Cándido Camero

Cándido Camero Guerra (22April 19217November 2020), known simply as Cándido, was a Cuban conga and bongo player. He is considered a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and an innovator in conga drumming. He was responsible for the embracing of the tuneable conga drum, the first high-profile congero to use multiple congas in combos, developing playing skills and techniques still widely used by percussionists, as Camero also assembled his own unique setup with congas, bongos, and other instruments (such as the foot-operated cowbell), and a stand-attached guiro, all played by one percussionist. Thus, he was an innovator in the realm of Latin multi-percussion setups, and many high-profile Latin percussionists point to Cándido as a mentor. His biggest success came in 1979 with his disco recordings for Salsoul. He continued to perform until the late 2010s, recording several albums for the audiophile label Chesky Records, including Inolvidable, with Graciela, which earned him a nomination at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

Early life and family Cándido Camero Guerra was born in the barrio known as El Cerro, in Havana, to Caridad Guerra and Cándido Camero. His interest in music began at the age of 4, when his maternal uncle Andrés, a professional bongosero for the Septeto Segundo Nacional, taught him to play bongos on condensed milk cans.

Later career In 1948, he made his first U.S. recording with Machito and His Afro-Cubans on the tune "El Rey del Mambo", but he did not become a member of the band, since they already had Carlos Vidal Bolado on congas. When Chano Pozo was murdered in 1948 (he arrived in New York shortly after Cándido), Dizzy Gillespie contacted Camero and they began a fruitful collaboration that culminated in the 1954 recording of Afro. Camero was also a member of the Billy Taylor Trio, with whom he recorded in 1953–54, and in 1954 he performed and recorded with Stan Kenton. As one of the best known congueros in the U.S., Camero performed on variety shows such as The Jackie Gleason Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Camero recorded several albums as a leader for ABC-Paramount in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the early 1970s, he recorded for the independent jazz label Blue Note Records, before joining the dance music record company Salsoul. With the latter, Camero recorded two albums which were relatively successful and remain in rotation by DJs in the U.S. In 1979, he released Jingo, a disco-oriented track written by Babatunde Olatunji and recorded on Salsoul Records; but released in the UK by EMI under the Salsoul Label as the B side to "Dancing and Prancing" as the A side. This track was also released as a 12" single in June, 1981 in the UK on the Excalibur Record label / PRT Precision Records and Tape, running for over 9 minutes, and reached #55 in the BBC Top 75 chart. "Jingo" was his most successful hit in the UK discos and clubs becoming a huge floor filler at that time and ever since as it has been covered by various artists since. In the 2000s, Camero was a member of the Conga Kings alongside Patato and Giovanni Hidalgo. They recorded two albums for Chesky. He recorded another album for Chesky in 2004, Inolvidable, with Graciela, the long-time lead singer for Machito. This album earned a Grammy Award nomination.

Honors Camero's album Inolvidable was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album in 2004. He received the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2008. He received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the following year.

A documentary about Camero titled Candido: Hands of Fire was released in 2006. unless otherwise stated.

As leader: selected examples Candido featuring Al Cohn (ABC-Paramount, 1956) Calypso Dance Party (ABC-Paramount, 1957) The Volcanic (ABC-Paramount, 1957) In Indigo (ABC-Paramount, 1958) Latin Fire (The Big Beat of Candido) (ABC-Paramount, 1959) Conga Soul (Roulette, 1962) Candido's Comparsa (ABC-Paramount, 1963) Brujerías de Candido / Candido's Latin McGuffa's Dust (Tico Records, 1966) Thousand Finger Man (Solid State, 1969, reissued by Blue Note) Beautiful (Blue Note, 1970) Drum Fever (Polydor, 1973) Dancin' and Prancin' (Salsoul, 1979) Candy's Funk (Salsoul, 1979) The Conga Kings (Chesky, 2000) – with Giovanni Hidalgo and Carlos "Patato" Valdés Jazz Descargas (Chesky, 2001) – with Giovanni Hidalgo and Carlos "Patato" Valdés Inolvidable (Chesky, 2004)

With Don Elliott Jamaica Jazz (ABC-Paramount, 1958)

With Elvin Jones Poly-Currents (Blue Note, 1969)

With Wynton Kelly It's All Right! (Verve, 1964)

With The Lecuona Cuban Boys Dance Along with the Lecuona Cuban Boys (ABC-Paramount, 1959)

With Machito Kenya (Roulette, 1958)

With Gary McFarland The In Sound (Verve, 1965)

With Ellen McIlwaine Honky Tonk Angel (Polydor, 1972)

With Wes Montgomery Bumpin' (1965)

With Lightnin' Rod Hustlers Convention (Celluloid, 1973)

With Sonny Rollins What's New? (RCA Victor, 1962) 50 Years of Mambo - A Tribute to Damaso Perez Prado - The Mambo All Stars Orchestra (Mambo Maniacs, 2003) Kenya Revisited Live!!! Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria (Jazzheads, 2008)

With Billy Taylor The Billy Taylor Trio with Candido (Prestige, 1955) Tanjah (Polydor, 1973)