José Mangual Jr. (born January 11, 1948, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York City) is an American

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

percussionist of Puerto Rican descent, singer and composer best known for his recordings with

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

and

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

during the 1960s and 1970s salsa boom in New York.

Early career

He is the son of the legendary bongo musician, Jose Mangual, Sr., aka "Buyú" (1924–1998) and brother of Luis Mangual who is also a well-known Salsa percussionist. Both were born and raised in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

. At age 15 Mangual began performing. In 1968

hired Mangual to play bongos and sing background vocals for Hector Lavoe in Willie Colon's orchestra and in 1969 he played bongo and cowbell on Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe's Cosa Nuestra album which was the first album of Colon's to go gold. In 1973, Mangual co-authored the song "San Miguel.” In 1974 he produced and recorded ''José Mangual* & Carlos "Patato" Valdez* – Understanding Latin Rhythms Vol. 1'', which was an instructional album on the New Jersey–based

Latin Percussion {{for, the company, Latin Percussion Latin percussion is a family of percussion, membranophone, lamellophone and idiophone instruments used in Latin music. Instruments Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican styles Folkloric and Santeria * Trap drums * Abaku ...

label and percussion instrument manufacturer owned by Martin Cohen. Conceived as an instructional album for aspiring musicians, his father Jose Mangaul Sr. was on the bongos, Patato Valdéz on the conga, Bobby Rodríguez on bass with Manny Oquendo on the timbales. In 1975 he played bongo on Hector Lavoe's album

La Voz Media United States * ''La Voz Magazine'', a magazine * '' La Voz Hispana de Virginia'', a magazine * ''La Voz de Houston'', a newspaper * ''La Voz'' (Phoenix), a newspaper * ''La Voz'', a publication in New York's Hudson Valley owned by Bar ...

. When Hector Lavoe set off on his solo career, José Mangual Jr. became Lavoe's musical director. In 1977, Mangual started the record label, True Ventures Inc.. The first LP was ''A Tribute to

Chano Pozo Luciano Pozo González (January 7, 1915 – December 3, 1948), known professionally as Chano Pozo, was a Cuban jazz percussionist, singer, dancer, and composer. Despite only living to the age of 33, he played a major role in the founding of Latin ...

''. The album features "Campanero" and "Cuero ‘Na Ma" – which has been covered by numerous artists. This was the first album where Mangual sang lead vocals. In 1977 he played

Bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

Maraca A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

s, Chorus Ensemble on Ruben Baldes and Willie Colon's LP Metiendo Mano and in 1978 on their LP

Siembra ''Siembra'' () is the second studio album by Panamanian singer and songwriter Rubén Blades and Puerto Rican-American singer and trombonist Willie Colón. It was released through Fania Records on 7 September 1978. It is considered the best sellin ...

Later career

In the early 1980s he signed with Velvet Records, and increased popularity in Latin America, Europe and Asian markets. Mangual's talent as a percussionist, singer, composer, and musical director led him to record with artists including

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

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Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 28 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, ...

, Ramon Orlando,

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, The Fania All-Stars, Junior Gonzalez,

Ismael Miranda Ismael Miranda, also known as ''El Niño Bonito de la Salsa'' ("The Pretty Boy of Salsa") (born February 20, 1950) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Early years Miranda (birth name: Ismael Miranda Carrero) was born in Aguada, Puerto Rico ...

, Louie Ramirez

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and many others. In 1995 he would be called upon again as percussionist for Ruben Baldes and Willie Colon's fifth and final album Tras La Tormenta. From 1998 to 2012 Mangual formed and recorded with a group he founded called Son Boricua with Jimmy Sabater. In 1998 he won the ACE Award for as best new Latin release for the LP Son Boricua along with

Jimmy Sabater Jimmy Sabater (April 11, 1936 – February 8, 2012) was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and timbales player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe C ...

who sang lead vocal on the album. In 2007 he recorded vocals and coro for the soundtrack for the movie

El Cantante ''El Cantante'' (''The Singer'') is a 2006 biographical film which stars singers Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. The film is based on the life of the late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe, who is portrayed by Anthony. The film is told from the vie ...

starring

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Discography

* ''José Mangual* & Carlos "Patato" Valdez* – Understanding Latin Rhythms Vol. 1'' (Latin Percussion 1974) *''Tribute to Chano Pozo'' (True Ventures, Inc. 1977) * ''Pa' Bailar y Gozar'' (Velvet 1979) *''Mangual (aka Ritmo Y Sabor)'' (1980) *''José Mangual Jr., Lita Branda, Melcochita : Con Sabor''(1980) *''"Time Will Tell" "Que Lo Diga El Tiempo..."'' (Campanero 1981) *''Que Chévere'' (1982) *''Soneros Con Clase'' (1982) *''Lo Que Traigo es Salsa'' (1983) *''Latin Rhythm & Moods'' (Tropical Budda Records, 1984) *''Al Fin, Y Al Cabo'' (Combo Records, 1984) * Dandole Color (Vedisco 1984) * ''Son Boricua'' (1998) *''Dancing with the Gods (Bailando Con Los Santos)''(2003) *''José Mangual Jr. – Dancing with the Gods (Bailando Con Los Santos)'' (Chola Musical Productions, 2012)

Filmography

*''

'' (Soundtrack) (2007)

References

External links

Discography
at

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