Mel Bay The Tomás Cruz Conga Method, Vol. II
Tomas "Tomasito" Cruz was born and raised in Cuba in the middle of the musical revolution of the 90's. By the time he relocated to Miami he had become one of the top congueros in Cuba, playing in what most Cuban music experts consider one of the two or three best Timba bands ever assembled, the 1997-98 incarnation of Paulito FG y su Elite which recorded the groundbreaking CD, "Con la conciencia tranquila". The creativity and drive Tomasito's conga tumbaos on that album put him in the very upper echelon of the most competive Latin music scene in the world. Similarly, it took Tomasito very little time to rise to the top of the Miami Latin music scene, playing with Manolin, el Medico de la Salsa, Willie Chirino, Celia Cruz, and many others. He also has a thorough mastery of bongo, Bata, and a deep understanding of Cuban music as a whole. In short, when we set out to write a book explaining the mysteries of Cuban conga playing, Tomasito was our first choice by a considerable margin. Kevin Moore is the music editor of the world's largest Cuban music website, Timba.com, and the musical director of the American salsa band Orquesta Gitano. He has studied with dozens of leading Cuban musicians, written many extensive articles on Cuban music, and served as a consultant for features and articles produced by the BBC, the Los Angeles Times, and musicologists from Harvard and other major universities. Michael Gerald is a Canadian drummer who has spent 7 years studying and playing Timba and has recorded two albums with his group, Sol y Soul, which, aside from himself, is composed entirely of all-stars from the various Cuban supergroups.  Orlando Fiol, a professional pianist/conguero/composer in the Philadelphia area, began his studies of Latin music as a small child under the tutelage of his father, Latin recording artist Henry Fiol. In 1996 he traveled to Cuba where he studied and played with Pancho Quinto, Changuito, members of Sierra Maestra, Raices Profundas and the Sexeto Habanero. He is also an expert in the fields of Jazz, Classical music and Indian music, having been awarded a fellowship to study tabla and pakhawaj in India. Orlando's encyclopedic knowledge of the history of folkloric and Latin music, nad his ability to communicate with Tomasito in fluent Spanish have proved indispensable in writing of this series.