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Mongo Santamaría
artist

Mongo Santamaría

Mongo Santamaría is a jazz artist from Cuba. 127 releases are catalogued on Riffiter.

Jazz · Cuba · Best jazz albums

127
Releases
1959–2003
Active years
2003
Died

Discography

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El Pussy Cat cover

Most popular

El Pussy Cat

2015 · 10 tracks

Singles & EPs

7

Live & compilations

13

Community

More about Mongo Santamaría

Mongo Santamaría at a glance

Born in
Havana
From
Cuba
Active since
1950
Instruments
conga
Labels
Columbia Records, Fantasy, Fania Records

Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Children listed are those with their own public record, so the list may be incomplete.

About

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) 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 City 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" (recorded on December 17, 1962) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Mongo Santamaría was one of a handful of Cuban congueros ("conga players") who came to the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. 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 Durán. Many consider Santamaría to have been the greatest conga drummer of the twentieth century.

Mongo Santamaría in brief

How many Mongo Santamaría releases are on Riffiter?
127 releases are catalogued, spanning 1959 to 2025.
What genre is Mongo Santamaría?
Mongo Santamaría is catalogued under Jazz, Latin, Latin Jazz.
What is the most recent Mongo Santamaría release on Riffiter?
The Greatest of Latin Music: Mongo Santamaria, released in 2025.

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