Man, so good. Had to list up all the styles he covers: Shuffle Blues, 12/8 groove, New Orleans Rhumba, Habanera (The Crave), Good time New Orleans Jazz (Dixieland), Slow Blues, New Orleans Boogie Woogie, New Orleans Funk, Gospel, Jump, PRofessor Longhair (Not sure how people would describe this one?), James Booker Stride Style, Huey Smith, Four And Second Line
"Mongo" Santamaría (April 7, 1917 - February 1, 2003) was a rumba quinto master and an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. 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.
Herbie was a great jazz pianist at an early age. I believe he was playing with Miles as a teenager! With all due respect to Herbie, his rap here is very problematic. I like his back story of how Watermelon Man came about, but I'm reluctant to believe any of it. The most likely scenario is that Herbie was practicing piano one day. Playing around. Improvising. And his fingers hit up a lick and it caught his ear. This happens frequently to musicians. Call it a happy accident. Call it a bonus for all the hours and study that preceded it. Herbie hits on a lick and plays with it, develops it. It has no name. It's just a riff that he digs and it's his own. Over time he shapes it into a composition of five or six minutes. He thinks about it and finally he gives it a name: Watermelon Man. Likewise his rap here is contrived and worked out. As I said I like it but I don't believe it. I like Herbie and I like Watermelon Man but not his shtick.
It is just a real artistic experience to listen to a composer perform his music. This guy is just fantastic...was early in his career and he just keeps getting better all the time!
Los videos q suben lo muestran haciendo sólo repiques y artificios sonoros con las uñas. Brillan por su ausencia los tumbaos o construcciones rítmicas mas elaboradas. Si se trata de una rutina para trabajar repiques y manos es válido está bien. Si lo pretendido es sólo instrumental es monótono y francamente pobre. Lo q hace con las uñas no es agradable........ No me gusta.
I find the History of Caribbean music fascinating. Cuban, Dominican and Puerto rican have their own unique style but all of it is Caribbean music. I am shocked they never put together a Caribbean Music Festival to celebrate their own music from the islands. I am sure it would have been a big success. Especially in New York City the First annual Caribbean music festival where it all started would have been a big thing. Celebrating Afro Cuban Jazz, Rumba, Mambo and Puerto rican Bomba y Plena and Dominican Meringue and Bachata. I mean this is Afro Caribbean music at its best.
