Jazz Congas

[Percussination]

Hey, guys! I'm a jazz drum set player, and I've recently fallen in love with Latin Percussion. I would really like to start applying this to jazz, as I'd like the chance to teach or learn from other drummers by playing with them, and I just freakin' love hand drumming.

Any tips on playing congas or other latin percussion in a jazz context, such as bop/contemporary combo, or big band?

Thanks,

[Omelenko1]

Ray Barretto (RIP) was the master at playing jazz with congas. Try to find CDs that feature him on congas with artist such as Lou Donaldson, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Freddie Hubbard, Jack Macduff....... Ray had the perfect feel for congas in a jazz setting.

Dario

[Percussination]

Thanks! Found some good stuff! Sampled some on iTunes, put it in my shopping cart. Sounds like a lot of it is somewhat a "swung tumbao." Slap on 2, opens on "4+."

[bongosnotbombs]

Mostly swung tumbaos, but depending on what the bass player is doing sometimes songo or pilon, even guaguanco. Rumba Columbia parts work well for 6/8 stuff. For Brazilian/Bossa standards I work in more slaps than opens, usually on the four, and alternate opens on the 4& and 4&,1. How freely I play depends on who I am playing with and if there is a drummer or not.

+1 on the Ray Barretto, but that is more old school. Try Sammy Figueroa or Babatunde Lea for a more modern sound. Try an album by the flautist Mark Weinstein called Cuban Roots and Jaco Pastorius has a great duet with congas on his self title album. Art Blakey's Orgy in Rhythm with Sabu Martinez is a classic.

[JohnnyConga]

Here is a video of me recently playing with the Full Circle Jazz ensemble here in Seattle..check how I mix it up on the congas.."JC" Johnny Conga-WELCOME!..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zuc5qOEBCg

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[Percussination]

Thanks for the great advice, guys!

Damn, JohnnyConga!! That's awesome! So many ideas from that. Thanks a ton!

[roberthelpus]

Golly, no one mentions Cal Tjader. I mean he had some OK players and tunes, don't ya think.

[bongosnotbombs]

I kind of thought Cal was more on the Latin Jazz side, at least when he included congas in the line up, he's seems to be playing more latin jazz versus jazz.

[davidpenalosa]

Any tips on playing congas or other latin percussion in a jazz context, such as bop/contemporary combo, or big band

At slow to moderate tempos you need to swing your tumbao, which means 24 subdivisions per clave instead of the regular straight 16 subdivisions (4/4). At very fast tempos you can get away with playing your tumbao straight ("even eighths").

Back in the 70s I swore I would never play swing tumbao again and focused exclusively on clave-based music. In the last couple of years however, my son has been playing jazz sax and I've been developing my swing tumbao in order to accompany him.

I disagree with BNB; I consider Art Blakey's Orgy in Rhythm to be an unsuccessful experiment. Blakey does not exhibit any understanding of African-based rhythm, despite his undisputed mastery of jazz drumming. He was not alone though. Until the mid-80s, you would be hard pressed to find any jazz musician who understood clave, or how congas and related percussion function.
-David

[roberthelpus]

I kind of thought Cal was more on the Latin Jazz side, at least when he included congas in the line up, he's seems to be playing more latin jazz versus jazz.

True that, but he also did some Jazz standards.

[Percussination]

Thanks David! Great advice!

Yeah, that Jaco thing was Donna Lee with Don Alias on congas and it just blows my mind! :O But yeah, I was asking more about swung 8-th jazz as opposed to straight funk or latin jazz types.

[JohnnyConga]

Cal Tjader recorded over 80 albums(which I have) and there isnt any recording using what Is called a "swing tumbao"...on it..( maybe one if any)when he did Jazz it was straight up with no congas...Ray Baretto was the 'official' Conga session cat for Blue Note records, where he recorded with Wes Montgomery, Lou Donaldson and many other Jazz artists(at least over 500 recordings for Ray) and u can plainly hear Ray' "swing tumbao" or 'shuffle tumbao' however u want to describe it...chek my video here and see how I play it and the little inflections I throw in there here and there...I also agree with David that Art Blakely had no clue to clave or afro-cuban rhythms and relied heavily on Sabu Martinez to do that for him during those recordings..which I have all of them..very very few Jazz drummers in NY at that time even knew what clave was let alone understand the principles. that didnt happen until the 60's as more Cuban/Puerto Rican-Latin Jazz was being created..and even then it was all 3/2 clave...Rumba clave came years later...

[JohnnyConga]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zuc5qOEBCg here is the video again with me playing that 'swing tumbao"

[RitmoBoricua]

Very nice, very nice "swing tumbao" and then some JC. Nice arragement and band. Thank you for sharing.