II. THE BAND

The band is essentially the same great band that came last time (see "Gracias a la vida") but with several enhancements:

PERCUSSION:

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Oscar Valdés Jr., the virtuosic Jazz drummer who served as Issac¹s musical director for about two years, has left the band and been replaced by the young Rodney Yllarza Barreto. Athough Rodney is also a Jazz drummer, he plays Issac¹s music with a much more straight-ahead Timba groove, locking up perfectly with timbalero Andrés Cuayo and conguero Denis "Papacho" Savón to form a powerful rhythm section which the percussionists in the discriminating Miami crowd agreed was a big improvement over the previous incarnation of the group ("más groove"). Cuayo and Papacho, key figures in Issac¹s groups for years, are two of the most exciting percussionists to see live. They play with supreme confidence, nailing every break aggressively, but they also add a real joy to the groove that makes Issac¹s concerts so special.

Papacho is like a combination of conguero and conductor, counting off breaks and transitions and spurring on both the band and crowd with his body language, facial expressions and dancing.

CORO:

Issac¹s new stage plot features the five horns front right and three coristas together on the left side of the stage. Alexander Díaz, with Issac since the beginning, (except for a stint singing lead with Klimax), is joined by two new members. Beginning her first job in a major group was the beautiful young Lizyanet García, and the Tampa concert was in fact her first outside of Cuba. In contrast, the singer to her right is a veteran performer, probably the most repected backup vocalist in Timba. Luis Enrique "El Gordo" Pérez recorded all of Manolín¹s albums and more recently sang with Orquesta Revé. El Gordo had the great honor of being the only corista chosen to participate in Team Cuba.

PIANO:

Rolando Luna, having come over from Paulito¹s band about two years ago, is now completely integrated into the group and playing his ass off. Without sacrificing the Timba groove, he uses his Jazz training and lightning fast musical reflexes to make every performance unique. And speaking of Jazz, Rolando has just released a new CD, produced (and partially composed!) by none other than Ceruto and featuring most of the same star-studded cast from last year¹s epic "A Puerto Padre". We¹re frantically trying to track down a copy of this CD, called "Nueva Luna", and we¹ll let you know when we find it. Typically, Rolando didn¹t have a copy of his own CD!

BASS, GUITAR, SYNTH:

Lizyanet García, Raúl Verdecia, Alfredo Hechevarría, Alexander Díaz, Prida
photo by Peter Maiden

Rolando¹s Jazz group, which can be heard at Havana¹s "La Zorra y el Cuervo" and "Jazz Café" features two other current members of Issac¹s band, drummer Rodney Yllarza and bassist Alfredo Hechevarría, who¹s equally masterful on upright baby bass and 6-string electric. Alfredo is a striking performer, laying down torrid bass tumbaos as his long dreadlocks frame his intense facial expressions.

Tecladista Ernesto "Prida" Puentes, a mainstay since 1998, has now begun arranging and has contributed a new chart to the band. Entering his third year with the band is guitarist Raúl Verdecia.

HORNS:

Orlando Vásquez, Ariel Guillot, Pavel Díaz, Carlos Averhoff, Jr.
photo by Peter Maiden

The horn section remains unchanged except for the last minute substitution of Ceruto for longtime tromonist "Cuni". It¹s a treat to see Ceruto play again, as he¹s essentially given up touring to concentrate on his snowballing arranging career. So Issac¹s trombone section now temporarily consists of Ceruto on tenor sax (playing the 2nd trombone parts) and Ariel Guillot, who¹s been in the band since ¹98, and whose incredible harmonic glissandi add so much excitement to arrangements like "La Sangunguita". On a sad note, Ceruto was the victim of a robbery and lost his flute. If anyone out there knows of a good Haynes (or other high quality) flute for sale you can contact Ceruto through timba.com.

Saxophonist Carlos Averhoff Jr. was reunited with his famous father in Miami. Averhoff Sr., an alumnus of NG La Banda and Irakere, was a member of the 1997 Issac band which toured the US for the first time. He now lives in Miami and plays Jazz every Wednesday at "Hoy como ayer" on Calle Ocho. The trumpet section remains unchanged with Orlando Vásquez and Pavel Díaz who both played excellent solos. I had a chance to interview the witty and intelligent Pavel, who¹s also played with Bamboleo, Paulito, and Azúcar Negra, and who provided a mountain of information on the history of Timba which we¹ll be adding to timba.com in the coming weeks.