congaplace.com

if this thread already out there just point me that way. What i searching to do is broaden my musical knowledge.

Would like any direction on groups or artists that you think is important to listen to get a good feel for the music. No specific genre but (of course) with heavy influence on precussion. I learn well by hearing so need to direct my search in the afro-cuban (which is such a board genre ) area. Things like traditional cuban music, latin jazz, or whatever you can think of. Even though i know some I feel that i really need to explore.

thanks as always

edit

I guess what I'm saying is lay the classics throughout history and the present that defines conga/timbale sounds

thanks you

Mongo
Tito Puente
Ray Barretto
Cal Tjader
Giovanni Hidalgo
Los Muñequitos
Tata Guines & Anga
Santana
Patato

Omelenko1 wrote:Mongo
Tito Puente
Ray Barretto
Cal Tjader
Giovanni Hidalgo
Los Muñequitos
Tata Guines & Anga
Santana
Patato

Good Classic list. Can anyone add any newer artists? I would like to learn more about who to look for who's who that is newer.

Thanx

Gile Peterson Havana Cultura Band; the hippest sounds from Cuba.

Joven Jazz
Lucky 7
Orch.Charangoa
Steven Kroon
Tiempo Libre
Viento de Agua
Mambo Legends Orch.
Kike Sanchez
Mongorama
John Santos Sextet
this is all NEW music !...and you can also chekout my online radio show at www.kbcs.fm its archived under audio archive AL LADO LATINO Sat. July 17th...

I'm diggin "Jardeniro" from Jesus Diaz y su QBA...

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jesusdiaz

May I humbly suggest....

PEDRITO MARTINEZ - nobody else is doing what he is doing.

He is at the forefront of modern conga drumming and Cuban music.
He does it all; modern production, arranging, singing and most of all PLAYING the congas.

http://www.pedritomartinezmusic.com

+1 for Pedrito Martinez and crew. He plays on over 100 recordings but here are two of his own:

Enyenison Enkama Project - Pedrito with Roman Diaz, Angel Guerrero, Onel Mulet and many others, latin jazz instrumentation of Abakua music. The CD is available for those of you who can hear the difference from mp3s.
http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/24115.10

"Slave to Africa" Pedrito with Roman Diaz and Mauricio Herrera and others, some amazingly beautiful music here, including a rumba like none you have ever heard. CD published in Japan, out of print and hard to find, get the mp3s from iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/slave-to-africa/id211818894

There are a ton of clips of Pedrito on YouTube as well. Here is a virtual lesson in modern rumba, notice how critical the clave is to hold everything together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4be-sTgEJVM&feature=related

thanks guys hopefully people can just keep adding to the list. I look at Marc C. youtube accounts for hints as well.
keep the list going

Thanks

Knew most of the classic guys. What bands did these guys play with over the years?

In my view, one of the most amazing groups playing rumba in Cuba today: Adonis Panter Calderon and crew.
These guys have set a very high level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWyCGU6UoBE

JohnnyConga wrote:Joven Jazz
Lucky 7
Orch.Charangoa
Steven Kroon
Tiempo Libre
Viento de Agua
Mambo Legends Orch.
Kike Sanchez
Mongorama
John Santos Sextet
this is all NEW music !...and you can also chekout my online radio show at http://www.kbcs.fm its archived under audio archive AL LADO LATINO Sat. July 17th...

just ckecked out the list of artists on the radio website and looks like a great list to explore

congamyk wrote:PEDRITO MARTINEZ - nobody else is doing what he is doing.

He is at the forefront of modern conga drumming and Cuban music.

Firstly, I am a big fan of Pedrito, heavy handed, great sabor, advanced technique, speed, solid, a truly awesome player, and even more respect as even without knowing each other we are brothers of Ifa & Aña.

But the stuff he does with his band (small band) is all covers of Cuban artists. All been done before, arrangements, lyrics etc. Nothing new there at all.
His repertoire is taken from Pupy y Los Que Son Son, Los Van Van, Tirso Duarte, and many many others.
In Cuba, EVERYONE is doing the kind of stuff he does and even more.

Pedrito is up there, but hardly the forefront of modern conga playing & Cuban music. Maybe in the US, but not internationally. Again, no disrespect at all intended, the brother is amazing and his music is great, but it cannot be said that nobody is doing what he does.

Jerry Bembe wrote:Good Classic list. Can anyone add any newer artists? I would like to learn more about who to look for who's who that is newer.

Thanx

Whats your flavour? ie Timba, Rumba & Folklore Fusion, Salsa Dura, etc etc... I have many unreleased albums, stuff about to be released and to be released later in the year which was given to me in Cuba. If thats your thing let me know, will let you knwo what to look out for, plenty of online places to download it also once its out.

If you're wanting some of the more modern cuban stuff you probably should start with Van Van ( even though they've been around forever!) then ritmo oriental, NG la banda, la charanga habanera, my personal favorite Azucar negra, their best album is their first andar andando, paulito y su FG, pupy y los que son son, for jazz I suggest Irakere, and tony martinez. so much good stuff out there though, really you could probably put together an inexhaustible list.
PC

ABAKUA wrote:But the stuff he does with his band (small band) is all covers of Cuban artists. All been done before, arrangements, lyrics etc. Nothing new there at all.
His repertoire is taken from Pupy y Los Que Son Son, Los Van Van, Tirso Duarte, and many many others.
In Cuba, EVERYONE is doing the kind of stuff he does and even more.
Pedrito is up there, but hardly the forefront of modern conga playing & Cuban music. Maybe in the US, but not internationally. Again, no disrespect at all intended, the brother is amazing and his music is great, but it cannot be said that nobody is doing what he does.

Abakua, you have been listening to his stuff on YouTube, not his own recordings or live performances. Sure, his house band at Guantanamera covers lots of Cuban music by other artists (some of those covers are very creative), but he has other dimensions too. Listen to his Slave to Africa CD which has a lot of original material and a huge variety of stylistic influences from reggae to afropop to Yoruba toques de bata to hip hop to modern rumba, all done in an original and tasteful way. Enyenison Enkama Project stretches the envelope of Abakua based popular music way beyond what anyone else has done. Of course some might argue that there is nothing original in Abakua music, but as I am sure you know there actually are strong elements of improvisation and creativity in Abakua music. Pedrito's contribution to that CD was huge, he also produced it, and no one had done anything like that before. He has repeatedly created multicultural groups with musical influences from many other countries, more so than I have heard in recordings of Cuban groups based en la isla. We in the US don't have the ability some of you have to travel to Cuba frequently, so I haven't heard some of the Cuban groups you know from your travels.
And Pedrito's quinto style is really awesome and very original. We all have our preferences and mine is a bit more toward old school folkloric quinto, but for modern quinto playing, Pedrito's quinto chops and ideas are super clean and up there in the top level with guys like Adonis Panter Calderon, Joaquin Pozo and Giovanni Hidalgo.
Truth in advertising, I have a bias in favor of Pedrito, he is a founding member of, and sometimes comes back and plays with, our rumba group at Esquina Habanera on Saturday nights and I often go see him play with his band. I think you would really like some of his own recordings better than the YouTube stuff at Guantanamera. But even that little group of 3 or 4 is the best Cuban house band in NYC!!!