Musician Carlos Valdes, a Cuban native whose conga playing made him a legend among Latin jazz percussionists, has died. He was 81.

Valdes died Tuesday night of complications from emphysema in Cleveland, where he had been hospitalized since Nov. 11, said Charles Carlini, a New York-based concert promoter and booking agent for Valdes.

Valdes, who lived in New York and had been working with his group the Conga Kings, had recently performed in California, including an appearance at the San Francisco Jazz Festival on Nov. 9, Carlini said.

Valdes complained of breathing problems on a commercial flight carrying the group back to New York, and the plane made an emergency landing in Cleveland, Carlini said.

Vales came to the United States in the 1950s and worked with major Latin and jazz figures of the day, including Kenny Dorham, Tito Puente, Herbie Mann and Dizzy Gillespie.