Alberto Iznaga

b.: July 25, 1906 (La Havana, Cuba)
d.: April 16, 1995 (Bayamon, Puerto Rico)

Cuban bandleader, saxophonist, violinist and composer. Alberto Iznaga was among the artists who recorded for American labels in the '30s and '40s, greatly influencing and eventually enhancing the stylistic recipe known as Latin jazz. He's the composer of "Goin' Conga," a lively number recorded by bandleader Cab Calloway when his band was at a musical height.

As a bandleader, Iznaga's recordings include a series of sides cut for producer Joe Davis in the '40s that feature a sampling of bolero, guaracha, porro, and pregon rhythms. Iznaga's collaborators included vocalist José Luis Moneró as well as songwriter Jaime Yamin, the latter among the earliest Latin writers to begin drawing paychecks on Tin Pan Alley.