Songo piano (2-3)

Songo is the groove Los Van Van built in the 1970s: son montuno rhythm moved onto a drum kit (Changuito), with funk and rumba in it. The piano keeps a montuno but opens it up: fewer repeated octaves, more two-hand melody, and a phrase that runs across four bars of cut time (two full claves) instead of two. This one, from Scivales, is marked "mambo or songo" and is in 2-3 clave; the right hand plays the melody in sixths and octaves against the left. Underneath, the drums put the kick on the and-of-2 and on 4 (the bass tumbao's notes), a rim click on the clave and the conga's open tones on 4 and 4-and. Try muting the piano and listening to how much of the montuno the drums already imply.