BREAKING SKIN/ROMPIENDO EL CUERO!

[JohnnyConga]

Thank you Jibaro......HEY GUYS FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT KNOW MY NEW CD "BREAKING SKIN/ROMPIENDO EL CUERO" iS now available....SHOW SOME LOVE AND Pick ONE UP TODAY OR ANY OF THE MP3'S IF U DONT WANT A WHOLE CD....THERE ARE 18 TRAKS OF MUSIC SO PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM...PLEASE GOT TO AMAZON.COM OR AT http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny....THANKS IN ADVANCE....."JC" JOHNNY CONGA

[JohnnyConga]

GRACIAS JIBARO!...yes u can pick up my New CD on Amazon.com for just $8.99....for 18 traks of drumming and Latin Jazz.....Gracias por su apoyo!...I Thank everyone here for your support over the years...."JC" Johnny Conga http://www.myspace.com/jcjohnnyconga

[debbie]

hi johnny
i bought the MP3 version of your album and i love it! a great variety of stuff, excellent sound quality and very inspirational.
Thanks so much for all your hard work
debbie

[Jibaro]

Another nice review - this guy has gadgets to play example songs right from his blog... pretty neat
http://cahlsjukejoint.blogspot.com/2009/06/johnny-conga-breaking-skinrompiendo-el.html

He certainly knows how to work listeners into a frenzy. There's one great Latin dance tune after another on his new album, "Breaking Skin/Rompiendo el Cuero," starting with a rendition of Chick Corea's "Guajira." But with a subtle shift of the groove, Conga's songs start to woo listeners. "Mariel," for example, is played in the key of love.

Hey what kind of sound boards are those below?



Maybe Pearl ResoPlate?

[JohnnyConga]

WOW!...hadn't seen this one before ...Thank you for posting it...yea Reso plates under my drums...they really work well...once again guys my CD is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny and at Descarga.com and at Amazon.com..."JC" Johnny Conga

[Sonnytimbal]

I just want to say Congratulations to JohnnyConga for producing one of the finest albums a conguero/percussionist could have.
I happen to get my hands on one and it will without a doubt be a permanent part of my cd players carousel. There is alot to admier and learn from his cd.
There are many full tune percussion solos full of top edge playing. And many styles that are covered.
Again congrats on a fine contribution. I will enjoy it for a long time to follow.
thanks Johnny.

[JohnnyConga]

Gracias Sonnytimbal....It was a labor of love for sure... My New Cd is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny get it today!....Gracias a todos!...
"JC" Johnny Conga

[bongosnotbombs]

I had a little surprise the other day. I went to Amoeba records, an enormous record store
on Haight Street, around the corner from my house. It's so big, the building it is in used
to be a bowling alley.

Well, right there in the new arrivals area of the salsa section was several copies of JC's CD.
Looks like it's getting some big time promotion. I'm getting a copy next time I cruise in there.

Good one JC!

[JohnnyConga]

Yo bongosnotbombs u pick up my CD yet??....hahahahaa...well this monday here in Seattle I will be performing with Hall of Famer and Grammy winner Michael Schrieve(Santana), and his new band SPELLBINDER..for the Woodstock anniversary(something that happened in 1969 before a lot of u were born) but u can pick up the Woodstock DVD and see Michael take a great drum solo. We will be at TOST in Fremont-Seattle, monday the 17th at 9pm...I recorded with Michael 2 3 years back but he has not released that recording, I hope he does, it is very unique and different...I look forward to playing with this great band of musicians..."JC" Johnny Conga

[Mike]

I will be performing with Hall of Famer and Grammy winner Michael Schrieve(Santana), and his new band SPELLBINDER..for the Woodstock anniversary(something that happened in 1969 before a lot of u were born) but u can pick up the Woodstock DVD and see Michael take a great drum solo. I look forward to playing with this great band of musicians..."JC" Johnny Conga

Hey JC, congrats to this project!
Well, as a post-baby boomer I know Michael Schrieve from the Woodstock video only, but that was a great performance for sure.

[JohnnyConga]

REMINDER MY NEW CD IS A AVAILABLE AT http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny Thank you for your support..."JC" Johnny Conga

[JohnnyConga]

Johnny Conga – Breaking Skin (Independent 2009)

August 20, 2009 by danavas Filed under CDs

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Review written by: Raul de Gama-Latin Jazz Network http://www.latinjazznet.com


Johnny Conga comes from a long line of illustrious tumbadores, too many to mention, but suffice it to say that from the musical evidence on Breaking Skin, the genealogy may well include the likes of Chano Pozo, Mongo Santamaria, Tata Güines, Candido, Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella and a host of others. Lest anyone out there scream, “Blasphemy!” it bears mention that Johnny Conga stylistically connects ancient with modern from the challenging rhythms of West Africa – the beating heart of ritmo – to the son and danzon, timba, bembe, charanga, rumba, mambo and so on.

Conga’s exclusively rhythm tracks – the “Conga Solo” series, which feature 2 and 3 congas, “Bembe Ochun,” “Conganation,” “Congobel Part II” and “Congarobics – 3 Congas” are all stunning displays not only of virtuoso tumbadora work, but inspired emotional homecoming. The hypnotic edge suggests a conjuring of the spirit world, a call to prayer that is primitive and powerfully modern. It suggests that the drum connection with musical spirituality is vibrantly alive.

Johnny Conga may be making a very important statement here. He is not only establishing his pedigree with this record, nor displaying a flashy skill. There is something greater than dexterity on display here. Johnny Conga is re-establishing the spirit connection with musical journeying. To suggest anything else would be silly. Jack DeJohnette had once lamented that spirituality had left music after John Coltrane died. Musicians it seemed were no longer probing, looking for the tonal centers of song and dance, while entertaining at the same time. But as civilizations spiral uncontrollably into the future, bereft a spirit the world spins darkly. Music like that on Breaking Skin is a constant reminder that there is an alternative, a seeking for the ebullience that can only come with a search for the deeper connection with the roots of humanity, the ritmo of the soul.

So can this record be really enjoyed without this mumbo jumbo? It can and in many more ways than one. True that there is an innocuous start to the record, with Chick Corea’s early chart, “Guajira,” but that only sets the stage for the musical heat that is to follow. There is also a superb display of transcendent interplay between Conga, piano and vibes player, Mario “Del Barrio” Marrero, and rhythmic counterpoint with timbalero, Edwin Bonilla together with the bongocero, Ronnie Loreto. “Seattle Bembe” is a fine example of ritualistic drumming, the rumbling incantation and Bembe raining, blended with a bubbling in the barrio as the maestro of the Yoruba worship calls upon the spirits up above to bless all songs.

“Siempre me va Bien” blends sassy melody with the raining of seemingly mambo coconuts and a delightfully drunken hypnotic clave laughter conjoined with piano con clave. But Johnny Conga does not stop at celebrating merely the Afro-Cuban, or the Afro-Caribbean – as on “Caribe Madness”. There is also some superb deconstruction of the Brasilian rhythms, featured on intense samba tracks such as “Mariel,” which rocks from a sensuous piano and vibes introduction to a swaggering bolero, before skipping with heart-stopping motion back to a samba. “Afro-Samba” is no less wonderful, though completely different from its fluttering counterpart. And, of course, “Midnight Mambo” is a sexy confluence of brass woodwinds and percussion – the highlights are the tenor saxophone work of Tom McCormick with Johnny Padilla on soprano doing svelte pirouettes in counterpoint.

Throughout the record, Johnny Conga’s effortless method of creating memorable ritmo is always on. The rhythmic splatters he creates are non pareil. His left hand patterns and a variety of right hand slaps both open toned and flat slapping is inspired and memorable. Add to that the compositional abilities and the recasting of older work in a modern context and this makes Breaking Skin a record that is pretty close to perfect.

Tracks: Guajira; Seattle Bembe; Siempre Me Va Bien; Conga Solo – 2 congas; Mariel; Conganation; Midnight Mambo; Congobel Part II; Kathy’s Theme; Afro-Samba; Conga Solo No. 2 – 3 Congas; Bembe Ochun; JC’s Revenge; Congarobics – 3 Congas; Comparsa Con Campanas; Afro-Dixie 6; Rumba Pa’ La Ocha; Caribe Madness.

Personnel: Johnny Conga: Congas; Juan Pablo Torres: trombone; Eddie “Guagua” Rivera: bass; Edwin Bonilla: timbales; Mario “Del Barrio” Marrero: piano, vibes; Ronnie Loreto: bongo, bell; Doug Michaels: trumpet; Tom McCormick: tenor saxophone (solo 1,3, 7); Johnny Padilla: tenor saxophone (solo: 5, 12), soprano saxophone (solo 7); Jose "Juanito" Martinez: drums; Guests Sammy Alamillo: drums, handclaps and background vocals; Jeff Woods: congas, guitars, handclaps and background vocals.

Johnny Conga on the web: www.myspace.com/jcjohnnyconga

Review written by: Raul da Gama

Tags: Breaking Skin, Doug Michaels, Eddie “Guagua” Rivera, Edwin Bonilla, Jeff Woods, Johnny Conga, Johnny Padilla, Jose "Juanito" Martinez, Juan Pablo Torres, Mario “Del Barrio” Marrero, Raul da Gama, Rompiendo el cuero, Ronnie Loreto, Sammy Alamillo, Tom McCormick

[JohnnyConga]

CHEK OUT MY LATEST REVIEW OF MY CD(above) it is still available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny Gracias/Thank U! for your support of the drum and my music...."JC" Johnny Conga

[ABAKUA]

Great stuff man! Excellent reviews there.
Hope to get my copy soon.

[JohnnyConga]

My New Cd is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/congajohnny u can download it or buy the physical CD....Thank you for your support..and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!...."JC" Johnny Conga