Mongo Aaltonen

Mongo Aaltonen (born June 14th, 1961 in Kiukainen) is a Finnish percussionist. Mongo Aaltonen started studying percussion at the age of 16-17 with the help of [a=Upi Sorvali]. Then he continued to Porin Musiikkiopisto and started playing in the [a=Pori Big Band]. His academic career began in 1981 with classical percussion studies at the Sibelius Academy, but little by little his interest turned towards Afro-Cuban and Latin American music. He has played in several jazz and pop bands, such as [a=Olympia-orkesteri], [a=Pori Big Band], [a=UMO (2)] and [a=Jukka Linkola Octet]. He has also played in the backing bands of [a=Jari Sillanpää], [a=Pepe Ahlqvist] and [a=Heikki Silvennoinen]. Aaltonen can be also frequently seen on the stage with theater and symphony orchestras. His music has also been heard in several films. In addition, he is a studio musician. Aaltonen often works with the drummer [a=Anssi Nykänen].