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It is impossible to condense the amazing career of Ramón "Mongo" Santamaria, the pioneering Cuban percussionist who was among the most acclaimed exponents of Latin jazz and whose 1963 Top 10 hit "Watermelon Man" stands as a precursor of pop crossover in Latin music. Mongo started learning percussions as a kid while assisting at Santería's religious ceremonies. Soon he became a formidable "bongocero" -and later an equally magnificient "conguero"-, and at 20 he started his career with the orchestra of the Cabaret Eden in Havana and the Lecuona Cuban Boys. In Mexico he worked with the famous mambo king Perez Prado, and later in New York he performed with the Machito and Tito Puente orchestras. He "discovered" such figures as Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock. He then moved to California to work with Cal Tjader. In 1959 he would record his first international hit, "Afro Blue", later recorded by John Coltrane. Extremely talented, his distinct sound and his melodic approach made him the most influential conguero in the jazz worlds. He was responsible for the absorption of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian rhythms into American popular music such as R&B, Soul and Funk. The press rightfully considers him a funk forerunner. And finally, he would become a pillar of the Jerry Massuci FANIA label. He died last year. And Latin R&B, Latin soul, Latin funk and Latin jazz is exactly what this compilation is about. In 1970 Mongo had started working with two formidable Colombian musicians : pianist Edy Martinez and saxist and flutist Justo Almario, who appears on most of the tunes along with percussionist Steve Berrios. There is also the galvanizing appearances of three major trumpeters: Luis Ortiz, Victor Paz and Ray Maldonado. The compilation starts with Fingers from the album "Fuego" - a tribute to the master ability to caress the skins. Then, produced by Mongo's one time lead trumpet Marty Sheller, the tunes from "Live at the Yankee Stadium" are explosive, Mongo at his best, with the infectious Dr. Gasca and Black Dice. In the four tracks from "Afro Indio", Mongo opens a bridge between his afro-cuban culture, funk, R&B and jazz. It was the time of the hits Lady Marmalade -with a latin twist- and Mambomongo. After compositions from "Sofrito", "A la Carte" and "Images", the compilation ends with a bonus: four titles of the 1977's Fania compilation Best of. One of them, Manteca, written by Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie, has become the latin jazz anthem. In an interview in 1999, Mongo said "I'm not a hero, but I did my best to make everybody happy." He surely did - as will this compilation!
