by Omelenko1 » Sun Jul 24, 2011 2:18 pm
Both JC and I knew the man really good. I spent 35 years being his friend. His strong and tasty tumbao was his signature mark, no other tumbao (mama y papa) sounded as tasty. He had a very strong tapao. When it came to 6/8 rhythm no one even came close, these were the words of Patato " en el 6x8 Mongo es el caballo". His quinto playing is probably the most intricate and tastiest I have ever heard, Daniel Ponce's is also up there. As a bongocero only Yeyito paralleld him, his slaps on bongo' sounded like machine gun fire. Listen to "Tu Crees Que", a tune he wrote and played with Cal Tjader, also "Mazacote" with Cal Tjader. Sure today there are some greats, Gio, Pedrito, Vizcaino, Paoli, but Mongo's style of playing set the yardstick for everyone. "Sofrito Na' Ma' "!
Dario