Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. His main instruments were bongos and timbales. [See: "Timbale Demonstration" (Manny Oquendo) and "The Martillo Pattern" (Manny Oquendo).] Oquendo's timbale solos were famous for their tastefully sparse, straight forward "tipico" phrasing. His solos also incorporated the rhythmic language of the folkloric quinto, the lead drum of rumba. Oquendo grew up in New York, and began studying percussion in 1945. He worked in the bands of tropical and Lati… read more
Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. His main instruments were bongos and timbales. [See: "Timbale Demonstration" (Manny Oquendo) and "The Martillo Pattern" (Manny Oquendo).] Oquendo's timbale solos w… read more
Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. His main instruments were bongos and timbales. [See: "Timbale Demonstration" (Manny Oquendo) and "The Martillo Pattern" (Manny Oquendo).] Oquendo's timbale solos were famous for their tastefully sparse, straight forward "tipico&qu… read more