1 	Guaguanco Mania (Guaguanco)	  	  	02:31 	
2	Pachanga Pa Ti (Pachanga)	  	  	02:23 	
3 	Que Meravilloso (Pachanga)	  	  	02:48 	
4 	A la Luna Me Voy (Charanga)	  	  	03:07 	
5 	Mambo de Cuco (Pachanga)  	  	03:55 	
6 	Pito Pito (Mambo)	  	  	02:45 	
7 	El Bote (Descarga)	  	  	03:59 	
8 	Ja, Ja-Ja (Charanga)	  	  	03:04 	
9 	En la Felicidad (Charanga)	  	  	02:09 	
10 	Para Ti (Descarga)	  	  	06:01 	
11 	Tula Hula (Pachanga)	  	  	02:41 	
12 	Dimelo (Charanga)	  	  	02:37 	
13 	Tulibamba (Charanga)	  	  	04:01 	

A Mongo Santamaria concert is a mesmerizing spectacle for both eyes and ears, and even in his seventies, this seemingly ageless Cuban percussionist/bandleader could energize packed behemoth arenas such as the Hollywood Bowl. A master conguero, Santamaria at his best creates an incantatory spell rooted in Cuban religious rituals, quietly seating himself before his congas and soloing with total command over the rhythmic spaces between the beats while his band pumps out an endless vamp (a potent example on records is the hypnotic "Mazacote" available on Afro-Roots [Prestige]). He has been hugely influential as a leader, running durable bands that combine the traditional charanga with jazz-oriented brass, wind, and piano solos, featuring such future notables as Chick Corea and Hubert Laws. He also reached out into R&B, rock, and electric jazz at times in his long career. No Cuban percussionist, with the possible exception of Santana's Armando Peraza (and let's not count Desi Arnaz!), has reached more listeners than Mongo.

Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria originally took up the violin but then switched to drums before dropping out of school to become a professional musician. A performer at the Tropicana Club in Havana, Mongo traveled to Mexico City with a dance team in 1948 and then moved to New York City in 1950, where he made his American debut with Pérez Prado and spent six years trading percussive barrages with Tito Puente and performing and recording with Cal Tjader (1957-1960). Mongo's first significant recordings in America were made in 1958 for Fantasy; his second Fantasy album, Mongo (1959), contained a composition called "Afro-Blue," which quickly became a Latin jazz standard, taken up by John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and others.

Santamaria's breakthrough into the mass market may have come as a result of a bad night at a Cuban nightclub in the Bronx in 1962. As the story goes, only three people showed up in the audience, so the musicians held a bull session in which the substitute pianist for the gig, Herbie Hancock, demonstrated his new blues tune, "Watermelon Man." Everyone gradually joined in, the number became a part of Mongo's repertoire, and when producer Orrin Keepnews heard it, he rushed the band into a studio and recorded a single that leaped to the number ten slot on the pop charts in 1963.

The success of Santamaria's cross-pollination of jazz, R&B, and Latin music on "Watermelon Man" and a string of Battle and Riverside albums led to a high-profile contract with Columbia that resulted in a wave of hot, danceable albums between 1965 and 1970. With a brighter, brassy sound propelled by trumpeter Marty Sheller's driving charts, often covering hits of the day, the Santamaria band perfectly reflected the mood of the go-go '60s, and Mongo continued to mix genres into the '70s. Santamaria then returned to his Afro-Cuban base, recording for Vaya in the early '70s, teaming with Gillespie and Toots Thielemans for a live gig at Montreux for Pablo in 1980, recording several albums for Concord Picante (1987-1990), a sole effort for Chesky in 1993 and a return to the Fantasy fold via its Milestone subsidiary in 1995. He died on February 1, 2003, at Baptist Hospital in Miami, following a stroke. ---Richard S. Ginell, itunes.apple.com

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A1 	Watermelon Man 	6:34
A2 	A Mi No Me Engañan (You Better Believe It) 	4:40
A3 	Jai Alai (Rena) 	7:38
B1 	Jamaican Sunrise 	5:54
B2 	Afro-Cuban Fantasy 	7:36
B3 	Sambita 	5:45

Hector Aponte 	Vocals
Steve Berrios 	Drums, Timbales
Michael Brecker 	Sax (Tenor), Vocals (Background)
Randy Brecker 	Trumpet
Vivian Cherry 	Vocals (Background)
Julio Collazo 	Drums
Sal Cuevas 	Bass
Jon Faddis 	Trumpet
Frank Floyd 	Vocals
Brenda Frazier 	Vocals (Background)
Steve Gadd 	Drums
Eric Gale 	Guitar
Gwen Guthrie 	Vocals (Background)
Héctor Hernández 	Drums
Bob James 	Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer
Gary King 	Bass
La Lupe 	Vocals
Hubert Laws 	Flute
Jeff Layton 	Guitar
Jimmy Maelen 	Percussion
Barry Miles 	Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer
Red Miles 	Keyboards
Idris Muhammad 	Drums
Bill O'Connell 	Piano
Charlie Palmieri 	Piano
Thelmo Porto 	Drums, Percussion
Lance Quinn 	Guitar
Zachary Sanders 	Vocals
Mongo Santamaria 	Bongos, Composer, Congas, Primary Artist
Ray Simpson 	Vocals
Lee Smith 	Bass
Harry Vigiano 	Tres
Jimmy Young 	Drums 

In reaching for another shot at the big time, Mongo Santamaria sold much of the heart out of his music by turning himself over to producer Bob James, his arranger Jay Chattaway, and the fading disco fad. The result is a near disaster, an overproduced, overdubbed, rhythmically overbearing affair, staffed largely by James and his family of New York session players (including the Brecker Brothers, Eric Gale, and Steve Gadd) with only a handful of Mongo's sidemen, polished to a slick fare-thee-well. "You Better Believe It" is the sole Marty Sheller-arranged track; despite the Anglo-sounding chorus, the Guajiro groove conquers the production. Mongo alumni Hubert Laws has some nice moments in the Brazil-flavored "Sambita," but when you hear "Watermelon Man" redone to a horrible disco beat ... goodbye. --- Richard S. Ginell, AllMusic Review

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A1 	Introduction By "Symphony Sid" 	
A2 	El Toro 	
A3 	Fatback 	
A4 	Mongo's Groove 	
A5 	Creole 	
B1 	The Jungle Bit 	
B2 	My Sound (Conga Drum Solo) 	
B3 	The Morning After 	
B4 	Nothing For Nothing
B5	Para Ti

Bass – Victor Venegas 
Congas – Mongo Santamaria
Drums – Frank Hernandez
Flute, Saxophone – Bobby Capers, Pat Patrick
Percussion – Julian Cabrera, "Chihuahua" Martinez
Piano – Rodgers Grant
Trumpet – Marty Sheller

Mongo at the Village Gate finds Mongo Santamaria entering the boogaloo era with a variety of funky pieces that show the influence of R&B and soul-jazz without losing the group's roots in Cuban music. The infectious live set teams the conguero with trumpeter Marty Sheller, the reeds of Pat Patrick and Bobby Capers, pianist Rodgers Grant, bassist Victor Venegas, drummer Frank Hernandez, and the percussion of Chihuahua Martinez and Julian Cabrera. Such tunes as "Fatback," "Mongo's Groove," and "Creole" have happy, soulful, and simple melodies. This is one of Marty Sheller's best dates on trumpet, while Santamaria takes "My Sound" as a colorful unaccompanied solo. A remake of "Para Ti" is a welcome addition. ---Scott Yanow, AllMusic Review

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1 	Afro Blue 	3:55
2 	Mi Novia 	2:50
3 	Linda Guajira 	3:06
4 	Pito Pito 	2:43
5 	Mazacote 	10:38
6 	Para-Ti 	3:01
7 	Watermelon Man	2:20
8 	Manteca 	5:25
9 	Sabroso 	3:40
10 	Conga Pa Gozar 	4:05
11 	Federico 	3:25
12 	Mi Guaguanco 	4:35
13 	Para Ti (Alternate) 	6:02
14 	Las Guajiras 	7:44

The Mongo Santamaria Orchestra
Mongo Santamaria - Composer, Congas, Percussion
Francisco Aguabella - Congas
Willie Bobo - Timbales
Rudy Calizado 	Vocals
Rudy Calzado 	Vocals
João Donato - Piano
Modesto Duran - Congas
Felix "Pupi" Legarreta - Violin
Rolando Lozano - Flute
Armando Peraza - Bongos, Congas, Percussion
Niño Rivera - Tres
Jose "Chombo" Silva - Sax (Tenor)
Carlos Vidal - Congas, Percussion
Willie 3030 - Timbales
Carlos Yidal - Congas, Percussion

This is a excellent single-disc sampler of what Mongo Santamaria was like before "Watermelon Man" catapulted him into the charts. Some of the Fantasy tracks sound like the musicians were just off the boat from Havana, and are a bit primitive in contrast to the brassy Santamaria of the mid- to late '60s, but they have overwhelming charm. The revered "Afro-Blue" can be heard in its original, spooky, stripped-down form, and it would be hard for anyone to resist the voodoo spell that the ten-plus minute "Mazacote" conveys. Besides Santamaria himself, included among the world-class percussionists on this record are Willie Bobo and Armando Peraza. The CD version adds four tracks, including "Watermelon Man" from the Battle/Riverside period and an alternate take of "Para Ti." --- Richard S. Ginell, Rovi

Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Ramón “Mongo” Santamaría established himself as one of the premier congueros (conga players) in the Havana dance band scene.

In the late 1940s he played with Orquesta Casino de la Playa, where he met Pérez Prado, and when Prado moved to Mexico City in 1948 to start his own band, Santamaría went with him. In 1950 he travelled with Prado to the U.S., where legendary bandleader Tito Puente saw him play in New York and recruited him for his own band. Santamaría played with Puente for six years, during which time his reputation grew with American audiences and musicians.

In 1957 Santamaría went to San Francisco at the invitation of vibraphonist and Latin jazz combo leader Cal Tjader and there he began to record his own albums, establishing himself as an innovator in the fusion of Latin rhythms with jazz and pop music. His cover of Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man reached Number 10 on the pop charts in 1963 and his own composition, Afro Blue, first recorded in 1959, became a Latin jazz standard.

Mongo Santamaría’s powerful playing and outgoing nature made him an inspiration to percussionists in diverse music scenes and helped make the conga drum an important instrument in U.S. pop music. --- americansabor.org

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