Chano Pozo's classic 40s recordings reissued on "Rumbero Mayor" in June

Grosso! is releasing Rumbero Mayor – a 2 LP overview of legendary Afro-Cuban conguero Chano Pozo's bangin' latin jazz recordings – on June 19.    

“Chano was a showman. He was a creator. You could never predict what the guy was going to do next. He’s one of those kinds of people with a million ideas. Same thing applies with his playing, he never played congas like these guys… he always find something to fit in different, this is why his value is so big. Sometimes you gotta die and rest in peace for
20 years before the people start evaluating what you’re doing. Now they want to know because so much has happened with the conga, that they want to know where that comes from, and they got to go to the roots.” – Mario Bauzá

 “It was similar to a nuclear weapon when it burst on the scene. They'd never seen a marriage of Cuban music and American music like that before.” – Dizzy Gillespie

Since much of Chano Pozo's greatest work exists only on tough-to-find 78s or long out-of-print LPs and European CDs, Grosso!'s has done us all a great service with Rumbero Mayor – collecting the legendary conguero's important 40s recordings with Cuarteto Caney, Arsenio Rodríguez, Orquesta Casino de la Playa, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Miguelito Valdes, James Moody, Orquesta Hermanos Palau, Xavier Cugat in one explosive 28-track double vinyl package. Pressed on 140 gram vinyl and issued in limited edition of 500 copies with liner notes contributed by DJ/collector Pablo "Bongohead" Yglesias, you'd better plan on grabbing Rumbero Mayor soon after it's release on June 19th. You can pre-order a copy from Forced Exposure at the link below.

The story of Luciano “Chano” Pozo González (born January 7, 1915 in Havana, died December 3, 1948 in New York City), is the stuff of myth and legend, of triumph and tragedy, and like that of several similar seminal figures in the history of the music of the Americas (Robert Johnson comes to mind), someone born of African ancestry and humble economic origin ends up influencing global popular culture and changing the course of music as we know it but then dies all too young to realize their full potential or enjoy the fruits of their labor. But who was Chano and what makes him so important?
He was a multi-talented percussionist, composer and dancer who demanded satisfaction in life and lived it to the hilt. More importantly, he was well aware of his African roots and figured out how to blend the ancient and the modern in Latin music such a way as had never been done before.

Pablo “Bongohead” Yglesias

New York City, May 2019

You can mailorder a copy of Chano Pozo – Rumbero Mayor (Grosso!) from Forced Exposure right here. Check the complete track list following the clips below.







Chano Pozo – Rumbero Mayor (Grosso!)
SIDE A
A1. Blen, Blen, Blen
A2. Ariñañara
A3. Paran Pan Pin
A4. Guagüina Yerabo
A5. Anana Boroco Tinde
A6. Muna Sanganfimba
A7. Conga De Los Dandys
SIDE B
B1. Nagüe
B2. Zarabanda
B3. Ampárame
B4. El Vendedor de Aves
5B. Tumbando Caña
B6. Tu Gallo Maria
B7. Seven Seven
SIDE C
C1. El Pin Pin
C2. No Sé Que Tienes
C3. Llora (No Puedo Más)
C4. Porqué Tu Sufres
C5. Cómetelo To'
C6. Pasó En Tampa (Wha' You Say)
C7. Ya No Se Puede Rumbear
SIDE D
D1. Rumba En Swing
D2. Cubana-Be
D3. Cubana-Bop
D4. Manteca
D5. Tin Tin Deo
D6. Guarachi Güaro
D7. Boco Boco