A carnival group from Santiago de Cuba (“Conga de San Agustin”) rehearses.
So much power indoors you think they might blow the roof off.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín (January 31, 1913 – December 24, 1977)
We don’t seem to have any video of him so we’ll have to content ourselves with these three cuts.
Note: On “La Mulata Rumbera”: Con Pedro Peruchín Jústiz, Orlando Cachaito López, Guillermo Barreto, Gustavo Tamayo, Yeyito Iglesias, Tata Güines
Some of the pianist influenced by Peruchín include Charlie Palmieri, George Shearing, Eddie Palmieri, Papo Lucca, Chucho Valdés and Alfredo “Sabor” Linares. Famed pianist Bebo Valdés was his disciple.
He was the greatest pianist in Cuban music, and there were some very good pianists around in those days: Lilí Martínez, Jesús López, Lino Frías. But what Peruchín could do in one phrase was without equal. And what he did harmonically, rhythmically, was so modern. He was 30, 40 years ahead of his time. Every important Latin pianist I know … has copied or been influenced by him.
– Paquito Hechavarría, 1995
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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Roberto Carlos Valdes
Cuban piano is combination of the precision of the classical keyboard with the precision of the tumbadora.
Eighty eight drums, ten fingers.
Roberto Carlos Valdes, grandson of Bebo Valdes.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
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A film by Thomas Roebers and Floris Leeuwenberg
For the record, “Africa” is too hopelessly vague a word to be useful to describe reality.
This is clear when you think about how we conceive other continents. There is really no one “African” culture any more any more than there is one European or one Asian culture. There are dozens and, in Africa’s case, many hundreds.
Even in the US, there’s a big noticeable difference between someone raised in New York City vs. someone raised in say rural South Dakota or suburban Florida.
The culture highlighted in this video is Mandinka, the descendants of a sophisticated empire – The Mali – in West Africa from the 13th though 16th centuries.
This is not THE African culture. It is one of many, many shimmering cultural heritages that can be found on the African continent.
One of the things that makes Cuba such a potent cultural force is that people from all over Africa came together in one relatively small geographical area to create a supercharged fusion of the gifts they brought with them from their homelands. The Mandinka were part of the mix.
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Click here for instructions on how to turn on English subtitles.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Big news: You can catch Jane and her band in an intimate setting at the Falcon on the Hudson Valley this Sunday, September 15, 2019.
Jane Bunnett and and her husband Larry Kramer have provided the gateway to the larger world for countless young Cuban musicians.
Being from Canada helps. Unlike those of us from the “Land of the No-So-Free”, they’ve been able to travel back and forth to Cuba providing support to the musicians there uninterrupted for over 25 years.
This is Jane’s latest band that includes at least two super stars from the new generation: Daymé Arocena, vocals and Yissy García, drums and super stars to be, some of whom received their introduction to the jazz idiom from Jane: Melvis Santa, vocals & percussion; Mary Paz, congas & vocals. Danae Olana, piano: and Tailin Marrero, acoustic & electric bass.
Big news: You can catch Jane and her band in an intimate setting at the Falcon on the Hudson Valley this Sunday, September 15, 2019.
Other locations on their 2019 Northeast US tour
See them while you can. The jackasses in Washington are making it brutally difficult for Cuban musicians to tour in the US.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
A beautiful singer, a beautiful band, and beautiful footage of the beautiful people of Cuba.
The tune is “La Rumba Me Llamo Yo”
The singer and leader is Daymé Arocena, one of the great artists of the new generation of Cuba.
A comment from a YouTube viewer:
“I’m not Cuban or have any Hispanic descendant but I watched her on tiny desk here on YouTube and ever since I’ve been listening to her music. I don’t even understand half of what she’s singing about. Her voice is just so powerful and magnetic.”
That’s the magic of the music.
A little about Daymé:
Born and raised in Havana, her conservatoire training was combined with an upbringing grounded in Cuba’s own musical foundations. Accepted age 9 into one of the country’s prestigious music schools, she studied a choir directing course rooted in Western classical tradition. Meanwhile, she grew up with the day-to-day schooling in folkloric music that’s common to most Cuban households. At regular, intimate get-togethers, celebrating the island’s Santería religion, dancing and singing are the gatherings’ mainstays – a combination that’s meant she sees its deep-rooted traditions in a wider musical context.
Winning the prestigious Marti y el Arte award in 2007, her talent was spotted at a young age. Becoming principal singer with big band Los Primos at age 14, nods of approval followed from Wynton Marsalis, the Lincoln Centre’s teacher and trumpet player, and much-lauded saxophonist Jane Bunnett
Click here for more about Daymé and her music.
Great news!
You can now watch this video – and all Spanish language videos – with English subtitles. It’s free!
Click here for instructions on how to turn on English subtitles.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
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