Mongo's Greatest Hits
Released: 1958
Label: N\A
Released: 1958
Label: N\A
This is a excellent single-disc sampler of what Mongo Santamaria was like before "Watermelon Man" catapulted him into the charts. Some of the Fantasy tracks sound like the musicians were just off...
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Mongomania
Released: August 1967
Label: N\A
Released: August 1967
Label: N\A
Mongomania maintains a solid, upbeat jazz groove, with several interesting departures from his usual approach (such as the percussion on the album's two bossa novas). Whereas his previous Columbia...
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Red Hot
Released: 1979
Label: N\A
Released: 1979
Label: N\A
In reaching for another shot at the big time, Mongo Santamaria sold much of the heart out of his music by turning himself over to producer Bob James, his arranger Jay Chattaway, and the fading...
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Soca Me Nice
Released: May 1988
Label: N\A
Released: May 1988
Label: N\A
Since 1962, Mongo Santamaria has led a series of top Afro-Cuban Latin jazz bands that effectively combine Cuban rhythms with bop-oriented jazz solos. Santamaria had a new horn section at the time...
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La Bamba
Released: 1964
Label: N\A
Released: 1964
Label: N\A
One good hit deserves a remake, so Columbia had Mongo Santamaria redo his breakthrough record "Watermelon Man" on his second LP for the label. Indeed, it is this brighter, better-recorded version...
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Hey! Let's Party
Released: 1967
Label: N\A
Released: 1967
Label: N\A
Hey! Let's Party represents one of percussionist Mongo Santamaria's first and most engaging plunges into the world of contemporary pop, galvanizing well-known chart smashes with the energy and...
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Soul Bag
Released: 1969
Label: N\A
Released: 1969
Label: N\A
Ably supported by a cast including flutist Hubert Laws, saxophonist Sonny Fortune, and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, conguero Mongo Santamaria rejoins the hit parade with Soul Bag,...
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Feelin' Alright
Released: 1970
Label: N\A
Released: 1970
Label: N\A
While it fits in with the glut of Top 40 boogaloo efforts that record companies pressured jazz artists to record in the late '60s and early '70s, Mongo Santamaria's Feelin' Alright does offer a...
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