RIP Cuban Bass Master Cachao Dies at 89
hermes1
109 Posts
Legendary Cuban musician 'Cachao' dies at 89By ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ Miami HeraldKnown to the world by his nickname, Cachao, bassist, composerand bandleader Israel L??pez died Saturday morning at Coral Gables Hospitalof complications resulting from kidney failure. He was 89.Cachao was, in his last years, the most important living figurein Cuban music, on or off the island. And according to Cuban-music historianNed Sublette he was ''arguably the most important bassist intwentieth-century popular music,'' innovating not only Cuban music but alsoinfluencing the now familiar bass lines of American R&B, ``which have becomesuch a part of the environment that we don't even think where they camefrom.''Cachao and his brother Orestes are most widely known for theirlate-1930s invention of the mambo, a hot coda to the popular but statelydanz??n that allowed the dancers to break loose at the end of a piece.Typically modest, Cachao always admitted that it was bandleader D??maso P??rezPrado who made the beat world famous in the '50s.A possibly more important move took place in 1957, when Cachaogathered a group of musicians in the early hours of the morning, pumped fromplaying gigs at Havana's popular nightclubs, to jam in front of the mikes ofa recording studio. The resulting descargas, known to music aficionadosworldwide as Cuban jam sessions, revolutionized Afro-Cuban popular music.Under Cachao's direction, these masters improvised freely in the manner ofjazz, but their vocabulary was Cuba's popular music. This was the model thatwold make live performances of Afro-Cuban based genres, from salsa to Latinjazz, so incredibly hot.This majestic influence came from a man of sweet demeanor andunassailable sense of humor. Fronting his band at a fancy dance in CoralGables when he was already in his late 80s, he seemed so frail he had tolean his whole body on the contrabass to keep from falling. But a look athis beatific smile proved that he was in heaven already, embracing hisinstrument like a lover, like a strong friend.Still, he no longer owned a bass.''That's outrageous,'' said jazz legend Charlie Haden when heheard this. ``I'll give him one of mine.''But a contrabass took up too much room in his small Coral Gablesapartment. Besides, what need did he have to rehearse? Cachao carried hisbass, his music, inside him.A marvel of the 20th century, Cachao was born into a family ofmusicians, many of them bassists -- around 40 and counting in his extendedfamily.As an 8-year-old bongo player, he joined a children's septetthat included a future famous singer and bandleader, Roberto Faz. A yearlater, already on bass, he provided music for silent movies in hisneighborhood theater, in the company of a pianist who would become a truesuperstar, the great cabaret performer Ignacio Villa, known as Bola deNieve.His parents made sure he was classically trained, first at homeand then at a conservatory. In his early teens he was already playingcontrabass with the Orquesta Filarm??nica de La Habana, under the baton ofguest conductors like Herbert von Karajan, Igor Stravinsky and HeitorVilla-Lobos.After a rich musical career in his home country, he joined hisfellow exiles in 1962, eventually landing in Las Vegas because, as headmitted, ``I was a compulsive gambler.''Though cured later in life, he nearly gambled away every pennyuntil his wife whisked him away from the town.For a while, he had two distinct musical personae. In the NewYork salsa scene he was revered as a music god, with homage concertsdedicated to him, and records of his music produced by Cuban-music collectorRen?? L??pez. In Miami, he was an ordinary working musician who would playquincea??eras and weddings, or back dance bands in the notorious Latinnightclubs of the Miami Vice era.It took a celebrity, Miami's own Andy Garc??a, to integrate hismusical personality into one: that of a legendary master. In the '90s,Garc??a produced the recordings known as Master Sessions and big concertshonoring his legacy. Since then, Cachao became again a household word amongCubans and his reputation continued to grow.But he remained a working musician, though now at a much higherlevel of appreciation. Cachao continued to perform and record with all theenergy of a much younger artist. Though visibly moved at the funeral of hisfellow legend, trombonist Generoso Jim??nez, in September 2007, he headlineda rollicking concert in Miami a week later.On March 9 of this year, days before being hospitalized, themultiple Grammy winner was in the Dominican Republic receiving a lifetimeachievement award. Cachao was planning an European tour in August withviolinist Federico Britos, with whom he frequently collaborated.The day before his death, Cachao told his friend Britos, ''Whenam I supposed to record with you again? I have to get out of bed.'' And hewas in pre-production for a CD of new compositions.''It was not only a great musician who died,'' said producerEmilio Estefan, ``but a great se??or -- a gentleman. Even in his deathbed hewould make sure his visitors felt at ease. He belonged to the people.''Cachao, whose wife of 58 years, Ester Buenaventura L??pez, diedin 2004, is survived by their daughter Mar??a Elena L??pez and grandson HectorLuis Vega, as well as nephew Daniel Palacio, who cared for the musician.Funeral arrangements will be announced this Saturday.
Comments
http://soul-sides.com/2008/03/cachao-1918-2008.html
Nice bio piece.
Those 3 or 4 volumes of Descargas are so good.
The Buena Vista bassist was called Cachaoito, I think he was a nephew.
RIP
+
one of my all time fave jacket photos
Props to Cachaito for being such an amazing bass voice as well.
- spidey
One of my all-time favourite records.
it gets constant rotation when i'm maxin.
i'll definitely be checking for the other volumes.
http://www.bassplayer.com/article/cachao/mar-08/33745
"...comes from a large musical family boasting over 30 bass players" Whoa.
his music will live on
Cachao leaves behind a great musical legacy, RIP. You guys need to get with this record too, sorry I can't find a better picture, its titled "El Gran Cachao." Very good record, very mellow.