Candido

• Born Candido Camera, 22 April 1921, Havana, Cuba

One of the all-time Latin percussionists. Candido began playing with bands in Havana casinos and on Cuban radio in 1940. He moved to the U.S. in 1946, and immediately shot to the top of the jazz scene, spending a year working with the great Charlie Parker. He then joined Dizzy Gillespie and picked up the beat from Chano Pozo, who had inspired such Latin-spiced bebop classics as "Manteca" and "Cubana Be, Cubana Bop." Pianist Billy Taylor hired him into his trio and wrote a series of Latin numbers such as "Capricious" to highlight Candido's work. Able to move easily between jazz and Latin, he was able to make a profitable living as a freelancer for the next 30 years, playing with acts ranging from Stan Kenton and Dizzy Gillespie to Tony Bennett and Eydie Gorme. He put out three albums under his own name on ABC-Paramount in the late 1950s, playing alongside Dick Hyman, and had later albums on Solid State (mid-1960s), Blue Note (1970), and Polydor (1973). He continues to live and work in New York City today.