Mongo Santamaría

congas, bongos · 1917–2003 · Havana

Born in Havana in 1917, Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría moved to New York in 1950, became Tito Puente's conga player, then joined Cal Tjader's combo in 1957. Composer of "Afro Blue" (1959), he had his biggest hit with "Watermelon Man" (1962) and died in Miami in 2003.

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Styles

• Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban
• Soul jazz, boogaloo

Landmark tracks

• Afro Blue (1959)
• Watermelon Man (Mongo Santamaría) (1962)

Sources

• Source

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