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The Conga KingsBy Giovanni Hidalgo, Candido, & Patato
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Three historic exponents of the conga gather on The Conga Kings, playing as one. In fact, if you are not intimately familiar with their respective styles, they often confound you to tell them apart they merge so smoothly. (This explains why the liner notes explain, "You can hear Giovanni in the left speaker, Candido in the middle, Patato in the right.") From the opening Latin standard, "Tumbando Cana", and the soft tres (stringed, guitar like instrument), the tone is folkloric, gentle, and celebratory. Vocals are contributed by the three masters and the Coro Singers. Giovanni's conga solo on "Tumbando" is frightening. He's obviously at ease, knowing he can fall back on his forefathers. Meanwhile, it's not as if Candido and Patato stop playing: they are nudging the "youngster" all the way. Particularly obvious is the sound of a particular room, a particular space -- rare in contemporary recordings. Here the room is St. Peter's Episcopal Church in New York City. The spread of the sound and the natural decay/reverb adds to the charm. Of course, as the engineers will tell you, you can't record just anybody in this setting -- one note out of place and the song would lurch out of control. Intensity builds in "Avisale A Mi Contraria". Hermangildo Olivera Jr. sings lead against the Choro Singers. Their parts are placed so as to carve out conga solo sections. In his solo, Giovanni stretches the register of the Quinto with his slaps and Patato's solo is understated and quirky. Giovanni takes to the fore on "Duet I", accompanied by tres (stringed instrument), in a simple, Afro-Cuban vamp, the emphasis on African. These touches rear even more strongly on "Duet II", which features a breathy flute intro, joined by Patato with characteristic dark tone. The flute rasps into harmonics and searches, perhaps for other accompaniment, yet the piece comes to a close as a duet. Next tune, "Duet III" we have Candido working off upright bass accompaniment. Again, it's different hands, different lineage, and a different conga sound. This song is a more a conversation, with Candido answering with little glissandos and chatters across the heads. Then the three congueros combine: talk about master classes! Giovanni, Candido, and Patato render it all deceptively simple. Of course, the nature of great art is that it commands by smooth technique and lack of ostentation. Just like the conga on the cover, patina'ed and old, hanging together by the grace of God - and several hoop braces. It's not LP but it's funky. The album is available at the following retailers: Tower Records, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Virgin, HMV and Spec's Music. It also can be purchased online from the following sites: Amazon.com, CDNow.com, Borders.com, B&N.com, and, it's own record label www.chesky.com.
Sound Sample: Descarga De Los Reyes |
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