José Luis Quintana (January 18, 1948 – June 6, 2025) was a Cuban

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

ist.

Biography

Changuito was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.Changuito
", ''

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'', retrieved 2010-08-28 As a child he played professionally in bands such as Havana Jazz (joining aged 8), with his musician father, and with La Pandilla de los Cabezas de Perros. At the age of 13, he volunteered for military service and played in army bands, serving for three years, during which he also played in the jazz band Estrellas de Occidente. His mother died when he was 17 years old. In 1964 he joined the popular band Los Harmonicos, followed by a year in Sonorama 6, and spells as drummer in Souvinir and La Orchestra de Musica Moderna. In 1970 he joined

Los Van Van Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most i ...

. They created the

songo Songo may refer to: * Songo music, a type of contemporary Cuban music originating in Havana * Songo people, of northern Angola * Songo-salsa, a style of music that blends Spanish rapping and hip hop beats with salsa music and songo * Songo.mn, an ...

, where a combination of percussion instruments (

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...

s, wood blocks, electronic drums, and

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s) and hand techniques are characteristic. He first recorded as a solo artist in 1992 and became recognized as a teacher of percussion. In 1996 Changuito was nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for his work with Carlos "Patato" Valdes and Orestes Vilato, produced by Greg Landau.Moses, Catherine (1999) ''Real Life in Castro's Cuba'', Scholarly Resources Inc., , p. 93 This was his first recording in the United States and it highlighted many aspects of his playing overlooked in his Van Van recordings. He also played on a recording with Greg Landau accompanying Puerto Rican poet

Piri Thomas Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas; September 30, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was an American writer and poet of Puerto Rican- Cuban descent, whose memoir '' Down These Mean Streets'' became a best-seller. Early years Thomas was born to a Puerto ...

along with Patato and Orestes. He also contributed to recordings by

Hilario Durán Hilario Durán (born 1953, Havana) is a Cuban-Canadian jazz pianist. Durán studied at ''Conservatorio "Amadeo Roldán"'' Amadeo Roldan Music Institute in Havana, studying tumbao with Evaristo Aparicio, composition and conducting from German ...

.Enter the Alma Records 3-CD Giveaway!
", allaboutjazz.com, 8 August 2010, retrieved 2010-08-28 Changuito taught other notable percussionists including

Giovanni Hidalgo Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...

, Karl Perazzo (of

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), and Ginaski Wop (member of Bardamu project). Changuito died on June 6, 2025, at the age of 77.

"Changuito special"

While Changuito held the timbales chair in

in the 1970s, he popularized the technique of simultaneously playing

and

bongó Bongos (Spanish: ''bongó'') are an 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'' (), which are joined by a wood ...

bell parts (previously introduced elsewhere by New York City-based drummers/timbaleros like Jimmy 'La Vaca' Santiago with La Playa Sextet and the José Curbelo Orchestra). This was done following the elimination of the bongó player, who would normally play the bongó bell (

cencerro A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

) in the

montuno Montuno has several meanings pertaining to Cuban music and its derivatives. Literally, ''montuno'' means 'comes from the mountain', and so '' son montuno'' may refer to the older type of son played in the mountainous rural areas of Oriente. Ano ...

(vamp) sections of songs in Cuban-based dance music. The example below shows the combined bell patterns (written in a 2-3 clave sequence).

Selected discography

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Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin music (genre), Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group mod ...

- ''Cal Tjader Plays The Contemporary Music Of Mexico And Brasil'' *

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Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with ...

- ''Speed of Light'' *

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Orestes Vilató Orestes Vilató (born 12 May 1944 in Camagüey, Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and c ...

, Changuito, Patato - ''Ritmo Y Candela: Rhythm at the Crossroads'' *

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Juan Formell Juan Climaco Formell Cortina (2 August 1942 – 1 May 2014) was a Cuban bassist, composer, and arranger, best known as the director of Los Van Van. He was a creator of popular danceable music and credited with bringing electronic instrumentation ...

and

- ''De Cuba'' *

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Fourth World (

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

and Flora Purim) - ''Last Journey'' *

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Changuito /

Cándido Fabré Cándido Fabré (born in San Luis, Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban musician, song writer, and singer famous for his skilled improvisation. He was born on 20 September 1959, in the municipality of San Luis (Santiago de Cuba), into a musical family; ...

/ Tiburon - ''El Muso Y Su Sonora'' *

Maraca - ''Descarga Total'' *

Airto Moreira - ''Homeless'' *

Brice Wassy - ''Shrine Dance'' * 001Clave Y Guaguanco with Celeste Mendoza and Changuito - ''Noche De La Rumba'' * 001Changuito - ''Syncopation'' *

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Kysha25 (from Italy) LP Culebras - in the song Ambatula *

Maraca - ''Tremenda Rumba!'' *

Giraldo Piloto - ''Klimax'' *

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Diego el Cigala and

Bebo Valdés Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big ...

- ''Lagrimas Negras'' *

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Kysha25 (from Italy) - LP Farandula *

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Changuito - ''Telegrafias Sin Hilo''
CD Universe

References

External Links

* *

Performances on YouTube