Cándido Camero Guerra aka Candido, the man who basically brought the conga into the modern age with his innovative multi-percussion setups and tunable congas, had already had a long and eventful career as a former member of Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton‘s bands when he recorded Dancin’ and Prancin’ for the Salsoul label in 1979 at the age of 58. So you might have assumed that this was just another case of an old-timer trying to cash in on the disco craze, right? But you would have been very, very wrong… the record was pure brilliance, as the incorporation of Candido’s Latin conga beats into the syncopated 4 x 4 rhythm of disco proved irresistible, revolutionizing the sound of underground disco while pointing the way for house music to come. In fact, both “Jingo” (an unstoppable version of the Olatunji classic) and “Thousand Finger Man” are still DJ favorites. Speaking of DJs: We’re releasing this record on black vinyl, which is perfect for DJing – a must-have for any dance music library!
