ANOTHER JAZZ GREAT GONE:

Mongo Santamaria, 85, Influential Jazz Percussionist, Dies (BEN RATLIFF, 2/03/03, NY Times)

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 1960's, died on Saturday. He was 85.

He had been placed on life support at a Miami hospital after a stroke last week, said Rosy Lopez, his niece and manager.

Most know Mr. Santamaria for two things: his version of Herbie Hancock's song "Watermelon Man," which became a top-10 hit in 1963, and his authorship of "Afro Blue," a song John Coltrane made famous. But those more familiar with Afro-Cuban music know that Mr. Santamaria was at the middle of the shift from the Afro-Cuban jazz of the 1950's to the salsa sound of the 1970's.

"Mongo's major contribution," said the percussionist Bobby Sanabria, "was that he applied the conversational aspect normally played on the bongo to the conga drums. But more importantly, Mongo always represented the close ties that Cuban music has to West Africa."

Jazz correspondent Glenn Dryfoos informs us: "In Blazing Saddles, the Alex Karros character is named "Mongo", just so when he walks into Rock Ridge, the drunken Mexican can mutter: "Mongo.....Santa Maria..." Posted by Orrin Judd at February 3, 2003 12:36 PM