Search - Mongo Santamaria :: Skins

Cuban-born percussionist Mongo Santamaria already had a wealth of experience in Latin music and its integration with jazz when he recorded these sessions, originally released on two LPs in the early 1960s: Mongo Explodes! and Go, Mongo! Although the number of percussionists and the Latin emphasis vary between the two dates, both sessions are notable for how successfully they fuse the two idioms, adding dense rhythms to hard bop blowing and vice versa. Cornetist Nat Adderley stands out in his three appearances, and it's a good opportunity to hear saxophonist Pat Patrick outside the context of Sun Ra's band. Santamaria's gifts as a talent scout are apparent in the presence of the young Chick Corea and Hubert Laws. "Corn Bread Guajira" and "Congo Blue" bear close resemblances to Santamaria's best-known numbers, his hit recording of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" and his own "Afro-Blue," respectively. --Stuart Broomer