Download Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha Chá

Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha Chá
(PUT 308 Liner Notes)
Rumba, mambo and cha cha chá are familiar names to
ballroom dancers the world over. Close relatives on the
Cuban musical family tree, all three evolved from a blend of
African and European influences and have become
immensely popular around the globe. The 1950s were the
height of the so-called "mambo craze," when people from
all walks of life swayed their hips in reckless abandon to the
sounds of Pérez Prado, Xavier Cugat, Tito Puente and, of
course, Desi Arnaz, a.k.a. the ruffled rumba-shirted Ricky
Ricardo
of
I
Love
Lucy
fame.
The term “rumba” (sometimes spelled “rhumba”), is actually
a misnomer. In ballroom dance circles, rumba actually refers
to a slow version of Cuban son, an Afro-Cuban rhythm that
eventually played the same role for salsa that the blues played for rock & roll. Actual rumba is a folkloric
percussion and vocal style that developed among Havana's dockworkers and has stronger African influences.
Mambo is a catch-all term for a variety of Cuban styles that developed from a mix of European contradanzas and
African rhythms and instrumentation. Its name traces itself back to a Bantu word for "conversation with the
gods." By the 1950s, the typical mambo sound was marked by upbeat dance beats and syncopated horn
arrangements. The big-band mambo sound spread from Havana to Mexico and ultimately to New York, where
legendary nightclubs such as The Palladium were frequented by Anglos and Latinos alike.
Cha cha chá is one of those rare musical genres whose name embodies something fundamental about its sound.
Just say to yourself, "one, two, cha cha chá" and you have a pretty good idea of what the cha cha chá rhythm
sounds like! Indeed, the name of the style came from the shuffling three-step pattern made by dancers’ feet as
they
moved
elegantly
to
this
Cuban
rhythm.
The development of cha cha chá is credited to one musical innovator, Cuban violinist and composer Enrique
Jorrín, who simplified the style called danzón (a descendant of European ballroom dances blended with AfroCuban rhythms), by adding unison group vocals, less syncopated melodies, and structural changes that became
an instant hit on the dance floor. To this day, most Latin bands play a cha cha chá every few songs to allow
couples to take a break from the more rapid mambo pace. And, cha cha chá is still a required element of most
ballroom dancing classes and competitions.
The blaring big band brass of the mambo orchestras and the elegant flutes and violins of cha cha chá create
nostalgia for an era when the passionate rhythms of the mambo kings ruled the dancehalls. We hope this
collection of retro-flavored Latin dance tracks helps transport you back to this golden era.
1. Conjunto Massalia
“Guajira Y Chachacha”
Conjunto Massalia was founded by lead singer Doumé Gaspari in 1990 when he returned to his native France
after living in Colombia for a number of years. Massalia is the original name of the band's hometown, Marseille,
a bustling and diverse metropolis in southern France that was established by Phoenician traders around 600 BC
and has been a cultural crossroads since pre-Roman times.
Gaspari sings, "Let me tell you a story, my friend / How this cha cha chá was born / With some friends from
the neighborhood / With bass, tres guitar, bongos and cowbell / We were looking for a rhythm / When at last
this chorus came to us / Guajira and cha cha chá." Guajira is a folksy genre that developed among campesinos in
Cuba's countryside.
2. Tradicuba
“Potpourri de Cha Cha Cha”
Tradicuba was founded in Havana by percussionist Pedro Vargas and other former members of Buena Vista
Social Club veteran Barbarito Torres' band. They seek to bring new flavor and fire to the classic Cuban sounds
of son, changüi and cha cha chá. The band's members originally came together to perform in the Havana's
Cathedral Square, eventually forming Piquete Cubano to back up Torres, a renowned player of the obscure
Cuban laud, a relative of the Arabic oud.
"Potpourri de Cha Cha Cha" is a medley of some of the most memorable cha cha chá's in the history of this
venerable style. It features the lyrical trumpet playing of Robin Felix Martinez and Onelio "Tati" Arias on tres, a
small Cuban guitar.
3. Fruko y Sus Tesos
“Mambo #5”
Colombian bandleader Ernesto “Fruko” Estrada and musical director Mario “Pachanga” Rincón started Fruko y
Sus Tesos in 1970 in an effort to create a sound similar to New York’s famed Fania All Stars. Over the years,
Fruko y Sus Tesos have retained a firm foothold in the upper echelons of the international salsa scene and have
released
numerous
hits
that
are
popular
with
salsa
DJs
around
the
globe.
"Mambo #5" is one of the quintessential classics of the mambo repertoire. It was originally composed and
recorded in 1949 by Pérez Prado, a Cuban who is often referred to as the "King of the Mambo." A smash hit
when it was released, it had repeat success at the top of the charts fifty years later thanks to German pop
musician Lou Bega's remake.
4. Salsa Celtica
“Esperanza”
Founded in 1995 by a diverse group of musicians with experience in the Scottish jazz and folk scenes, Salsa
Celtica fuses the traditional music of Scotland with Latin grooves. Their blend of bagpipes and bongos, kilts and
cowbells has earned a faithful following in the pubs and dancehalls of Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond.
"Esperanza" (Hope) describes the longing felt by immigrants who leave their homelands behind in search of
opportunity. "I left the holy land / In search of new roads / Leaving my loved ones behind / But I have to follow
my destiny / I will sow the seeds of hope / Until I find a new dawn / Always remembering you, always missing
you / And I promise you, one day I will return."
5. Orquesta La Moderna Tradición
“Mi Chachacha”
Orquesta La Moderna Tradición (The Modern Tradition Orchestra) was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area
in 1996 by a group of talented and diverse musicians who were united in their passion for the classic Cuban
ballroom music style danzón. Blending soulful Afro-Cuban percussion with elegant melodies and rhythms played
on violins, clarinet, and flute, Orquesta La Moderna Tradición has earned accolades for preserving and updating
this historically significant and graceful style.
The elegant European contradanza was brought to Cuba by Haitian immigrants in the late 1700s. Cubans added
their own flavor to create the habanera (whose distinctive rhythmic pattern would become a fundamental
influence on Argentinean tango), which in turn was supplanted by the danzón in the 1870s. Eventually, danzón
and another popular Cuban style called son helped form the underpinnings of mambo and cha cha chá in the
1940s and 50s, and eventually salsa in the 1960s.
6. Angel Meléndez and The 911 Mambo Orchestra
“Cereza Rosa”
Composer, arranger, instructor and trombonist Angel Meléndez is the leader of a number of popular Latin
bands in Chicago, Illinois. The 20-piece 911 Mambo Orchestra performs original songs along with works made
famous by Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Pérez Prado and others. Their self-titled debut album was nominated
for a GRAMMY Award in 2005.
Prado's mambo version of "Cereza Rosa," also known by its English title "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom
White," reached number one on the Billboard pop charts in 1955. It's now considered a classic of the mambo
era, although most people don't realize that it’s actually a cover of a song by Catalan composer Louiguy, who
also wrote the melody for Edith Piaf's famed "La Vie en Rose."
7. Asere
“Oriente”
Not just the bailiwick of old-timers, traditional Cuban son, guaracha and bolero have also inspired a new
generation of young Cuban musicians. Asere is a group from Havana that was formed by young musicians to
play the music of their grandparents. Following in the footsteps of their musical idols, Miguel Matamoros, Ñico
Saquito, Ignacio Piñeiro and others, Asere brings new energy to antique styles.
"Oriente" was made famous by Henry Fiol, a New York-born singer, composer and artist of Puerto Rican and
Italian heritage. The song is a tribute to the Oriente (Eastern) province of Cuba, a region where much of Cuba's
greatest music and musicians were born. "Oriente, if I could only sing to you as I truly desire / You are my
encyclopedia."
8. J. Joaquin Oliveros
“Me Lo Dijo Adela”
Cuban-based flautist J. Joaquin Oliveros has played with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, Chucho Valdes and countless
other greats. He is widely recognized as one of the best living players of the 5-key wooden flute, an essential
element of Cuban charangas. A charanga is an ensemble consisting of flutes and violins performing with piano,
bass and percussion. The format developed in Cuba at the beginning of the 20th Century to play danzónes and
habaneras, and eventually it became the essential instrumentation for cha cha chá.
"Me Lo Dijo Adela" (Adela Told Me) is a classic cha cha chá that has been recorded by Xavier Cugat, Orquesta
Aragón, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and many others. It was written by Otilio Portal and was first popularized
by cha cha chá pioneer Enrique Jorrin. "Doctor, tomorrow, don't pull my tooth / Even though I'm dying of pain /
Because Adela said she saw you having a huge party last night."
9. Internationals
“E.L.S.”
Internationals is a Belgian band that somehow manages to find the common thread between Jamaican ska,
Nigerian Afrobeat and Latin mambo and boogaloo. They were formed in 1998 by veterans of quirky Belgian
groups such as retro mambo collective El Tattoo del Tigre, blues-meets-mambo band Mambo Chillum and the
Belgian Afrobeat Association. The group's main inspiration is the legendary Jamaican ska band, The Skatalites,
which formed during the late 1950s, a musical era in which jazz, rhythm and blues, and mambo were all the
rage and rock & roll and reggae had yet to be born.
Certainly Jamaican ska and mambo are kindred spirits in many ways, and nowhere is that more evident then in
this cha cha chá meets boogaloo meets ska instrumental from International's 2003 release The People Love It.
10. Tres Muchachos & Compañeros
“Pa' Mantener Tradición”
If you had any doubt about Cuban music's global reach, look no further than this group from Russia, which
proves that a lot more was exchanged between Cuba and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era than
missiles, cigars and revolutionary spirit. A side project of members of the uproarious St. Petersburg-based ska,
reggae, Gypsy, cumbia band Markscheider Kunst, Tres Muchachos & Compañeros specializes in acoustic son,
guajira, cha cha chá, salsa and trova.
"Pa' Mantener Tradición" (To Keep Tradition Alive) is a cover of a Jimmy Bosch song. Bosch, a New Yorkbased trombone virtuoso would surely be amused to hear his song being performed so well by this Russian
group.