Luciano "Chano" Pozo Gonzalez
Percussionist

Born 1/7/1915, killed in a bar room fight in Harlem 12/2/48. Played with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Chico O'Farrill, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Miguelito Valdez, and many others as well.

He got his start after moving to New York in 1947 when Mario Bauza got him to play with Dizzy Gillespie, an event that changed the course of American Jazz. Chano Pozo thereby played a major role in the founding of Latin-jazz which was essentially a mixture of bebop and Cuban folk music. He gained his musical background from AfroCuban religions. Among his features with Dizzy were "Cubana Be," "Cubana Bop," "Tin Tin Deo" and "Manteca" which was later a big hit with Eddie Palmieri and Cal Tjader. Pozo co-wrote "Tin Tin Deo" and "Manteca"

Unfortunately Chano Pozo had a hot temper and he was killed in a Harlem bar a month shy of his 34th birthday