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A clip showing Candido Romero playing bongos (instead of congas) in different tempos jazz patterns with Bobby Sanabria on the a drums.
I am impressed by the delicacy and subtlety of Romero's style:

Cándido Camero's first instrument was not the bongo, first of all. It had been the tres. Perhaps this is the reason for his finger action on congas as well as on the bongo. Otherwise Bobby Sanabria is probably the person who can tell us the most about Cándido.

Cándido's style is archaic, on bongo and on the congas. He is a very old man now, born 1921, and he was old when this clip was recorded. He has recorded with major names in US-American Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz. He is a living legend and as such particularly interesting to study. He tends to maintain what Johnny Conga calls the "split-hand-technique", with each hand basically staying on one drum, like playing tabla.

Cándido's extremely light, almost whispering touch (you may call it subtle) made him the ideal choice for soft jazz ensembles, such as the piano trio of Billy Tailor. I never saw him play as heavily as Mongo (but Mongo was extreme). Anyway, he also played descargas with Bebo Valdés in Cuba during the 1950's. Maybe somebody on this forum can tell us more.

Cándido is known for developing and propagating the double conga-, and later triple or quadruple to multi-drum sets.

What Cándido does here is superimposing an almost straight-eighths feel over a swing feel. The swing feel in Jazz is often explained as triplet-based, which is nothing but the closest approximation - within a certain tempo range. Anyway, this again is an archaic style. Chano Pozo had done it, too. You can do it, and it is common in other musical genres as well, but I don't find it ideal. Also, playing the martillo in swing means to emphasize counts 1 and 3 against the standard 2-and-4 feel in jazz. It fits better than I thought, but again, I wouldn't even get the idea to try that. I'm a jazz drummer as well as a percussionist, and if I was the drummer, I wouldn't want to hear that from the percussionist. Clearly, Bobby Sanabria has a very special relationship with Cándido; I think he admires everything Cándido does.

Expecting the shitstorm ,
Thomas

No shitstorm here, Thomas, you just expressed your meaning, and there's no problem about that. Everyone sees things his own way.

I know Bobby Sanábria is allways very deferential when he talks from Cándido.
I must confess that I wouldn't play like that either, but who am I for daring compare myself to such a giant as Cándido ? As we say in French, "we don't play in the same school playground". His is for the elder. In English, they call it "grown up's table", which has the same meaning. I am lightyears away. But nothing prevents me from looking to the grown up's table, or looking above the wall to what's happening on the elders' playground...

Stay safe, everybody.

Interestingly, Bobby Sanabria says at 0:25 that the bongos are the first instrument Candido studied, even though of course he became latter widely known as a congas player. I wonder what makes a bongocero vs what makes a congacero.

The head on the Macho looks quite translucid, what type is it ?

Just a stock LP skin, I think. An old model.

Chtimulato wrote:Just a stock LP skin, I think. An old model.

Thanks Chtimulato.

Thanks Thomas !
A fine track with Candido recorded in 1962, though technically it should be in the congas forum section .. )

Hi Beatnik,

now that's a great recording! Beautiful sound, strong, light swinging groove. And pattern-wise a "book" for students and transcribers of Cándido's very personal style. I like his (micro-)time feel.

Thomas

**Camero, NOT Romero of course, fixated on "Romero" for some reason. Apologies to all.... *****
Did edit thread title though

This is a 1957 track with George Shearing (piano), Cal Tjader (cowbell), and Candido: