congaplace.com

I am a very happy conguero!
I received by courier today a Bauer classic super tumba. And it is awesome. I tuned it to E and all sort of things started rattling around the studio. It sounds beautiful and rounded. The classic Bauer sound, a pure note and no ringing whatsoever. It will be amazing for those Run parts.

Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a quinto, a conga, two tumbas and one super tumba. As you can imagine I like my sound fat and round.
I have never played 5 before and I wasn't quite happy with what I came up with.

I have read a few of the old posts but still feel I could do with more advice.

So please multi conga masters share a bit of your wisdom.

Abraço

Tone congrats on the Bauers. I know those are well built great sounding drums.
The original 5 drum master! Anga!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aBuFXnICHY

Sorry BNB, just a brief comment:

Anga was a master on 5 congas, but not the original master. His predecessor with Irakere, Jorge Alfonso, was just one of those who did it before - with undisputed mastery. I'm sure there have been others who experimented with the idea before him. I have been told that Candido, Los Papines, and Pello el Afrokan made a performance (if not a novelty) out of playing on even more drums (like 8 or 10), and probably Patato couldn't resist the temptation either.

Thomas

5 Congas is easy, try 49 on for size like I did!

Ever tried playing a 49 conga Guaguanco?




But yes, back to Tomas, he is correct, the original 5 conga master was Jorge 'El Niño' Alfonso, the original conguero for Irakere, before Anga. Anga came in when El Niño left the band.
El Niño was the first conguero in Cuba to use 5 congas within an orchestra/band setting, his style, became part of Anga's style, along his his huge influence from Tata.

The video quality is quite bad, but just listen to the man. One of my first teachers studied all the recordings of Irakere with El NIño, you give him 5 congas, close yoru eyes and its El Niño playing.

Anyway, here are some clips of the man. (R.I.P)

@ 1:07 the man shows a piece of his brilliance on 5 conga Guaguanco.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPAs28FbOCY

Again, another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLbKnhj0iQ


More:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUfFEk-xLg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uRdFN-bE2A

Irakere was so far ahead of its time.

Oh yeah, PS, congrats on your new tubs.

This link might be useful, it provides the pdf-transcript of Angá´s "Angamania":

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/mimfilms ... ptions.pdf

It contains Marcha variations for 5 congas e.g. and a lot more -
any serious conguero has heard about this terrific insight into the teaching and playing of a genius...
Angá surely counts among the greatest conga master ever seen on this planet. His untimely death has
shattered many a musician.

All the best
Mike

Mike wrote:Angá surely counts among the greatest conga master ever seen on this planet. His untimely death has
shattered many a musician.

My dream of over 15 yrs came true a few years ago when I got the chance to meet the man. We became close friends and I was honored to share time with him.
I will always cherish my time with him, the laughs, the lessons I had with him and the rumbas we had. He was a joker, a prankster and all round humble genius and great person.
Shattered is exactly how Id put it when I found out the news a few hours after it happened.

Semantics guys, semantics.

bongosnotbombs wrote:Semantics guys, semantics.

Quoi? Whotcha mean?
Sorry, BnB, for honestly, I do not understand as a non-native speaker of English what your expression is supposed to mean?

ABAKUA, the first 49 conga player....woooow ...l.o.l
forget 3, 5, or 8 congas man go handle those 49....haahaahaaa.

Are all those 49, yours, can you tell us the make of all the sets?

Not mine, it was a room where we held clinics and workshops while on tour with a former band I worked with in one of the cities we travelled to...




Tried tuning 49 congas? Can be a real nightmare to get it right!




Sorry for the thread hijack...

Abakua and remembering which one to play for a particular sound! LOL that would be a trip but as crazy as it sounds someone out there is trying it with a whole bunch of congas LOL

Thanks for all the brilliant posts and pictures guys! I am goig to study all this.

One more related query please (nomore highkack!)

How would you place individual mics on a 4 or 5 conga set. I saw that picture of JC with the gaffa taped mics, but where to yo put the mic on the central drum without it being in the way?

Abraço

MAN, you guys shure did have your hands busy, with 49 congas, i noticed unique hardware on some congas, that don't seem to be fron the U.S, thanks for the picture.

Coming back to the 5-conga topic (let´s refrain from conga inflation, guys ):

One thing I REALLY like is the Mozambique pattern for 5 congas which I found a while ago
at our forum, the "conga1" part is actually to be played on 5 congas:

EDIT: Hey, this is my post #7-Eleven , but I don´t buy my instruments there (ha-ha)

Saludos Hermanos

Mike: Mike to what book is this excerpt from? interested to hear what it sounds like. on top fo the page it says CD 1 Track 18.
if anyone has it let me know.

suave

oz