Mongo Santamaria – Mongo at Montreux (Atlantic, 1971)

Mongo Santamaria (cga); Roger Glenn (fl, vib); Carter Jefferson (ts, fl); Ray Maldonado (tr, cowbell); Eddie Martinez (p); Edward Rivera (el b); Steve Berrios (d, tim); Armando Peraza (cga, bgo); Marty Sheller (arr)

Recorded in June 1971

Collectables reissued Mongo at Montreux in 1999 on a CD paired with Mongo '70.

As jazz critic Ben Ratliff wrote in Mongo Santamaria's obituary, people now associate two things with the conguero from Havana: 

1. Santamaria composed the jazz standard "Afro Blue."  Santamaria made the first recording of the piece while he was working with Cal Tjader's group.  It appeared on the album Cal Tjader's Concert By The Sea (Fantasy, 1959).  Later that year, Abbey Lincoln recorded "Afro Blue" with lyrics written by Oscar Brown.  And in 1963, John Coltrane made his first recording of the piece.  The song rapidly became a favorite of both singers and instrumentalists.  The Allmusic Guide now lists more than 1,000 recordings of the composition. 

2. Santamaria had a massive hit with his version of Herbie Hancock's composition "Watermelon Man" in early 1963.  Mongo found out about the song while Hancock served as Santamaria's temporary pianist after Chick Corea decided to leave Santamaria's group in late 1962.  Eventually, Santamaria's version of the song reached number 10 on the pop charts.  Santamaria's version of "Watermelon Man" became so influential that it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.  (For more fascinating details about this hit, see the interview with Marty Sheller, Santamaria's trumpeter and arranger at the time, on Marc Myers' blog Jazz Wax.)

By the time that Santamaria brought his band to Montreux in 1971, he'd been leading his own band for more than ten years.  He was an expert at combining Latin music with pop tunes -- but he was also an accomplished jazz musician.  Each of his records seem to balance these elements in different proportions.  Given the audience, I suppose it's no surprise that the music that he made at the festival tilts more toward Latin and jazz than pop.

Santamaria's band features several outstanding soloists.  Sax and flute man Carter Jefferson as well as trumpeter Ray Maldonado are particularly impressive.  Of course, the rhythms made by this band are AMAZING.  Along with Mongo, the group featured Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza, who later gained fame playing with Carlos Santana, and drummer Steve Berrios, who subsequently became a founding member of the Fort Apache Band with Jerry González.

More Mongo Santamaria
After he left Atlantic, Mongo made a series of excellent records for Vaya, a Fania imprint.  Some of my favorites:
- Fuego (1973)
- Afro-Indio (1975)
- Sofrito (1976)
- Dawn (Amanecer) (1977)