Whatever happenned to Daniel Ponce?

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Postby benbaboon » Wed Dec 26, 2001 7:55 pm

Hi,
Here's a name I've been missing for quite some years--Daniel Ponce.
I know of three albums he made:
New York Now
Arawe
Chango te llama

and a couple of others albums that he played on, but I haven't heard of anything new in quite some years(except recently discovering through congaplace that he plays or played at Rumba on 6)....
Anyone know what's up with him? any recent recordings?
Happy new year to all :)
-bb
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Postby JohnnyConga » Wed Dec 26, 2001 11:14 pm

Ben Daniel is alive and well living here in Miami . He is a friend of mine and has gone to Rumba6 on occasion .I will be going again this friday, if he's there I'll see what he;s up to. But he really doesn't have anything going now. When he first came on the scene in 1980 he was a novelty a Marielito,and snatched up by Verna Gillis who produced his first album, she also ran "Soundscape" a loft type club in manhatten where he was featured also with"Puntilla". Him and Puntilla had a falling out in NYC, hence Daniel moved here and has been here ever since...He seems to be in good health....JC JOHNNY CONGA....
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Postby JohnnyConga » Wed Dec 26, 2001 11:16 pm

Ponce also recorded with the Caiman All Stars recording..back in the 90's ...JC JOHNNY CONGA...
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Postby benbaboon » Wed Dec 26, 2001 11:37 pm

I'm glad to hear he's well... but too bad he's not recording more..... I know many besides myself who are likely to buy anything new he may decide to record. thanks for the update JC.
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Postby JohnnyConga » Thu Dec 27, 2001 2:29 am

Ben I'll put it to you this way some guys have hands, and then there are guys who have hands and can take care of "Business". I have met in my lifetime many a great player that had no desire to become Famous(recognized) or Wealthy. I do know some very wealthy percussionists. Remember ,coming from a system that teaches you to have to "Depend" and "Listen" to the "Dictation" of a system that controls your very existance,make you "Dependant". Since living here I have met many Cubans from the Island visiting who had no concepts of "Capitalism" what so ever. So when they went into a local very large suprmarket all they could do is look at the items because they don't know these items even existed, and then they didn't even understand how one gets paid and have to pay ,for example 600 a month rent, when in Cuba it's 12 dollars a month To deal with concept,because Cuba is locked in time. It is still 1959 in Cuba. The difference is that Education is "Free". But after your education and Degree, there is no where to go with it. The "Best" jobs right now in Cuba are Taxi Cab drivers and Musicians,only because Castro recognizes that Musicians are a "Commodity" and he has to keep them "Inside" because so many are being tempted today from outside sources to 'Defect". So now Castro "pays" his musicians. Taxi drivers just know who and how there service is worthy of the fares,based on research outside the country...they talk too. Daniel came out,from what I was told was the "prison" system and he actually learned in the joint. What they call here a "jailhouse rumbero"...Now don't quote me on this I was told this in 1980 when I first saw him in NYC.....the tale continues....JC JOHNNY CONGA...
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Postby Rumbaon6 » Tue Jan 08, 2002 4:31 am

Want to see Daniel rumbeando live? Then you need to come to Rumba on 6, in Miami's Little Havana. You will also have the pleassure to see other Cuban percussionists extraordinaire like Miguel Cruz, Emilito and our NewYorker with a Cuban accent friend and "quinto mayor" Johnny Conga. Also, a few Boricuas rumba cubana lovers that can play a mean Guaguanco.

You can find out more about Rumba on 6 and even watch QuickTime movies of all these guys playing by visiting our web site: Guaguanco

See U at the Rumba,
Adalberto
Rumba on 6[br]http://www.6gonline.com/guaguanco
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Postby ABAKUA » Tue Nov 30, 2004 3:02 am

:) He's alive and well!!! Great to hear.

Daniel Ponce's recordings have inspired me more than what words could ever describe.

For those who know him, please pass on my endless thanks to him for taking the time to record something that perhaps without his knowing has influenced someone like me who is on the other side of the world.
I have studied his recordings and incorporated some of his methods in my own playing, when percussionists ask me which conguero has influenced me the most or who is my favourite conguero of all time is (i have many) but the first name that comes to mind is DANIEL PONCE.

Daniel, thankyou, ARAWE, NEW YORK NOW and CHANGO TE LLAMA recordings changed my life.

Im very glad to hear you are alive and well, and still jamming.
Respect.




Edited By ABAKUA on 1101783924
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Postby JohnnyConga » Thu Dec 23, 2004 7:53 pm

Here is a photo of Daniel Ponce in Miami.....he's on your left..."JC" Johnny Conga.... :;):

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... ando11.jpg
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Postby ABAKUA » Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:30 pm

JohnnyConga wrote:Here is a photo of Daniel Ponce in Miami.....he's on your left..."JC" Johnny Conga.... :;):

Big mulatto dude withthe shaved head? hehehe
Cool. Thanks for that JC, Daniel looks substantially different to the way he did in the early 80's when I last saw him. :D

Glad to hear he is well. From what Ive been told by some influential NY percussionists, he aint too involved musically at the moment and is not hired due to personal conflicts, is this so? ???

Either way, big respect to him, I still get goosebumps when hearing some of the tunes on his recordings.

Drum on my tumba brother.
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Postby JohnnyConga » Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:41 pm

Yes Daniel has had his problems,musically and business wise. Eddie Palmieri walked off stage during a performance in NY with Ponce playing,because he couldn't play with the band. He is not a "schooled" musician, he is just a typical cuban rumbero, "de la calle"...He has mellowed out and is very personable now. We became friends once he moved to Miami, when I lived there, and we jammed on a few occasions, together. He always was very respectful to me and we got along real cool. What he is doing now nobody knows. Like the rest of the musicians living in Miami , time is passing them by...."JC" Johnny Conga..... :D
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Postby ABAKUA » Sat Dec 25, 2004 7:01 am

Saddens me to hear of it, yet Im glad he is alive and well.
His recordings inspired me many a time and many a night while kicking back with friends having drinks we listened to his recordings and paid much respect to what he and the other musicians put down in the studio on those 3 recordings.

JC, do you know if he recorded anything else apart from the 3 aforementioned albums? Or if he has recorded with anyone else?
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Postby Isaac » Mon Dec 27, 2004 3:28 am

I took one of my first rumba lessons from
Daniel in NYC up at Soundscape in 1981. He was a very strong and athletic player and he had his own group at the time . He was doing things that were years ahead of the prevailing concepts that New Yorkers tend to stick with like the gospel. If there was an olympic event for congueros, he'd have been a gold medal winner. Prior to Giovanni Hidalgo hitting big, this guy was "IT". It was the first time I'd seen anybody play 5 congas at once. He was also on a big ego trip, a hothead, and not the most patient of teachers, but I took it in stride as part of his "creative temperment". I'm glad to hear he's mellowed out over the years. My friend & conguero Jose Gregorio mentioned
doing some rumba with him one night in
Miami last year.


ISAAC funkytradition@yahoo.com
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Postby JohnnyConga » Mon Dec 27, 2004 9:53 pm

Yea Issac I was there in 1980 when he first played Soundscape and I was living in L.A...My boys were telling me about him and I flew to NY just to check him out. He definetly had an effect on me and "opened" my style, I was truly bored with just tumbao and my way of playing until I saw what he did on 5 congas. I wouldn't call him a "teacher", per se, but I learned by watching him as well as a lot of other dudes that were there. I am SURE he affected ALL the players in NYC when he arrived. This was before Gio hit it big. He sits in with El Sacerdote de La Rumba at his club up 0n 48th st. and 2nd ave. in Miami. Happy New Year, Bro......"JC" Johnny Conga... :;):
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