Perez Prado & His Orchestra

Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Perez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze. Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for Dancers of all backgrounds and classes. Prado's Mambo was filled with piercing high-register trumpets, undulating saxophone Counterpoint, atmospheric organ, and Borrowed harmonic ideas from jazz. While his tight percussion arrangements allowed for little improvisation, they were dense and sharply focused, keeping the underlying syncopations Dancers is easy to follow. Prado played the piano, but was often more in his element as the focal point of the audience's Excitement, he leaped, kicked, danced, shouted, grunted, and exhorted his musicians with a dynamic stage presence that put many more conductors and bandleaders to Sedat shame. With this blueprint, Prado Mambo brought all the way into the pop mainstream, inspiring countless imitators and scoring two number one singles on the pop charts as the fad snowballed.