Chano Pozo
Conguero, dancer and composer from Havana: in 1947 Chano Pozo brought the conga into Dizzy Gillespie's big band. Together they wrote Manteca, one of the first big tunes of Latin jazz.
About
Chano Pozo's full name was Luciano Pozo González. He was born on 7 January 1915 in Havana and grew up in the solar El África, a housing yard built on former slave quarters.
- He was a member of the Abakuá lodge Ekue Munanga Efo, and a devotee of Santería.
- He danced in a Havana dance troupe and wrote for the carnival comparsas. His conga La comparsa de los Dandys won first prize at the 1940 carnival of Santiago de Cuba.
- He became Cuba's best-known rumbero.
New York and Dizzy Gillespie
In 1947 he moved to New York, encouraged by Mario Bauzá and his childhood friend Miguelito Valdés. Bauzá introduced him to Dizzy Gillespie, who was looking for a conga player for his big band.
- Carnegie Hall, 29 September 1947: the concert with Gillespie's big band is seen as a milestone of Latin jazz.
- He co-wrote Manteca and Tin Tin Deo with Gillespie.
On 2 December 1948 he was shot dead in the El Rio Bar in Harlem. He is buried in the Colón Cemetery in Havana.
📝 Sources
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