Klimax Begins

Giraldo Piloto (drummer) and Klimax from their first cd, Mira si te gusta, 1996 (no longer available) The song really begins to cook at the break after the verse around 2:40: Rockin' dance music, copied and admired by every popular Cuban music group to follow and by latin and jazz musicians on both sides of the pond. They're still around.

Timba by the Bay

Vieja Luna

Celia was Celia--of that, there is no doubt.

Who, however, was Juan Orlando de la Rosa Valenzuela? Yes, he was the Cuban composer of this beautiful bolero. He was born in 1919 and only lived to be 37 years old. During his short life, he was an accomplished pianist, having played with the famous Lecuona. He helped to launch the careers of Elena Burke and Omara Portuondo in his group, El Cuarteto Orlando de la Rosa. He helped to form a genre, contributing prolifically to the Golden Age of the Bolero, composing classic songs like “Cansancio”, “Mi corazón es para ti”, “Qué emoción”, “Nuestras vidas”, “Si te dicen”, “No vale la pena”, and, of course, “Vieja luna”.

Here are the lyrics:

Quiero escaparme con la vieja luna,
en el momento en que la noche muere;
cuando se asoma la sonrisa blanca,
en la mañana de mi adversidad.

Quiero volver a revivir la noche,
porque la vieja luna volverá;
ella es quien sabe donde esta mi amor,
ella sabe si es que la perdí;
vieja luna que en la noche va.

En Jesús María

Guarapachangeo recorded by Ilu Irawo in Tijuana in 1989. The recording, Tambor de las estrellas (rare cassette tape), features Regino Jiménez, Roberto Vizcaíno, Juan de Diós, Mario Jaureguí and Mark Lamson. Courtesy: David Peñalosa (Unlocking Clave)

¡El cha, cha, chá, y mucho más!

Learn from two excellent young dancers from Cuba:

CONGA!

This is the real thing! I want to watch this a lot.

Conga San Pedrito

Más Delirio más moderno

Listen to another beautiful version (quite modern) of this timeless song, Tú, Mi Delirio, by a wonderful Mexico City songstress, Magos Herrera.
My wonderful teacher and extraordinary vocalist, María Márquez, said to us, in our class last night, that many in the jazz world say that in order for it to be considered "real jazz", it must be sung in English only. What do you think?

Elegant Elena

Elena Burke (1928-2002), Madame of Fílin (Feeling), sings one of my favorite songs in this ancient video. Fifty years ago in Havana, Cuba, in 1941, she began her artistic career by participating in a radio program for amateurs. She later formed part of the famous female cuartet, Cuarteto D'Aida, along with Omara Portuondo, Moraima Secada, and Omara's sister, Haydeé.

César Portillo de la Luz, one of the originators of the Fílin Movement which started in the '40s, wrote the song in this video, "Tú, Mi Delirio". He was a prolific, talented, and internationally acclaimed song writer. His melodies have endured the decades and changes within popular music--and are still very much alive today. Aida Diestro, director of Cuarteto D'Aida, was also one of the founding members of this collaborative group which changed the course of Cuban song. Fílin songs, usually boleros, were sung differently than in the past--more spoken than sung, almost private in delivery--giving the singer great freedom to interpret. You really notice those things in Elena's rendition of this song of passion and longing.

Elena became a legend in Cuba, helping to shape "El Fílin" and the Cuban Nueva Trova Song movement.

In Cuba, one only has to say the word: Elena. Cubans know exactly who and what you're talking about. They didn't call her Your Majesty for nothing.

San Lázaro's New Year's Message (make sure to follow advice at end of post)

I have a certain affinity for San Lázaro-Babalú Ayé. The religious songs associated with this orisha (from the Arará tradition) are the most beautiful I know.

Every year, on December 16 and 17, thousands of acolytes--some say up to 100,000--crawl on their hands and knees, sometimes with stones and bricks tied to their legs to touch the purple robe of the statue of San Lázaro. They leave flowers, gifts, a promise (ex-votos, very much like México) in the hopes that their supplications for healing will be granted. The sanctuary where this takes place, in Rincón outside of Havana, used to be part of a hospital/church complex where lepers were taken care of. The photos at this website speak volumes.

http://www.demotix.com/news/345957/sanctuary-san-lazaro

San Lázaro is associated with diseases of the skin, venereal disease (AIDS in modern times) and epidemics (measles, etc.). In Cuba, he is believed to have powers to cure infectious disease in general, including cancer.

And then, there was Ricky Ricardo. He stole it all from Miguelito Valdés, licks and style, who you can hear/see do the "real" popular song of the time in tribute to Babaluaye.

 

Quiere a Babalú, santo milagroso, pídele salud, pues sin salud no hay gozo.

GET READY FOR THE NEW YEAR A LO CUBANO

In the words of the famous coro from the song Santa Palabra from NG La Banda (look up on YouTube if you're interested):

Oye, despójate,

quítate lo malo,

échalo pa'atrás,

límpiate, mi hermano.

(José Luís, El Tosco)

To do your own Limpia Cubana, be sure to do the motions as follows, as you sing the coro, and dance at the same time:

Fling hands up in the air, palms facing out,

  Bring hands down, wiping the left arm with the right hand and then, vice versa,

Fling hands up again, this time palms to the back--geting rid of the bad,

Bring hands down, starting at chest height, rubbing both hands down the sides of your torso while you groove hard to the music

REPEAT as often as necessary or until the song ends.

Now you're ready for the new year.

Feliz Año Nuevo 2011

Mayito

Mayito Rivera, of Los Van Van, sings one of his signature tunes, ¡Qué Sorpresa! (What a Surprise!--available on their Lo Ultimo en Vivo disc), in this video clip filmed at Yoshi's San Francisco on December 12, 2010. He told us, from the stage, that this was the first song Juan Formell wrote for him specifically after he joined the group in 1992. Mayito made it a classic, with the coro: "Voy a publicar tu foto en la prensa" and "me dio agua caliente, agua salada, de madrugada", lamenting his chica's unfaithful behavior and his desire for revenge. He never really comes right out and says it. Everything is cloaked in metaphor except the part about publishing her picture in the newspaper-he, he. Check it out.

Sabu Yerkoy - Cuban "Son" Travels to Africa

Sabu Yerkoy is sung in the Songhay language, spoken by 3 million people in Mali, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The title of the song means "Thanks to God" and the lyrics celebrate Mali's independence. This is the only time Ali recorded this piece even though he had sung it since the sixties, when Cuban music was sweeping West Africa. Notice Orlando "Cachaito" López on bass (from Cuba, deceased 2009). This was the last recording for both him and Ali. It is a beautiful example of Afrocuban-Cubafrican synthesis--the joy of heart recognition.

The Independence of Mali did us good
As we have got our land back
As we are now hopeful
As we have got our rivers back
As we have all that belongs to us
So we are proud and we are well

Quizás, Quizas, Perhaps

Great Cuban singer, Issac (sic) Delgado, and Freddy Cole, Nat’s younger brother, teamed up this last year to do a beautiful tribute cd, called L-O-V-E. Freddy chose Issac to do this recording with him and I agree; it was a great choice.

Issac grew up in Cuba listening to Nat King Cole on old records his mom used to play. Along with so many other latinoamericanos, Issac has always admired Nat. He jumped at the chance to do a project like this knowing that his regular fans might not be as excited about it as he was. This September, the cd was nominated for a Latin Grammy. I guess the public liked it.

Take a listen to the timeless "Quizás, quizás, quizás", a nostalgic visit to a very sweet time but with a smooth and funky "swing cubano". ¡Vaya! (The clarinet solo is to die for!)

You'd Better Like Cuban Music or Blog Title Inspiration

Alexander Abreu (the big guy in front in the video-Cuban trumpeter, composer, and singer) captured my attention a few years ago with this song, "Mi Música", originally recorded with Grupo Danzón from Sweden (go figure). Try to hear/find the Blog title in this very long, very good song:  "Como dice el coro …"--ok, so it's almost inaudible, but it's there..

There is no prize for finding it except for my undying admiration for your good taste in music. I will know that you truly understand how Cuban music and regular life work:

• It's all about the chorus.
• We tend to repeat things we understand about life (over and over).
• We love to sing along, dance, and do all kinds of stuff with other people.
• We get really hooked on good (and bad) stuff and can't get it out of our minds.
• We start to really listen to a song/life when it gets to the chorus (the hook).
  
• It's all about improvisation, passionate abandon for the things/people that you love, and keeping yourself happy.