by RayBoogie » Fri Feb 07, 2003 6:23 am
As everyone here in CongaForum knows, I'm a Cal Tjader fanatic. I have listened to Ray Barretto, Giovanni Hidalgo, Carlos "Patato" Valdez and Armando Peraza, but no one and I mean NO ONE "keeps in the pocket" like Mongo (he's not riff happy like other conguero). All the other percussionist listed are Master's in their own right, but Mongo really put accent to his drumming style. As stated in articles and reviews about the man himself, more congueros try to emulate his style of drumming than any other conguero in the world.
Let's not get into his bongo playing. As JC stated in one of the other posts, he has the loudest slaps in thebusiness, "and that's no lie".
I wish I had the opportunity to see Mongo perform, but Thank GOD I have a lot his cd's and I could always hear the Master conjured magic on those congas.
Everytime I listen to Cal Tjader's tracks I disect his drumming and try to mimic what I hear. It take a while to perfect the style, but when I got it down, there's no bigger thrill to me. I hope I don't sound wishy washy, but the man had a enormous impact on me as a percussionist.
Thank you Mongo for your ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE!