Renowned percussionist Sabu was born July 14, 1930, in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. At a young age, Sabu discovered his fondness for drums and percussion by banging on cans in a street band, before playing in mambo and jazz bands at the age of 11. The young percussionist's big break came in 1948 when he joined Dizzy Gillespie's last big band, and Benny Goodman's outfit a year later. Sabu was also a member of the original Joe Loco Trio, a group that many point to as recording the very first mambo recording in the U.S., and also performed on Broadway alongside the like of Xavier Cugat, Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis Jr. During the mid-'50s, Sabu recorded with another renowned percussionist, Art Blakey, as the duo specialized in both African and Latin rhythms, before forming his own quintet in 1957 and issuing the albums Palo Congo, Safari, and Sorcery.