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Chano Pozo | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore Chano Pozo through Manteca. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
Chano Pozo
Meet the artist
A Havana-born percussionist whose collaboration with Dizzy Gillespie in New York played an important role in Afro-Cuban jazz. His conga playing brought a distinctive rhythmic language into the ensemble. Repeating conga patterns bring another rhythmic current into the big band.
Cuban rhythms become part of the composition and horn phrasing rather than decoration. His brief collaboration with Dizzy Gillespie helped open a path for later Latin jazz. Even in older recordings, hand-played percussion and massed horns retain a vivid energy, making musical exchange across places directly audible.
Where to start listening
In Manteca, follow the repeating conga pattern beneath the horns and hear the interaction between their rhythmic perspectives.
1947Manteca
Dizzy Gillespie / Chano Pozo
A defining encounter between Dizzy Gillespie's big band and Chano Pozo's congas. The repeating percussion and horn figures offer a direct introduction to Afro-Cuban jazz.
Open this album in the Atlas →
Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.