Mongo SantamarĂa
Mongo SantamarĂa | |
---|---|
Santamaria in 1969 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | RamĂłn SantamarĂa RodrĂguez |
Also known as | Mongo |
Born | April 7, 1922 |
Origin | Havana, Cuba |
Died | February 1, 2003 80) | (aged
Genres | Latin jazz |
Instruments | Congas |
Associated acts | La Lupe, Tito Puente |
RamĂłn "Mongo" SantamarĂa RodrĂguez (April 7, 1922, in Havana, Cuba â February 1, 2003 in Miami, Florida) 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 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" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Mongo SantamarĂa was one of a handful of Cuban congueros ("conga players") who came to the United States in the 1940s and '50s. Other notable congueros who came to the U.S. during that time include Armando Peraza, Chano Pozo, Francisco Aguabella, Julito Collazo, Carlos Vidal Bolado and Modesto DurĂĄn. Many consider SantamarĂa to have been the greatest conga drummer of the twentieth century.
SantamarĂa inspired the stage name of Japanese actor YĆ«suke Santamaria. Additionally, his name is used as a pun in the film Blazing Saddles. When the character Mongo enters a scene, a Spanish-speaking peasant cries, "Mongo! Santa Maria!" before fleeing in terror.
He is buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum) in Miami, Florida.
Master rumbero
SantamarĂa learned rumba as a kid in the streets of Havanaâs JesĂșs MarĂa barrio. He reminisced: âIn 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).[1] Gerard points out: âSantamarĂa, 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 theoreticalâ (2001: 29).[2] SantamarĂa was mentored on bongos and rumba quinto by Clemente âChichoâ Piquero, who played in Beny MorĂ©âs band. He recalled: âI would go with Chicho and play the tumbadora and also the [quinto]. I would play everything because I learned a lot from Chichoâbecause he could play everything" (2001: 137).[3]
When SantamarĂa 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: âYou canât learn to play things like guaguancĂł here.... You have to have been where it came from.... You canât listen to records and get those feelingsâ (1977: 48).[4] SantamarĂa 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. SantamarĂa'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 SantamarĂa was recorded in SMCâs New York City studios on November 3, 1952. SantamarĂa's next recordings with folkloric rumba were on ChangĂł (re-issued as Drums and Chants) recorded in New York (1954). YambĂș (1958), Mongo (1959), and BembĂ© (1960) followed.
SantamarĂa's quinto phrasing was dynamic and creative; he had an unmistakable sound, that was uniquely his own. He did not analyze his personal style: âWhen I play I donât know how I do it, or what I do ... I just playâ (2001: 29).[5] The following example is an excerpt from a quinto performance by SantamarĂa on his composition "Mi guaguancĂł" (1959).[6] The excerpt shows variations on two main motifs, marked as A and B. SantamarĂa's repetition of what is typically a secondary phrase (B), makes it the primary motif here.[7]
Band drummer, band leader, innovator
SantamarĂa 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 40s, he recommended SantamarĂa for the job. Mexico opened SantamarĂa up to the wider world beyond his island home. After returning from Mexico in 1950, SantamarĂa moved to New York City where he became Tito Puenteâs conga player. In 1957 Mongo SantamarĂa joined Cal Tjaderâs Latin jazz combo.
In 1959 SantamarĂa recorded "Afro Blue," the first jazz standard built upon a typical African 3:2 cross-rhythm, or hemiola.[8][9] The song begins with the bass repeatedly playing 6 cross-beats per each measure of 12/8, or 6 cross-beats per 4 main beatsâ6:4 (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 1963 Chick Corea had given notice and SantamarĂa needed a pianist to fill in for the upcoming weekend gigs. Herbie Hancock got the temporary job. Hancock recalls what happened the night that SantamarĂa discovered âWatermelon Man" the only tune of SantamarĂaâs to reach the top of the pop charts:
[Jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd] âcame to this supper club to see how I was doing. Anyway, during one of the intermissions, Donald had a conversation with Mongo, something about, âWhat are the examples of the common thread between Afro-Cuban or Afro-Latin music and African-American jazz?â Mongo said he hadnât really heard a thing that really links it together, he was still searching for it. And I wasnât paying much attention to that conversation, it was a little too heavy for me at the time. But then all of a sudden Donald Byrd says, âHerbie, what donât you play âWatermelon Manâ for Mongo?â And Iâm thinking, âWhat does that have to do with the conversation theyâre talking about?â I thought it was a little funky jazz tune. So I started playing it, and then Mongo, he got up and he said, âKeep playing it!â He went on the stage, and playing his congas, and it fit like a glove fits on a hand, it just fit perfectly. The bass player looked at my left hand for the bass line, and he learned that. Little by little, the audience was getting up from their tables, and they all got on the dance floor. Pretty soon the dance floor was filled with people, laughing and shrieking, and was having a great time, and they were saying, âThis is a hit! This is fantastic!â It was like a movie! So after that, Mongo said âCan I record this?â I said âBy all means.â And he recorded it, and it became a big hit. Thatâs how it happenedâ (2001: 54).[10]
The sudden success of the song propelled SantamarĂa into his niche of blending Afro-Cuban and African American musics. SantamarĂa went on to record Cuban-flavored versions of popular R&B and Motown songs and played congas on the Temptations's hit âCloud Nineâ (1969).
Discography
As leader
- Afro-Cuban Drums SMC Pro-Arte 592 33 1/3 10 in. rpm phonorecord (1952)
- Drums and Chants (ChangĂł) Vaya CD 56 (1954)
- Tambores y Cantos (1955)
- Yambu: Mongo Santamaria y Sus Ritmos Afro Cubano (1958)[11]
- Mongo Fantasy phonorecord 3291 (1959) featuring the first recording of "Afro-Blue."
- Afro Roots (YambĂș, Mongo) Prestige CD 24018-2 (1958, 1959)
- Our Man in Havana (1959)
- Mongo en La Habana (1960) with Carlos Embale and Merceditas Valdés
- Sabroso! (1960) â with tresero and composician AndrĂ©s EcheverrĂa
- Go, Mongo! (1962)
- Watermelon man! (1963) (Battle Records)
- Mongo At The Village Gate (1963) (Riverside Records)
- El Bravo! (1964)
- La Bamba (1965)
- Pussy Cat (1965)
- "Hey! Let's Party" (1967)
- Afro-American Latin (1969)
- Stone Soul (1969)
- MongoÂŽ70 (1970)
- Feelin' Alright (1970)
- Mongo's Way (1971)
- Up From the Roots (1972)
- "Fuego" (1972)
- Ubané (1974) with Justo Betancourt on vocals[12]
- "Afro-Indio" (1975)
- Sofrito (1976)
- Amanecer (1977) â won a Grammy award
- A La Carte (1978)
- Red Hot (1979)
- Summertime (1981) with Dizzy Gillespie and Toots Thielemans
- Soy Yo (1987)
- You Better Believe It (1979)
- Mambo Mongo (1993)
- Mongo Returns (Milestone Records, 1995)
- Conga Blue (1995)
- Come on Home (1997)
- Mongo Santamaria (1998)
As sideman
With Dizzy Gillespie
- Afro (Norgran, 1954)
With Lalo Schifrin
- Che! (soundtrack) (Tetragrammaton, 1969)
References
- â Smith, Arnold (1977: 19). "Mongo SantamarĂa, King of the Cuban Congas". Downbeat, April 21.
- â Gerard, Charley (2001: 29). Music from Cuba: Mongo SantamarĂa, Chocolate Armenteros, and Cuban Musicians in the United States. ISBN 0275966828
- â Mongo SantamarĂa interview, Smithsonian Institution Jazz Oral History Program 1996; cited by Gerard (2001: 137).
- â Mongo SantamarĂa quoted by Smith (1977: 48)
- â Mongo SantamarĂa quoted by Gerard (2001: 29).
- â "Mi guaguancĂł," Mongo (Mongo SantamarĂa). Fantasy CD 8032 (1959).
- â Peñalosa, David (2010: 61). Rumba Quinto. Redway, CA: Bembe Books. ISBN 1-4537-1313-1
- â "Afro Blue," Afro Roots (Mongo Santamaria) Prestige CD 24018-2 (1959).
- â Peñalosa, David (2010: 26). The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins. Redway, CA: Bembe Inc. ISBN 1-886502-80-3.
- â Herbie Hancock quoted by Gerard (2001: 54)
- â www.allmusic.com (Macrovision Corporation). Retrieved 2009-06-30
- â Raul A. Fernandez, From Afro-Cuban rhythms to Latin jazz, University of California, 2006.