Born of Cuban and Puerto Rican lineage and raised in the Bronx, Carlos Gogo Gomez grew up listening to old Cuban standards from his mother, while his father played and sang tangos in the house. As a teenager, he was influenced by the great musicians who lived in his neighborhood, i.e. Machito and Eddie Palmieri. Gogo first began playing professionally at age 14, and by the ripe young age of 16, he joined Seguida, one of the first Latin rock bands that experimented in mingling Latin grooves and Salsa with Rock and Roll, recording for the infamous Fania Records. Gogo was playing music and studying ethnomusicology at CCNY but Gogo’s desire for broader audiences took him to the West Coast, He established and taught the first program of Afro-Cuban studies in song, drum and dance at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California. In California, Gogo was one of the select group of musicians who were hired to play any style, anytime, anywhere while he settled in San Francisco Bay area. His diverse music background helped Gogo land gigs with jazz greats such as Bobby Hutcherson, Rodney Franklin, Babatunde Lea, Jules Broussard and Manhattan Transfer, while also playing Salsa and Latin Jazz with Pete and Coke Escovedo, and playing African Juju music with O. J. Ekemode and Batucaje Brazilian Dance Troup. Gogo played with Airto and Flora Purim on The Grateful Dead’s drummer Mickey Hart's album “Dafos,” Gogo eventually joined the Bay Area- based Con Funk Shun, with whom he recorded and toured. While living in Los Angeles, Gogo began touring with Jose Feliciano, Justo Almario, and Strunz & Farah. He landed the percussion/vocal post for Laura Branigan, and became her musical director. Gogo also appeared in and played soundtracks of numerous films, commercials and TV shows such as “Nueva Estrella” on CBS - the first bilingual singing competition in TV history. His own Salsa band "A Go Go Gomez" was featured in the motion picture, "Fires Within" and its soundtrack.
While in LA, Gogo toured and recorded with Arturo Sandoval on the Grammy Award-winning album, “Danzon/Dance On. While in New York, Gogo played and/or recorded with artists such as Quincy Jones, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Sade, Little Louie Vega/Nuyorican Soul Orchestra, Roy Ayres, Jocelyn Brown, Jody Watley, Pet Shop Boys, Lisa Stansfield, Chi Chi Peralta, Maxwell,to name a few. Gogo was an adjunct professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Percussion Department at Queens College, City University of New York. Gogo continues to teach seminars and privately, and is currently recording his newest project - We Are 1 Somos 1 (We are One, Somos Uno).