Milton Cardona

Jazz - Latin percussionist, born 21 November 1944 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, died 19 September 2014

A venerated who has played with such luminaries as Kip Hanrahan, flautist Self Preservation Society (with Robbie Ameen), Richie Flores and the great Willie Colón. He was a member of Colón's outfit when Ruben Blades first met Willie Colón in Panama in 1969.
He remains the opposite of showy conga players like Ray Barretto and Giovanni Hidalgo. In the 1980 joint album by Willie Colón and Ismael Miranda, we can hear his rare showy conga solo. As a singer his voice is unique, though there is only one solo album, "Bembé", recorded in 1987.
Trawling through his discography further reveals a Who's Who of great musicians such as Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira, Daniel Ponce, David Sanchez, Bahian singer Margareth Menezes and the legendary Ruben Blades.