| Milton CardonaPercussionist and vocalist Milton Cardona, called often the Latin New Yorker, is a rare mystical figure in the ranks of percussionists-leaders working at the juncture of jazz and Latin concepts. Mixing tastefully Puerto Rican and Manhattan jazz elements, Cardona enjoys Yaruba rhythms overlaid with jazz abstractions and innovative vocals. Rather than applying the Afro-Cuban jazz elements, he is creating them in his fresh way of blending traditional chants and rhythm patterns with modern jazz. Whether Cardona is playing African folk-tunes or singing a capella doo-wop, he conveys a great respect for traditional music in general.
As a practitioner of the Afro-Carribean Santeria faith in NYC, Cardona made a significant polyrhythmic tribute to the orishas, working on complex bata drum patterns. He sings in perfect 1950s doo-wop fashion maintaining the traditional call & response idioms found in both sacred and secular practice. His recordings dedicated to the Santeria faith, which spread widely after the Cuban Revolution, are certainly unique, as they have a New York angle to them.
Cardona studied violin as a child, then played bass before becoming a percussionist and one of the worlds top congueros. He took part in more than 700 recordings highlighted by albums with Cachao, Larry Harlow, Eddie Palmieri, David Byrne, J.J. Johnson, Marlena Shaw, and others. Cardona also played two small roles onstage for the Broadway production of Paul Simons The Capeman. | Discography
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