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Artist Profiles
Candido: Fountain of Youth
By 1952 Candido was being hailed by New York jazz critics as the greatest conga drummer to come from Cuba since Pozo. Candido would become the most visible ambassador of Afro-Cuban percussion of his generation appearing on TV with Duke Ellington on The Drum Is a Woman and the Steve Allen, Pat Boone, Jackie Gleason, Patti Page and Ed Sullivan shows. He's appeared on over 1,000 albums with such artists as Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Tito Puente, Chico O'Farrill, Tony Bennett, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Dexter Gordon, Stan Kenton and Charles Mingus and was the percussionist of choice during the golden age of studio work. Although he just turned a youthful 87, in recent years he has appeared on several Grammy-nominated recordings including his most recent, Inolvidable (Chesky) a collaboration with legendary vocalist and fellow Cuban, Graciela.
For his contributions to the world of jazz and his place in its history, Candido recently received the highest honor bestowed on a jazz musician by the United States, the title of National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. It's a fitting tribute to a man who fulfilled the promise of his grandfather Juan, who after a young Candido was scolded by his mother for drumming on the kitchen table, told her, "Leave him alone! You will see. One day he will be famous."
Recommended Listening:
Billy Taylor Trio, With Candido (Prestige/OJC, 1954)
Candido Camero, Candido (ABC/Paramount-Verve, 1956)
Candido, Brujeras de Candido: Candido's Latin McGuffa's Dust (Tico, 1971)
Charles Mingus, Cumbia and Jazz Fusion (Atlantic-Rhino, 1977)
Candido Camero/Giovanni Hidalgo/Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Conga Kings (Chesky, 1999)
Mambo Allstars Orchestra, 50 Years Of Mambo (A Tribute to Perez Prado) (Mambo Maniacs, 2002)
