From: Mozsik Tibor (keyser_at_freemail.hu)
Date: 2003-02-02 20:44:58
Jazz Musician Mongo Santamaria Dies in Miami
Sun February 2, 2003 08:32 PM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - Latin jazz musician Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, a Cuban-born percussionist and bandleader known for his conga rhythms, has died in Miami at age 85, hospital and funeral home officials said on Sunday.
Santamaria died on Saturday at Baptist Hospital.
He was best known for his 1963 recording of Herbie Hancock's song "Watermelon Man," which became his first Top 10 hit. In 1959, Santamaria penned "Afro Blue," which quickly became a jazz standard covered by stars such as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie.
Born in Havana, Santamaria performed at Havana's famed Tropicana Club before moving to New York City in the early 1950s, touring with the Mambo Kings and performing with Tito Puente and Cal Tjader.
Santamaria recorded scores of albums in a career that spanned nearly 40 years, mixing rhythm and blues with jazz and hip-swaying conga. In 1977 he was awarded a Grammy for Best Latin Recording for his album "Amancer."
In recent years, he divided his time between Manhattan and Miami. He was to be buried on Monday at Woodlawn Park South Cemetery near Miami, a spokesman at the Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Funeral Home said.
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2155312