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La Charanga Habanera is a timba ensemble from Havana directed by David Calzado. The band has been nominated for awards including the Latin Grammy in 2003 for the album Live in the U.S.A. In 2005 Charanga Habanera was nominated for "Orgullosamente Latino" awards in three categories: best video, best album, and best group. Furthermore, the group has won numerous awards from Cubadiscos and Lucas. [1]
La Charanga Habanera began in 1988 when a group of young people recently graduated from the art schools in Cuba formed a group to do a project of Cuban music style called charanga, that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. The project was popular enough that they extended it for five more years. During this time they shared stage with such famous artists as Donna Summer, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Barry White, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Whitney Houston, and Kool and the Gang. The group toured internationally in Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and the United States. It is currently one of the most popular timba or Cuban salsa groups in Cuba. [2]
Their first hit, "Me sube la fiebre," had made Charanga Habanera one of Cuba's most popular timba bands. The band had almost no personnel changes outside of the replacement of singer Leo Vera by Michel Maza and the addition of Danny Lozada as a third lead singer. This incarnation of La Charanga produced four historically important timba records. [3] By 1997, La Charanga was banned by the state for its “vulgar” lyrics and risqué stage show. [4]
At the Festival de la Juventud y los Estudiantes in July of 1997, Charanga Habanera performed its R-rated nightclub act on live national television, resulting in a six-month government-imposed suspension. During this time, Dany Lozada and Juan Carlos González departed to form the group which recorded the legendary Tanto le pedí. When the suspension ended the group played until the summer of 1998 without recording and then the more famous breakup occurred, resulting in the formation of Charanga Forever—Kevin Moore (2001: web). [5]
With the departure of González and Lozada, Calzado quickly found replacements and continued rehearsing and developing new material. Sandier Ante replaced Lozada and Roberto "Cucurucho" Carlos replaced González. Eduardo Lazaga left after recording Tremendo delirio and was replaced by Gilberto Moreaux, who had previously played with Bamboleo. This second incarnation of Charanga Habanera never released an album, but did introduce new material, which was eventually recorded by Charanga Forever.
In the summer of 1998 the entire group quit en masse, with two exceptions of singer Michel "El Menor de la Salsa" Maza, and soundman Marcos Morales. Morales stayed with the group for seven years before moving to Miami to be with his family in late 2000. [6]
In August 1998, La Charanga Habanera consisted of a lead singer, a musical director, and one soundman. Calzado quickly assembled another successful timba band. Pianist Tirso Duarte was one of Charanga Habanera’s most significant members at this time. Duarte recorded original, highly syncopated timba tumbaos (piano guajeos) with tinges of Classical music. Moore recalls testing Duarte’s ability to spontaneously create a tumbao based on a Classical piece: “I asked him to play a classical piano piece. He played part of Chopin's “Fantasie Impromptu in C#mi.” I then asked him to improvise on it in a timba style. Within ten minutes he had worked it into a piano tumbao and added a bassline. [7]
On "Charanguero mayor," Duarte references classical piano music, and employs extreme harmonic displacement. The following ten elements are found in Durate's variants of the "Charanguero mayor" piano tumbao, identifying it as timba: 1. song-specific hook 2. increased length 3. contrasting gestures 4. busy left hand 5. consecutively repeated notes 6. contrary and oblique motion 7. grace note rolls 8. notes clusters and jazz voicings 9. harmonic anticipation and displacement 10. cross-rhythm. Moore: "This tumbao is not only drastically different from the salsa formula—it’s also very different from other timba tumbaos, from other timba tumbaos by Tirso, and even from other timba tumbaos in this same song." [8]
The next piano tumbao uses cluster chords. it is also unusual in that Duarte leaves out the F natural from the previous variant. Duarte displays a preference for this type of harmonic tension. He changes chords earlier than anticipated or extends them further. His tumbaos eventually return to a familiar opening phrase and reestablish the harmonic equilibrium.
Yulién Oviedo, a 15-year-old prodigy and son of Calixto Oviedo of NG La Banda, took over on timbales. The Mengual brothers, Orlandito and Lázaro (from Pacho Alonso) took over conga and bongo duties. The young jazz pianist Helder Rojas took over the synthesizer chair. Randolf Chacón (formerly with Bamboleo) became the new bassist. The new horn section consists of Osmani Collado, Yunior Romero (also from Bamboleo), Juan Manuel Jiménez (from Rojitas), and Carmelo "El abuelo" Andrés. Carmelo is the consummate professional trumpeter and had already had a long and successful career with Paulito y su Élite and Rojitas. Michel Maza was joined by Aned Mota and Noel Díaz on vocals. This new incarnation of the group consisted of some of the best young musical talent in Cuba. [9]
Salsa music is a style of Latin American music, combining elements of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and American influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on Son montuno and Son Cubano, with elements of Guaracha, Cha-cha-chá, Danzón, Descarga, Bolero, Guajira, Rumba, mambo, Jazz, Funk, R&B, rock, Bomba, and plena. All of these elements are adapted to fit the basic Son montuno template when performed within the context of salsa.
Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which includes samba and bossa nova.
Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although son montuno had previously referred to the sones played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to denote a highly sophisticated approach to the genre in which the montuno section contained complex horn arrangements. He also incorporated piano solos and often subverted the structure of songs by starting with the montuno in a cyclic fashion. For his approach, Arsenio had to expand the existing septeto ensemble into the conjunto format which became the norm in the 1940s alongside big bands. Arsenio's developments eventually served as the template for the development of genres such as salsa, songo and timba.
Changüí is a style of Cuban music which originated in the early 19th century in the eastern region of Guantánamo Province, specifically Baracoa. It arose in the sugar cane refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves. Changüí combines the structure and elements of Spain's canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu origin. Changüí is considered a predecessor of son montuno, which has enjoyed tremendous popularity in Cuba throughout the 20th century.
Arsenio Rodríguez was a Cuban musician, composer and bandleader. He played the tres, as well as the tumbadora, and he specialized in son, rumba and other Afro-Cuban music styles. In the 1940s and 1950s Rodríguez established the conjunto format and contributed to the development of the son montuno, the basic template of modern-day salsa. He claimed to be the true creator of the mambo and was an important as well as a prolific composer who wrote nearly two hundred songs.
Charanga is a traditional ensemble that plays Cuban dance music. They made Cuban dance music popular in the 1940s and their music consisted of heavily son-influenced material, performed on European instruments such as violin and flute by a Charanga orchestra.. The style of music that is most associated with a Charanga is termed 'Danzón', and is an amalgam of both European classical music and African rhythms.
Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most important figures in contemporary Cuban music, having contributed to the development of songo and timba, two popular dance music genres.
Habanera may refer to:
Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban son with salsa, American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass drum, which is not used in salsa bands. Timba and salsa use the same tempo range and they both use the standard conga marcha. Almost all timba bands have a trap drummer. Timbas also often break the basic tenets of arranging the music in-clave. Timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Associated with timba is a radically sexual and provocative dance style known as despelote. It is a dynamic evolution of salsa, full of improvisation and Afro Cuban heritage, based on son, Rumba and mambo, taking inspiration from Latin jazz, and is highly percussive with complex sections. Timba is more flexible and innovative than salsa, and includes a more diverse range of styles. Timba incorporates heavy percussion and rhythms which originally came from the barrios of Cuba.
Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm. The genre emerged in the early 1940s with the Cuban musicians Mario Bauzá and Frank Grillo "Machito" in the band Machito and his Afro-Cubans in New York City. In 1947, the collaborations of bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and percussionist Chano Pozo brought Afro-Cuban rhythms and instruments, such as the tumbadora and the bongo, into the East Coast jazz scene. Early combinations of jazz with Cuban music, such as "Manteca" and "Mangó Mangüé", were commonly referred to as "Cubop" for Cuban bebop.
Songo is a genre of popular Cuban music, created by the group Los Van Van in the early 1970s. Songo incorporated rhythmic elements from folkloric rumba into popular dance music, and was a significant departure from the son montuno/mambo-based structure which had dominated popular music in Cuba since the 1940s. Blas Egües was the first drummer in Los Van Van, but it was the band's second drummer, José Luis Quintana "Changuito", who developed songo into the world-wide phenomenon it is today.
Prudencio Mario Bauzá Cárdenas was an Afro-Cuban jazz, and jazz musician. He was among the first to introduce Cuban music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles to the New York City jazz scene. While Cuban bands had had popular jazz tunes in their repertoire for years, Bauzá's composition "Tangá" was the first piece to blend jazz harmony and arranging technique, with jazz soloists and Afro-Cuban rhythms. It is considered the first true Afro-Cuban jazz tune.
NG La Banda is a Cuban musical group founded by flutist José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés. NG stands for nueva generación. NG La Banda are the creators of timba, the most important popular dance and music genre of the past two decades. Prior to founding NG La Banda, Cortés played in the Afro-Cuban jazz-fusion supergroup Irakere, and the seminal songo band Los Van Van.
Issac Delgado is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular salsa and timba performer.
In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called tumbao. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as timba, piano guajeos are known as tumbaos.
Haila María Mompié González, better known as Haila Mompié or simply Haila, is a Cuban singer, specializing in son and timba. She is known as the lead vocalist in Azúcar Negra, as a former Bamboleo singer, and for her solo career.
A guajeo is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term guajeo for ostinato patterns played specifically by a tres, piano, an instrument of the violin family, or saxophones. Piano guajeos are one of the most recognizable elements of modern-day salsa. Piano guajeos are also known as montunos in North America, or tumbaos in the contemporary Cuban dance music timba.
Paulito FG is one of the original innovators of timba and is a popular salsa and timba performer.
Manuel "Manolín" González Hernández, is a Cuban timba and salsa songwriter, singer, and band leader. Manolín was an amateur songwriter, when NG La Banda's leader José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés discovered him at medical school and famously dubbed him "El Médico de la Salsa".
Manolito y su Trabuco is a salsa and timba group out of Camaguey and Havana, Cuba. It is named for founding member, pianist Manolito Simonet. Trabuco literally means a firearm from the times of the Independence War of 1895 and figuratively refers to anything forceful or strong.
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