Percussionist (born on 18.03.1924 in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico - died 1998).
Father of percussionists José Mangual Jr. and Luis Mangual.
Influenced by Casino De La Playa, Septeto Puerto Rico and Issac Oviedo, Mangual mastered all the latín percussion instruments, bongos, congas and timbales, which lead to constant session work beginning in the late ’40s, since his arrival in New York City.
Some of the albums Mangual has appeared on over the years include Count Basie’s ’April in Paris’ (1955), Miles Davis’ ’Sketches of Spain’ (1959), Dizzy Gillespie’s ’Talkin’ Verve’ (1957), Tito Puente’s ’Babarabatiri’ (1951), Willie Bobo’s ’Spanish Grease’ (1965), Gato Barbieri’s ’Viva Emiliano Zapata’ (1974), as well as numerous Charlie Parker’s compilations.
He has performed with Miguelito Valdes, Arsenio Rodriguez, Chano Pozo Percussion Quintet, Stan Kenton, Cal Tjader, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Bobo, Count Basie Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Erroll Garner, Sarah Vaughan, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Carmen McRae, Jorge Dalto, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, Xavier Cugat, Tito Rodriguez, & Tito Puente, among others.
As a leader, Mangual first recorded the album ’Understanding Latin Rhythms, Vol. 1’ (1974), which became one of the most popular learning tools for percussionists in over two decades and, in 1977, he released the LP ’Buyú’, which clearly demonstrated his percussive strength and dedication to art.