Bongo drums

[Alexandoy]

Is the bongo drum still being used by jazz bands? I had a friend who played bongo drums. He said that the bongo drum is one of the easiest instruments to play in a band. However it looks like the bongo drum is for jazz only?

 

[Folk Artist]

I always think of a Beatnik or bearded cat playing the bongos back in 50s(beatnik generation) - a visual image of a dude with a Vandyck beard, a turtleneck sweater, sandals, and a set of bongos, and they called it beatnik music. The bongos are a Afro-Cuban percussion instrument and are played in genres that include son cubano, salsa, and Afro-Cuban jazz as well.