1/22/2012

Miguel 'Angá' Díaz - Complete Discography


 Miguel 'Anga' Diaz R.I.P (15 June 1961 - 9 August 2006)

The late great Anga is without a doubt my favorite percussionist. Anga rose to fame as the conguero for Irakere, continuing the 5 conga tradition started by Jorge "El Niño" Alfonso. However Anga was also an incredible rumbero. Miguel Aurelio Diaz Zayas was born in San Juan y Martinez in the Pinar del Río Province in Cuba, an area known for its rumba traditions. 



I was first intoduced to Anga's playing in the self titled album Cachaito by Israel "Cachaito" Lopez.

Anga's melodic conga playing on this album is truly some of the most beautiful conga playing to be heard. Of course the next album to follow was Echu Mingua, Anga's solo release. Truly this record is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking albums from Cuba.


The documentary of that album is excellent as well and offers incredible insight into this great conguero's mind.



Sadly, Anga left this earth at the young age of 45 and we will not be getting anymore music from this great artist. Instead, I have embarked on a mission to collect all his albums from past recordings. I have compiled here as complete a discography of Anga's as I could from various resources. Some of these recordings are readily available while others being quite obscure. For example,  Anga Nascimentos, which I only heard about through the great percussion educator and author David Penalosa. David was kind enough to send me digital files of this album, as there is virutally no possibility of finding a hard copy, as it seems to have been only distributed by Anga himself at seminars. I'm uploading one track here for my readers enjoyment.

  Rumbanga 2 by superbongos

Anga has also been an incredible influence on my rumba playing. A while back my friend provided me with a compendium of rhythms from one of the largest gatherings of Cuban music and culture held at Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta Canada, 1994. This book has an excellent set of rumba patterns with variations as presented by Anga. The book and the accompnaying sound tracks are constatnt source of study and inspiration for me. This incredible session also produced the wonderful Afrocuanismo album.

Here are a couple tracks from the Banff music seminar of 6/8's rhythms as presented by Anga.

  anga 6/8 by superbongos 

Anyways, here is my discography of recordings by Miguel 'Angá' Díaz, a work in progress. I have a feeling a few more Irakere albums need to be added to the list. I welcome any additions my readers have that I can include to make the discography more complete.


MIGUEL “ANGA” DIAZ COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY
as complied by Geordie Van Der Bosch.


  1. 69-96 / Magik Malik Orchestra
  2. A Lo Cubano / Orishas
  3. A Love Affair in Paris / Buddy Montgomery
  4. A Toda Cuba Le Gusta / Afro-Cuban All Stars
  5. Anga Nacimientos, Miguel “Anga” Diaz
  6. Arpa Fusion / Anga Diaz & Pascal Coulon
  7. Barbarismo / Frank Emilio Flynn y Sus Amigos
  8. Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel Guajiro Mirabal / Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal
  9. Buenos Hermanos / Ibrahim Ferrer
  10. Cachaito / Orlando Cachaito Lopes
  11. Central Avenue / Danilio Perez
  12. Chanchullo / Ruben Gonzales
  13. Chocalate / Alma Rosa
  14. Crisol Habana / Roy Hargrove
  15. Cubanismo / Jesus Alemany
  16. Distinto Diferente / Afro Cuban All Stars
  17. Echu Mingua / Anga
  18. En Chile (Con Chucho Valdes, Irakere e Isabel Parra) / Silvio Rodriguez
  19. Exuberencia / Irakere
  20. Flor de Amor / Omar Portuondo
  21. Formula Uno / Orlando Valle
  22. Genesis & the Opening of the Way / Steve Coleman
  23. Habana Secreta / Jose Maria Vittier
  24. Hajji: Kathy Kidd & Kongo Mambo / Kathy Kidd
  25. Havana Calling / Maraca y Otra Vision
  26. Indestructible / Irakere
  27. Latin Soul / Alma Rosa
  28. Live a FIP / Omar Sosa
  29. Live at Ronnie Scott’s / Irakere
  30. Live In Cuba CD / Mingus Amungus
  31. Maferefun / Tony Martinez
  32. Mambo Sinuendo / Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
  33. Merengue a Quilo / Opus 13
  34. Paquito D'Rivera Presents Cuba Jazz / Paquito D’Rivera
  35. Pasaporte / Tata Guines & Miguel “Anga” Diaz
  36. Pasion Latina 1 / Raul Gutierrez & Irazu
  37. Presents Cuba Jazz / Paquito D'Rivera
  38. Que Llueva de Una Vez / Opus 13
  39. The Legendary Irakere / Irakere
  40. The Legendary Irakere In London - Volume 2 / Irakere
  41. Tratame Como Soy / Nora
  42. Ritmo Y Candela II: African Crossroads / Carlos 'Patato' Valdes
  43. The Very Best Of ¡Cubanismo! - ¡Mucho Gusto! / ¡Cubanismo!


 






7 comments:

  1. DanJanuary 31, 2012 at 9:43 PM

    There is definitely some great percussion in these songs. I've played an acoustic set for a while, but now I'm looking into more world percussion. Hopefully, I'll be getting a Meinl Percussion Doumbek or Cajon this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 17, 2012 at 12:30 AM

    I've seen the video many times, but had no idea there was a book? Please help me locate a copy, thank you. I will definitely make it worth your while...

    mrclave@yahoo.com

    PS Really enjoying the sound files!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rumba InstrumentsApril 22, 2012 at 10:33 AM

      All I have is my printed copy. I've never seen it for sale anywhere.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 10:05 AM

      oops, i should have replied to this rather than just hit the comment button. The mention of the method books is mine. I think it would be fun to share? If what I mentioned doesn't interest you, I'm sure after almost 25 years in the field, I could think of something that is in my collection & new to you. And then we'd both have access to additional materials and be able to learn more. Thank you.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousApril 22, 2012 at 9:59 PM

    i have a lot of obscure materials and would like to share. I actually have a small collection of old method books. Right now i'm looking at a 1940's one by Ernesto Marrero, who was the drummer & percussionist for Desi Arnaz's touring band. The book cost $1.25 back in the day, hahaha. It has some very interesting breaks, for example...

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 23, 2012 at 1:46 AM

    Great playing by Anga, and the blog post is a terrific tribute to him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 29, 2012 at 1:29 PM

    I tried to upload a small section of the AfroCubanismo *film* but was having trouble getting a good transfer of the audio. It had occurred to me that you might not have seen the film, although that is unlikely if you've got a book from the event that I've never even heard of. But maybe.

    Anyway, I have also contacted James Metcalfe, so maybe he will still have some book copies available? Thanks again for bringing the materials to my attention. If the video is of interest, perhaps we still can think of a way to share it -- but strictly between the two of us and not for the public.

    Please don't publish this comment, its just between the two of us. The comment giving my mrclave@yahoo email might not be appropriate for everyone to be reading, either. In that one, I had mentioned "making it worth your while" to trade or to share: among many other things, I've taken several month of formal classes with Sandy Perez (in addition to our longstanding friendship of many years), and I have transcriptions of Ebioso, BataRumba, Conga and Cokuye, etc.

    I know you are out there getting to rub elbows with great teachers and players *daily*, probably. But I do what I can to overcome W. Texas' isolation, and therefore I have amassed some excellent resources, I think. I also took a semester-long class (UC Berkeley) on Cuban music with Rebecca Mauleon-Santana, and have lots of notes transcriptions, and handout in notation.

    Thanks for putting the excellent materials on the web, and helping all researchers everywhere.

    Sincerely,
    Matthew

    ReplyDelete

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