Candido

Internationally hailed as the successor who carried forward the path blazed by Chano Pozo, Candido Camero rose to prominence as one of the most frequently heard Cuban and Caribbean percussionists, infusing vitality and depth into North American music throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. Among the earliest figures to champion the deployment of several conga drums at once and an accidental spark behind the bongo phenomenon that swept the 1950s, he survived nearly all his peers and continued delivering performances marked by remarkable intensity and accuracy long after reaching octogenarian age.

Born Candido de Guerra Camero on April 22, 1921, in Havana’s El Cerro barrio of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, he first handled the string bass during childhood. At fourteen he played a tres guitar alongside Conjunto Gloria Habanera before shifting his focus to the bongos and soon advancing to the conga. Alongside the Pan African blend of Yoruba, Portuguese, and Spanish folk traditions, he credited U.S. jazz drummers Max Roach and Kenny Clarke as key influences. Candido recorded for an array of Cuban bandleaders that included Machito, spent six years in the house band at Havana’s radio station CMQ, and appeared at The Tropicana club between 1947 and 1952 as part of Armando Romeu’s Orquesta.

His North American chapter opened in October 1952 with a six-week stint at Miami’s Clover Club; soon afterward, at the urging of newfound friend and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, he relocated to New York, where Gillespie escorted him to The Downbeat Club for a guest appearance with pianist Billy Taylor. Throughout 1953 and 1954 he cut sessions with Taylor’s trio and with Erroll Garner, helped Gillespie bring “Manteca Suite” to fruition—the initial entry in a lengthy series of recorded partnerships with Diz—and traveled with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. He subsequently assembled his own ensemble, which featured saxophonist Al Cohn, issued his debut recordings under his own name in 1956, and undertook wide-ranging tours across Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Miami, and New York.

From the late 1950s through the 1960s and well into the 1970s, Candido established himself as the busiest Latin American percussionist working in jazz and pop alike, logging an uncommon number of television appearances while contributing to dates with saxophonists Charlie Parker, Gene Ammons, Stan Getz, Phil Woods, Sonny Rollins, Illinois Jacquet, and Coleman Hawkins; guitarists Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery; pianists George Shearing and Marian McPartland; and vocalists Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Patti Page, Tony Bennett, Charo, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. He also performed under bandleaders Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Chico O’Farrill, and Lalo Schifrin; under drummer/bandleaders Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Mongo Santamaria, and Tito Puente; and alongside fellow conga masters Giovanni Hidalgo and Carlos “Patato” Valdes.

Across multiple decades he fused his refined Afro-Cuban technique with disco, funk, and virtually every other prevailing style. Credited with more than sixteen albums, among them a notable 2004 reunion alongside Machito’s star vocalist Graciela Perez, the indefatigable Candido navigated the opening years of the twenty-first century with undiminished resilience, inventiveness, and vigor. His signature premium drum line comprises three distinct models: the Quinto, the Conga, and the resonant Tumbadora. Remaining active well into his nineties, he released the album The Master in 2014. Candido Camero died in New York City on November 7, 2020, at the age of 99.