Mongo Santamaria, the pioneering Cuban percussionist who was among the most acclaimed exponents of Latin jazz and whose 1963 Top 10 hit “Watermelon Man” stands as a precursor of pop crossover in Latin ...

Mongo Santamaria was a great Cuban conga player (“conguero”) who most people don’t know about. Even though for tropical Latin music lovers, percussionists and drummers, he is a veritable god. He’s ...

Mongo Santamaria, a Cuban conga player and percussionist who arrived in New York at the beginning of the jazz-Latin fusion and was arguably the most popular Latin musician of the 1960s, died Saturday.

Boogaloo. So fun to say, so tricky to define. You've heard it: “Watermelon Man” is probably in your brainpan somewhere, as is “I Like It Like That.” Look for the roots of boogaloo, and you'll wing up ...

Jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria dies on Feb. 1 at 85. Santamaria scored a Top-10 hit with his version of Herbie Hancock's jazz-funk classic "Watermelon Man" in 1963. He also wrote the song "Afro ...

Even if not quite essential, this new release is drawn from the same 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival performance from which Santamaria’s live recording Summertime was previously released (Pablo, 1981) – ...