Sextetos Cubanos: Sones Vol. II – Various Artists / Arhoolie CD-7006

Description

CD 7006

The Cuban son is a musical style and dance characterized by its syncopated rhythmic structure. It emerged around the turn of the century out of rural Oriente (Cuba’s easternmost province in those days) and became the most influential element in popular Latin American music. The instrumentation of tres guitar bongos string bass and two vocalists who also played claves and maracas became standard and set the stage for the worldwide spread of the Cuban son. The son provides an obvious link to Salsa and other forms of popular Latin music today. By taking the basic instrumentation of the son and adding piano conga drums horns electronic instruments etc. salsa and its related forms have become an international phenomena.

This CD contains
Sexteto Boloña
1. Quiereme Camagueyana!
2. Aurora En Pekin
3. Morir Caballeros A
4. Flores De Aleli
5. Echale Candela
6. Una Copa Es Tu Ambicion
7. Martillo Clavo Clavo Martillo
8. Que Desdichado Naci
9. Te Prohibo El Cabaret
10. La Bohemia
11. Linda Mora
12. Carolina Mulata
Sexteto Occidente
13. Adriana
14. La Sangre Me Llama
15. Candela Zayas-Bazan!
16. Miguel Los Hombres No Lloran
17. Las Mujeres Podran Decir
18. Ley Fatal
Sexteto Nacional
19. Esas No Son Cubanas
20. Cubaneo
21. Por Un Beso De Tu Boca
22. Mama Se Quema La Maya!
Sexteto Matancero
23. Engancha Carretero
24. El Chino

REVIEWS

“Classic sounds of Cuban son from key orchestras which first gave son urban respectability in the 1930s: Sextetos Bolona Occidente Matancero and Nacional. Coming from the eastern province of Oriente composed mostly by black and mulatto musicians this essential root of salsa emerged as official slavery ended on the island combining elements of the music of Spanish descended rural peasant farmers -string instruments and improvised decimo poetry – with African percussion and choral melodies. It’s too simplistic to say what came from where but not invalid to say each son is a slice of Cuba’s cultural history. This exemplary disc tracks son’s musical and instrumental developments.

Played first on harmonica guitar bongos and claves the Sexteto crystallised the son line-up of tres with its three sets of double or triple strings guitar bongos string bass and two vocalists playing claves and maracas. Celebrated here is the funky high level syncopation of son which gradually got ironed out as it spread around the world smoother elements dominating to suit ears less timbre familiar. And with Spanish texts with English translation alongside you can at last appreciate son’s sensuality – the intended double meanings of songs!

Talking about the spirituality centuries of resistance survival pleasure pain distilled inside some of the voices of so-called `world’ music may sound like hype from spin-doctors but it ain’t… and there is healing here. Superb sleeve notes from John Santos include all texts in Spanish and English and notes on each Sexteto by Michael Avalos.

Whether you rumba or son – ¡Echale candela! – Stoke up the fire!”

(Jan Fairley — Folk Roots)

“Here on 78s from 1926 to 1928 is the flowering of the Cuban Son owed plenty by out present salsa musicinas. Fine liner notes give John Santos’ and Michael Avalos’ introductions to theSon and these pioneer sextettos who formulated the tres-led string music with dual Spanish language vocalists over African-inspired bongos claves and maracas. Languid vocal lines in simple harmonies cary extemporized verbal wit with tres improvisations driven by great complications of percussion. Hear Isaac Oviedo his machine-gun rhapsodies and acrobatic tres in ‘Engancha Carretero’.”

(Hank Bradley — Victory Review)