MONGORAMA

The follow up to four critically acclaimed albums by his Jazz On the Side All Stars, José Rizo's Mongorama again shines a bright light on the AfroCuban music tradition with a stellar group of West Coast artists brought together by the veteran KJazz radio host. MONGORAMA pays tribute to the great Cuban born conguero Mongo Santamaria, one of the progenitors of the Latin Jazz genre and leader of some of the most popular bands to ever play the swinging hybrid music. Revisiting the largely neglected sound of Santamaria's innovative charanga/jazz recordings of the sixties, Rizo notes, "My purpose was not to copy what Mongo did, but to honor his legacy with growth and musical evolution." The dozen new orchestrations of classic Mongo recordings and original compositions in their tradition, with rich ensemble arrangements blending virile lead vocals with the harmonic flavors of the tenor saxaphone, flute and violin over a cooking Lating rhythm section, breathe new life into the sound created by Mongo more than a half a century ago.

MONGORAMA musical director Danilo Lozano extends the charanga/jazz tradtion, following in the footsteps of his fellow flautist father, Rolando Lozano, an important member of the early Mongo Santamaria bands that first created the sound that is revitalized here. Joined by longtime Santamaria sideman, Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars saxophonist Justo Almario and Cuban born violinist Dayren Santamaria, the frontline creates a rich sound performing the arrangements by pianist Oscar Hernandez (winner of the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album with his Spanish Harlem Orchestra's Viva La Tradicion) and Francisco Torres, complementing the lead vocals of Adonis Puentes and invited guests Freddie Crespo and a team of percussionists featuring Joey De Leon's congas, Ramon Banda's timbales and coro vocalist Alfredo Oritz's guiro. Honoring the group with guest appearances are, flute master Hubert Laws, a former Mongo sideman and conguero Poncho Sanchez, Santamaria's most accomplished protégé.