COLUMBIA Afro American Latin

Amazon.co.uk Cuban-born conguero Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría is among the founding fathers of modern Afro-Cuban music. His composition "Afro Blue" is a jazz standard, his rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" was a pop hit in the early 1960s, and his powerful cross-rhythms propelled the grooves for Dizzy Gillespie, Cal Tjader, and Tito Puente. Here, Santamaría is backed by an all-star lineup featuring master conguero and santero Julito Collazo, Fort Apache drummer Steve Berrios, percussionist Osvaldo Martinez, trumpeter Lew Soloff, and flutist Hubert Laws. The impact of these sessions (available for the first time) could easily have fuelled the future of Latin jazz had they been released back in the day. Santamaría lays down some mean folkloric and Latin-R&B grooves on "Mi Reina Guajira", Marty Sheller's "Mambo Leah", and Norman Simmon's "Naked If You Want To". On "Philadelphia", saxophonist Sonny Fortune unleashes an incredible John-Coltrane-tinged solo, and bassist William Allen's title track is an Afro-anthemic fusion of Harlem and Havana. The centerpiece of this thrilling set, though, is Santamaría's spirit-summoning drum tour de force, "Obatala", his song of praise to the powerful African God that has blessed him with an incredible career. --Eugene Holley Jr. Product description CD: Mongo Santamaria,Afro American Latin