Chano was born Luciano Pozo González on January 7, 1915 in a very poor neighborhood in Havana.
In his early teenage years, he was introduced to Santería, also known as “La Regla de Ocha”, an Afro-Caribbean religion derived from the beliefs of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. He was also involved in the Abakuá secret society and Palo which has its roots in the Congo.
Pozo was a colorful, energetic character engaged in all kinds of activities, some legal, some less-than-legal, but he was best know for his drumming, dancing and the award winning compositions he wrote for Carnival parades.
One of these tunes “La Comparsa de los Dandys” is to this day a kind of unofficial theme song for the city of Santiago de Cuba and is a familiar standard at many Latin American carnivals.
Chano was involved in the battle to break the color barrier in the Cuban music industry which at the time excluded dark skinned black from professional opportunities.
In 1947, he moved to New York City for better opportunities encouraged by his friend Miguelito Valdés.
That same year he met Dizzy, recorded with him and many others, and went on tour in Europe. A year later, his promising life was cut short in a pointless act of violence on a New York City Street.
Many of the tunes on this playlist feature Chano’s friend Miguelito Valdés on vocals.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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1. “Lo Que le Pasó A Luisita (Guaguancó)” – With his Orchestra
2. “Serende” – with Chano Pozo and the Machito and his Afro-Cubans
3. “Rumba Guajira”
4. “Mambo Abacua”
5. “Pa Que Gocen”
If you want to be conversant with Cuban popular music standards there are over a dozen Arsenio Rodriquez you must learn.
But that’s not all.
1. In an era of “plunk, plunk,” he told his bass players to make their instruments sing thus becoming one of the creators of the bass riff.
2. He put the clave back into the son after it had been gradually watered down in the 1920s and 30s.
3. He created the practice of using layered, contrapuntal parts using piano (bottom line), tres (second line), 2nd and 3rd trumpets (third line), and 1st trumpet (fourth line), all locked into the clave.
4. He invented the Latin horn section, being the first to double, then create a triple trumpet section.
5. He substituted the piano for the tres, exploding the contrapuntal and harmomonic possibilities of Cuban popular music.
6. He had his bongo player use a cencerro (‘cowbell’) during montunos (call-and-response chorus sections)
7. He included the conga in the line up of his band, the first to do so.
If his music sounds familiar and not terribly innovative, it’s because so many thousands of Latin musicians have copied from his playbook over the decades that they’ve completely normalized his revolutionary breakthroughs.
The more you know about the evolution of Cuban music in the 20th century, the more you’ll appreciate what a giant Arsenio was. And there’s a lot more than to his story that I covered here.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Machito’s son, percussionist and bandleader Mario Grillo, recalls the details of his father and his work in a touching and entertaining way.
Lots to learn from this narrative.
Machito and his Afro-Cubans perform for a live studio audience in Japan. The beautiful manners of Japan and Latin America meet.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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For those who missed it, Birdland, the shrine of bebop, and the Palladium Ballroom, the shrine of Latin jazz, were just a block away from each other.
The original Birdland opened December 15, 1949 at 1678 Broadway just north of West 52nd Street and closed in 1965.
The Palladium Ballroom opened in 1948 on the corner of 53rd Street and Broadway in New York City and closed May 1, 1966.
Musicians and audience members went back and forth between the two nightspots.
Jazzman Slim Gaillard and Tito Puente reminisce about the heyday – and then get down to a jam.
Note: Don’t got looking for either of these places. They’re gone, but here’s what they looked like.
The original Birdland
The front door
Ella Fitzgerald in the house
A cool spot
Celebrity hangout
The interior
The original Palladium Ballroom
Tito Rodriguez on the bandstand
The Crowd
Tito Puente and Ray Baretto
Dancers
Other famous joints
Cotton Club
Five Spot
Savoy Ballroom
The dance floor at the Savoy
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Santamaría learned rumba as a kid in the streets of Havana’s Jesús María barrio.
He reminisced: “In the neighborhood where I came from we had all kinds of music, mostly from Africa. We did not leave it alone; we changed it our way. The music we made dealt with religion and conversation. The drum was our tool and we used it for everything.”
Afro Blue (a Mongo Santamaria composition)
Personnel on Afro Blue
Mongo Santamaria, congas
Bobby Sanabria, drums
Sal Santamaria, percussion
E.J. Allen, trumpet
Sam Furnace, tenor saxophone
Tony Hinson, baritone saxophone
Bob Quaranta, piano
Eddie Resto, bass
Afro Blue – The John Coltrane version
More from Mongo
Tracks:
1. Perez Prado – Mambo del 65 – Mongo on congas, first time he was recorded on the instrument
2. Tito Puente – Four Beat Mambo – Mongo with Willie Bobo, and Patato
3. Mongo Santamaria’s Afro-Cuban Drums
4. Cal Djader Quintet – Afro-Blue – Tune with and by Mongo Santamaria
5. Mongo Santamaria – Mazacote – With Willie Bobo, Al McKibbon (Mongo on bongo)
6. Mongo Santamaria – Canta Bajo – Mongo Introduces La Lupe
7. Mongo Santamaria – Canto Abacua – With Justo Betancourt
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
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Herbie Hancock