Please recommend latin jazz listening for conga - Where congas are easy to hear

[Mike]

It has been mentioned in an earlier post, but
Bill Fitch has really been one of the revelations of revelations in conga playing to me, ´cause the title INSIGHT with Cal Tjader is so beautifully balanced: a kick-ass conga solo that blends perfectly with a wistful Latin Jazz tune ...

cf. http://www.congaplace.com/cgi-bin....l=fitch

[Firebrand]

I'm surprised no one has put anything by Giovanni Hidalgo here...

For Latin-Jazz stuff involving Giovanni Hidalgo, I'd recommend Villa Hidalgo and Worldwide (two of his earlier CDs). Skip Time Shifter...wasn't as good as the ones I mentioned.

Another set of two CDs featuring Giovanni Hidalgo playing in an excellent latin-jazz setting are the two Tito Puente and the Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars album (one is "Live at the Village Gate" and the other is "In Session").

These 4 CDs feature the cream of Giovanni Hidalgo's studio-recorded productions. He's done his videos and done stuff with Humberto Ramirez, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, and others, but I still think the 4 CDs I listed compile the best of his musical production.

Look for those CDs in Amazon...but don't pay anything more than $15.00 for each.

[rumbero russo]

One more with Giovanny, Hands of Rhythm, a duo with Michel Camilo. You even can hear how to play swing on tumbadoras and bongos.
Best Wishes!