Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Cándido (1921–2020), shown performing in 2008
(Photo: Tom Pich/National Endowment for the Arts)Cándido Camero, an NEA Jazz Master who was regarded as the father of modern conga drumming, died Nov. 7 in New York. He was 99.
“Cándido,” as he was known by jazz aficionados, pioneered the use of multiple conga-type drums, first incorporating the slightly smaller quinto into his setup and finally settling on a three-drum arrangement that also included the larger tumba. He quickly mastered a technique of playing all three simultaneously and developed a method of tuning the drums to different pitches to create simple melodies and chords.
Born April 22, 1921, in Havana, Cándido began playing homemade bongos at age 4. He went on to learn flute, upright bass and tres, all of which he played while backing Cuban music stars in Havana nightclubs during the 1930s and 1940s, including the famous Cabaret Tropicana, where he performed with Mongo Santamaría. He made the switch to congas in the early 1940s.
Cándido first came to the United States in 1946 and settled in New York permanently starting in 1952. In addition to playing with American dance orchestras, he worked with jazz pianist Billy Taylor for a year at New York’s Downbeat club, where he devised methods to apply Cuban rhythms to American swing and bebop, helping to lay the groundwork for a historic crossover movement between American jazz artists and Cuban musicians that continues to this day.
Cándido toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz and Latin music, including Tito Puente, Machito, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, Gerry Mulligan, Charles Mingus and Quincy Jones. He gained national exposure via TV appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.
The conguero was known for clean living, a topic he liked to discuss in his old age. “I have never smoked, not even a Cuban cigar!” he said in the May 2017 issue of DownBeat. “I never drank alcohol, not even beer or wine, and I’ve never used stimulants for false inspirations. ... I may need help to get to my drums because of arthritis, and I may be approaching 100, but when I start to play, look out, because I feel like I’m 20 years old again!”
In addition to contributing to dozens of albums and film soundtracks, Cándido recorded multiple leader dates for various labels, including ABC-Paramount, Blue Note, Chesky, Tico and the dance-music record company Salsoul, which produced disco-era hits for him.
Cándido’s most recent release was 2014’s The Master (Chesky). He was the subject of Ivan Acosta’s acclaimed 2005 documentary, Cándido: Hands of Fire, and in 2009, he received a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
During his DownBeat interview, Cándido took a long perspective on the music he had played since childhood. “The music never changes,” he observed. “It’s never going to change because tradition never changes. Since I was born and listened to music, the only thing that is different is the arrangement. The foundation never changes.” DB
Updated Dec. 1
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.
Jul 22, 2026 12:46 PM
One of Joe Lovano’s buzz terms is “the moment of now” and with seemingly infinite patience — despite a schedule…
“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
Jun 16, 2026 1:27 AM
Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
