Candido Camero (Cuba)

Candido de Guerra Camero, also known simply as Candido (born April 22, 1921) is a Cuban percussionist (mainly conga and bongo) who backed many Afro-Cuban jazz and straightforward jazz acts since the 1950s. Although he has been credited as the first person to use the congas in jazz music, it is well known that at least Diego Iborra preceded him with Dizzy Gillespie by the mid 1940s as well as Luciano "Chano" Pozo Gonzales in 1947 also with Dizzy Gillespie at Carnegie Hall and a European tour.

Early in his career, Camero had recorded in his native Cuba with Machito. He moved to New York in 1952 and started recording with Dizzy Gillespie. During 1953-54 he was in the Billy Taylor quartet and in 1954 he performed and recorded with Stan Kenton. He also enjoyed some hits during the disco era, most notably with the Babatunde Olatunji penned track "Jingo" which he recorded for Salsoul Records, which released from his Dancin' and Prancin' album. It peaked at #55 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1981. On January 15, 2009 he was the surprise guest at Zinc, a jazz club in New York's Greenwich Village.

He was honoured with the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award in 2008.