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I've known "Little Johnny" since he was 10 years old and would come to Central Park with his dad to play in the rumbas, and at that time he could actually quinto pretty good...then at 14 years old he made his first recording with Orch.Colon(Gus Colon) and the rest is his-story...anybody else?..."JC" Johnny Conga

Little Johnny Rivero is a hell of a tasty player. I have been following his career for almost 40 years now ever since he first came to La Sonora Poncena and recorded many albums. I think he first recorded with La Sonora Poncena as a "bongocero" then shortly afterwards took over the conga chair. In recent years he has been performing with Eddie Palmieri and too me a perfect fit with EP's La Perfecta 2. Martin Cohen's "Congahead" website has many videos of Johnny's playing.

He has done well for himself and made a good name for himself in the business with success also. Im not particularly a fan of his playing though.

I think johnny is a great player , he is just over exposed by lp imo . He seems to be in Every single percussion video martin cohen puts out online .Dont think johnny is up to the standard of pedro martinez etc but you have to hand to him .He keep his profile extremely high and is doing well for himself . More power to him for that .He also has great videos with a trio on youtube .I love that line up ! will have a look and post them up .

niallgregory wrote:I think johnny is a great player , he is just over exposed by lp imo . He seems to be in Every single percussion video martin cohen puts out online .Dont think johnny is up to the standard of pedro martinez etc but you have to hand to him .He keep his profile extremely high and is doing well for himself . More power to him for that .He also has great videos with a trio on youtube .I love that line up ! will have a look and post them up .

Lil Johnny and Pedro Martinez play different styles of music. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

I like Lil Johnny - he's a great player in his genre and a great entertainer.
Perhaps he's overexposed by Martin Cohen because they have the same hairstyle & eyewear.

Classic! Dude's definitely solid, probably great guy to work with which as we all know in this business goes along way towards getting work.
PC

Hello all,
Little Johnny Rivero is in my opinion a GIANT in the Latin music genre, he's also one heck of a human being, someone I'm very proud to call my friend and teacher. I studied with him throughout 2007-2008. I would troop to his home every week and would come back home with an education that's really hard to come by!

This man can not only play his heart out, but he loves to teach and he's very passionate about his art form. Him and his wife, Melinda, are just two wonderful human beings. Having studied with him and watching him at various live performances I can testify that this man can play just about anything and his knowledge of percussion is just insane. I am forever indebted to him for all that he has taught me but even more important, for his genorisity and friendship. Is he "overexposed"? I don't think so. I think he's earned all of the success and recognition he's received.


afrocubarico

P.S.-Here's a pic of Pequeño Johnny with his own custom made drums using his own personal design.

As a little kid growing up in the Lower East Side, Lil' Johnny developed his skills on the skins with the likes of Freddy Lugo, Johnny Almendra and Loiue Bauzo. I later saw him wih "La Poncena" a few times, afterwards I think he spent sometime in "Summer School" and for a few years now he's been in the spotlight. The man has paid his dues. He is no Gio, Paoli or Pedrito Martinez, but I think he has a great personality and is a very likable guy. I saw him wih Palmieri, in the company of Jose Clausell on timbales and they blended very well together (buen mazacote y afinque).

Dario

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Freddy Lugo, my buddy here in Miami, states that Lil' Johnny, as a young kid, would join him, Johnny Almendra, Louie Bauzo and other cats from the Lower East Side and spend hours playing street rumba. This is over 40 years ago, when he was a young boy.

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