Milton Cardona

Jazz - Latin percussionist, born 21 November 1944 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, died 19 September 2014

A venerated who has played with such luminaries as [a=Kip Hanrahan], flautist [a=Dave Valentin] (with [a=Robbie Ameen]), [a=Richie Flores] and the great [a=Willie Colón]. He was a member of Colón's outfit when [a=Rubén Blades] first met [a=Willie Colón] in Panama in 1969.

He remains the opposite of showy conga players like [a=Ray Barretto] and [a=Giovanni Hidalgo]. In the 1980 joint album by [a=Willie Colón] and [a=Ismael Miranda], we can hear his rare showy conga solo. As a singer his voice is unique, though there is only one solo album, "Bembé", recorded in 1987.

Trawling through his discography further reveals a Who's Who of great musicians such as [a=Celia Cruz], [a=Eddie Palmieri], [a=Flora Purim], [a=Airto Moreira], [a=Daniel Ponce], [a=David Sanchez], Bahian singer [a=Margareth Menezes] and the legendary [a=Rubén Blades].