Mel Bay The Tomás Cruz Conga Method, Vol. III
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.