This disc captures the latest hits from the ongoing revolution in Cuban music that started in the late 1980s with the group NG La Banda, and is still flourishing. The label that the compilation is drawn from, Caribe Productions, run by a Spaniard, Federico Garcia, was in the right place at the right time, and it signed a good portion of the best bands in Havana. The bands, including NG La Banda, Los Van Van, El Medico de la Salsa and Adalberto Alvarez Y Su Son, were after a mixture of modern pop and funk from the United States, jazz of the fusion variety, and the great Cuban tradition. So what we hear is a beautiful mix of nationalities, colors and sensibilities.
The musical revolution was only possible because of the other revolution, the one run by Fidel. After he took over, the Cuban musical school system slowly opened its doors to what had previously been street music; jazz, European classical music and Afrocuban tradition mixed in the schools, producing extremely literate musicians.
And the Government sent the bands, whose musicians were employees, out to play for the people. During the day, the musicians practiced and rehearsed. At night they played for the dancing public, virtually every night of the week; the musicians played for the audience, which has a profound rhythmic knowledge, and the exchange of knowledge between the dancers and the musicians fostered rhythmic exploration.
As such, the new Havana bands have paralleled the rise of the big bands in the United States where the orchestras, highly educated, merged a street sensibility rife with the elegance of dance with an understanding of European music. And when tourism hit the island, the groups produced the background music for the hedonism that has turned many of the music spots in virtual brothels. Music is sex, but in this case it is also intelligence, musical excellence, sensuality, high level word play, political observation, a type of soul. It is one of the most important parts of our culture, one of our contributions to world culture, and we’re proud of it. These are the hits from the last few years, nothing but the hits from the best bands. Get ready...
[01]. El Trágico NG La Banda
[02]. Soy Todo Van Van
[03]. Somos Lo Maximo El Medico de la Salsa
[04]. La Apretadora NG La Banda
[05]. La Bola El Medico
[06]. A Bailar el Toca Toca Adalberto Alvarez
[07]. Esto Te Pone la Cabeza Mala Van Van
[08]. Y Que to Quieres Que Te Den? Adalberto Alvarez
[09]. De Igual a Igual Van Van
[10]. Me Pase de Copas El Medico
[11]. El Baile Chino NG La Banda
320 kbps including Covers
Post a Comment