Percussionist Mongo Santamaria spent nearly seven decades at the forefront of Latin jazz. A native of Cuba, he was known for his versatility, rhythmic inventiveness, and electrifying onstage presence. His own compositions, several of which became standards, often transcended genre, mixing elements of jazz, pop, R&B, and the Afro-Cuban traditions of his youth.

Ramón Santamaría Rodríguez was born April 7, 1917, in Havana, Cuba's capital. Most English-language publications have chosen to omit the accent mark in both "Santamaría" and his second surname, the matronymic "Rodríguez." The first omission is a journalistic convention; the second follows the percussionist's own practice. The ubiquitous nickname "Mongo," meanwhile, came from his father, who told him it was a reference to the family's ancestral role as West African chieftains. Supporting that claim are reports in London's Independent and other sources that the name means "chief of the tribe [or tribes]" in Senegalese.

One of four children born to Ramón Santamaría Gímenez, a construction worker, and Felicia Rodríguez Basan, a street vendor, Santamaria grew up in the Havana neighborhood of Jesús María, a poor district populated primarily by Cubans of African descent. Music was a part of his life from earliest childhood. His family and many of his neighbors were devout followers of a distinctive faith that combined Roman Catholicism with West African ritual; music, particularly drumming, was an integral feature of their worship. Though his mother tried in vain to steer him toward the violin, he was deeply involved with the congas and other percussion instruments by the time he had reached his teens.

His family's financial struggles left little opportunity for a formal education, and Santamaria...