENOR, La Banda Salsa, JC, Antonio Gaudino, Jack79, LAIA BOSCH GRUP, Cerulean Blue, Kajira, Jay, Obabi, Don Gato, Enriquez Sotgiu "audiomagazine", Craig Leon, The Captain, One Man (Marek Maron), Los Autenticos de Cuba, AL, REBECA, TONY, fedezfer, Frédéric Paul, The Magician, incommunicado, Piconga, soncaribe, Sebastián Vásquez, Annalee, LA LUPE, The John Hardaker Direction, carla berlin, Maria Powers, cheryl pyle trio, JESUSOLO, Oliver "Cj" Meneses, GENE PERRY, willycostazul, DJ MASTA CONGA, YEMAYA, SHINOBU ITO, tee, Humberto Bello Palacios, Giovanni Crispino, Carol Alban -Flutist and Composer, Elle, LIFE
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Tags |
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Mongo Santamaria's profile has been tagged with the following keywords. Click a tag to search for profiles with the same tags. saxophonist john coltrane, mongo santamaria, fania all stars, conjunto matamoros, cal tjader, watermelon man, havana cuba, tropicana club, perez prado, afro blue, percussion music, jazz vibraphonist, religious rituals, john coltrane, latin band, latin jazz, tito puente, jazz standard, american jazz, band leaders |
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