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Songo is a type of Cuban music originating in Havana which combines elements from the rumba, son Cubano, and other contemporary non-Latin styles like jazz and funk. It was developed by percussionists and bands such as Changuito of Los Van Van, La Ritmo Oriental, Los Latinos, Los Reyes 73, Grupo Irakere and others.
Many Latin musicians have described the songo as a very soulful type of music; for instance Juan Formell says that "it is the synthesis of a personality, of a way of being and feeling the music, a sum of cultures and a way of making a musician into someone polyfacetic and original."
When playing a songo, the drummer always plays a basic foot pattern called the tumbao, and builds on top of with the hands. The tumbao is played with the bass drum on the fourth beat and the off-beat of the second beat of the 4/4 time. Percussion in the songo is played in a primarily linear fashion, meaning that no two drums or cymbals are played at the same time.
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