Charanga Habanera - Late 1998

This is quite a gem. Remember that after the Suspension Concert, only two members left the group - Dany Lozada and Juan Carlos González. The rest of the group returned to the scene and although they never recorded again, they developed new material. Some songs, like Se que ha fallado, were later done by Charanga Forever, while others, like La suegra, were never officially recorded. Then came the big breakup the following summer of 1998 that yielded Charanga Forever and left Calzado with only Michel Maza and the name "Charanga Habanera". In shockingly short order, he put together the band in this video - one of the greatest in Cuban history. I know I keep saying that about late-90s bands, but I'm tellin' it like is is - many of the great bands of all time were competing against each other on a nightly basis in this brief but magical era.

In any case, this is one of the very best of the Cuban TV documentaries, entitled Charanguero mayor, and including both of the above mentioned rarities, along with Charanguero mayor sung by Michel, Usa condón sung by Tirso and much much more.

For more on all of this:

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lunes, 13 abril 2015, 10:43 pm

This one covers the early history of the bass tumbao up through 1950 and Arsenio Rodríguez. Lots of interesting stuff on changüí.

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lunes, 13 abril 2015, 09:35 am

This is flat-out one of the hottest things I've ever seen. It's probably February 1997 but I'm not sure. Pututi II looks a bit older than he does here. Apparently Pututi I, who was playing drumset on the Marianao video, was out sick with la gripa, so his brother, who normally played timbales, had to play both drums and timbales on short notice. This is itself is not such a feat - many bands, like Van Van and el Trabuco, require their drummers to do this every night, but to do it on the fly - and to do it like THIS is just mind-boggling. Pututi II, and the güiro player, and the whole band, are just out of their minds. I saw Manolín at this same Quinta Avenida outdoor nightclub the very first night I ever spent in Cuba (Feb. 1999) - a concert that led to the creation of timba.com (and the loss of my sanity). There was something truly magical about that outdoor venue that seemed to set every band on fire. The camera stays on the percussion but if you listen carefully you can hear that Issac Delgado is sitting in on two songs.

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domingo, 12 abril 2015, 04:57 am

This video captures the rapture of the Havana public during the Manolin-mania period better than any other I've found. It took place at the massive, outdoor Anfeteatro de Marianao in 1996 as el Médico and his crack surgical team were in the process of pouring an ocean of kerosene on Havana's already raging live music scene. It's also priceless for its documentation of the wicked hot rhythm section of Mipa, Nápoles and the Pututi brothers.

This reconstruction uses film from the cameras of two participants in Caribbean Music & Dance Programs' yearly February pilgrimages to Havana. The main camera is by Michael Croy, who, among other things, filmed the legendary Issac Delgado Valentine's Day concert the following February. I forgot who sent me the other angle (please send me an email if you're reading this!), but I've spliced them together, in some cases repeating sections.