Book Playlist-Cuban Fusion: The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene.

Book Cuban Fusion: The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene. 

 

Dr. Eva Silot Bravo

 

Palgrave Macmillan

Book Link:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-53692-2

Book Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77neehuIegap1GwJCUizps

Playlist excerpt from the book (English):

This playlist has been curated by me on Spotify since 2018 to 2022. It encompasses more than 200 songs—approximately fifteen hours of music. It provides a soundscape of what Cuban Fusion and the Transnational Cuban Alternative Music means for me, in terms of the geographical and aesthetic range of musicianship and music language. Most of the musicians included in this playlist are Cuban migrants since the 1990s (TCAMS) and subsequent generations of Cuban musicians who resulted from the evolution of TCAMS, from singer-songwriters to academically trained musicians and others that relocated and have been producing Cuban music across the world in Miami, New York, Madrid, and other world cities. 

 

The playlist highlights many of the collaborative projects made among these musicians throughout the world as one of their distinctive features. It also includes several Cuban musicians who after being migrants for a while returned to live in the island, or who primarily reside in Cuba, or who are living between the island and the world, but whose commonalities in origins, education, living experiences, and references made them an organic part of TCAMS aesthetics and music language. 

Some bands led by non-Cuban musicians are also included, either because their lineup is mostly made by Cuban diasporic musicians, or because their music language dialogues with, owns from or contributes to TCAMS music aesthetics. The playlist illustrates the open-ended character of TCAMS music language, moving across trova songs, boleros, Afro-Cuban music, jazz, timba, funk, rock, Brazilian, classical, and other music genres. 

Cuban Fusion is a reflexive pause to illustrate the important process of transnationalization of Cuban music and culture that has been happening particularly since the 1990s on, where Cuban music has become a worldwide cultural enterprise and a space of encounter for Cubans from all over, across geographical, narratives, markets, and ideological distances.

Lista de reproducción del libro:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/77neehuIegap1GwJCUizps

Traducción al español del fragmento del libro que presenta la lista de reproducción que acompaña al libro:

Esta lista de reproducción ha sido curada por mí en Spotify desde el 2018 hasta 2022. Abarca más de 200 canciones—aproximadamente 15 horas de música. Proporciona un paisaje sonoro de lo que Cuban Fusion y la Música Alternativa Cubana Transnacional significan para mí, en términos del rango geográfico y estético del talento musical que abarca y de su lenguaje musical. 

La mayoría de los músicos incluidos en esta lista de reproducción son emigrantes cubanos desde la década de 1990 (TCAMS) y generaciones posteriores de músicos cubanos que resultaron de la evolución de TCAMS, desde cantautores hasta músicos formados académicamente y otros que se han reubicado y han estado produciendo música cubana en todo el mundo en Miami, Nueva York, Madrid y otras ciudades del mundo.

Esta lista de reproducción abarca muchos de los proyectos colaborativos realizados entre estos músicos en todo el mundo, como una de sus características distintivas. También incluye a varios músicos cubanos que, después de ser migrantes por un tiempo, volvieron a vivir en la isla, o que residen principalmente en Cuba, o que están viviendo entre la isla y el mundo, pero cuyas similitudes en orígenes, educación, experiencias de vida y referencias los hicieron una parte orgánica de la estética y el lenguaje musical de TCAMS. 

Algunas bandas dirigidas por músicos no cubanos también están incluidas, ya sea porque su formación está compuesta principalmente por músicos de la diáspora cubana, o porque su lenguaje musical dialoga con, se apropia de o contribuye a la estética musical de TCAMS.

La lista de reproducción ilustra el carácter abierto del lenguaje musical de TCAMS, moviéndose a través de canciones de trova, boleros, música afrocubana, jazz, timba, funk, rock, música brasileña, clásica y otros géneros musicales. 

Cuban Fusion es una pausa reflexiva para ilustrar el importante proceso de transnacionalización de la música y cultura cubanas que ha estado ocurriendo particularmente desde la década de 1990, donde la música cubana se ha convertido en una empresa cultural global y un espacio de encuentro para cubanos de todo el mundo, a través de distancias geográficas, narrativas, mercados y más allá de distancias ideológicas.

Alain Pérez de Cuba-EPK

Alain Perez is one of the greatest transnational Cuban musicians living in Spain. He seriously studies and combines the established traditions of Cuban music genres and montunos from son, guaracha, mambo and cha cha cha, with the complexity and richness of Timba sounds and rhythms (with his own personal touch). He also brilliantly puts his music in dialogue with the world of flamenco, where he has been inserted for quite a while.

This EPK was made in the midst of his recent visit to Cuba, to present his latest album "Hablando con Juana."

Pepe Rivero - Los Boleros de Chopin

Making of Ayer y Hoy- Latest album from Madrid based Cuban pianist Ivan Melon Lewis

Habana Abierta - Documental (Grabacion de Boomerang 2005)

Voces de un trayecto (2009) Alejandra Aguirre. Documentary about the migration experience of Cuban musicians in Spain since the 1990s.

La Ruta de las Almas. Latest art project by Pavel Urquiza.

La Ruta de las Almas. 

Latest art project by Pavel Urquiza, remarkable Cuban singer-songwriter who is one of the leading producers of what I call the Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene (TCAMS): a network of Cuban singers, songwriters and academically trained musicians spread out allover the world, who migrated since the 1990's crisis in the island. For more than 20 years this network of musicians has been creating, recording, producing, collaborating, and fusioning with Cuban music across different cities of the world as its regular "modus operandi."

According to La Ruta de las Almas webpage: "This project travels through five countries speaking and collaborating with artists spanning over twelve nationalities. Our team has collected interviews, footage, and sound for the documentary and the songs I composed inspired by this  of coexistence. These twelve songs are about the connections I see and hear in the world - and about the past, present, and future explorers on this common path. "

 
They are about to finish the documentary, which is a serious research and reflexion about the music connections among the Americas, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean. It's a totally independent project where the protagonists are musicians from more than 20 countries, including but not limited to Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, España, Marruecos, Israel, Palestina.

They have launched a campaign to collect funds in order to finish this project. Those interested could support it by visiting La Ruta de las Almas website and/or FB page.

"Hablando con Juana". Alain Perez (Cuban musician based in Madrid) latest CD in the making.

Alain is a natural leader of a generation of Cuban musicians living in Spain (i.e.: Javier Gutierrez Masso "Caramelo", Ivan Melon Lewis, Fernando Favier, Kiki Ferrer, Ivan Ruiz Machado, among many others) who is crafting a reach dialogue between the foundations of Cuban music from all times with flamenco, pop, jazz, funk, etc.. In addition, they are updating all this musical "melange" with the uniqueness of "tumbaos" ((rhythm pattern made with bass, congas and piano in Timba music that creates a groove and a call to dance ) which Perez in particular has been developing for a while.

A work in progress

 





To know more about this versatile musician, click here, to read an interview to Alain Perez I previously published in this blog, and in the Madrid based online magazine Cubaencuentro.

A brilliant tribute to Michael Jackson, where music proves once again as the universal language and point of encounter.

A logic and necessary explicit dialogue among Flamenco, Afrocuban jazz, Cuban Timba "Tumbaos", Pop, Funk, etc...

Post by patáx.

Patáx project, by Spanish- American musician Jorge Perez; originally by Patax FB Page

Inspired in fusion greats like Weather Report, Corea ́s Electric Band, Herbie Hancock or Zawinul and directly influenced by the Jazz of Irakere, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Hermeto Pascoal and Paco de Lucía, this projects takes fusion to a new place, where a communion between flamenco and afrocuban folklore is the key ingredient of a complex and magical recipe.

Inspirados en los grandes de la fusión como Weather Report, La Electric Band de Corea, Herbie Hancock o Zawinul e influenciados por el jazz de Irakere, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Hermeto Pascoal o Paco de Lucía, este proyecto propone llevar la fusión a un nuevo lugar, donde una comunión entre el flamenco y el folclore afrocubano es el mágico nexo de unión.

Jorge Pérez. Percussions (Spain) Federico Lechner/ Jorge Vera: Piano ( Argentina, Chile.) Carlos Sánchez/Tomas Merlo: Bass (Spain) Valentín Iturat. Drums (Spain) Fabrizio Scarafile Sax (Italia) Rafael Águila Sax (Cuba) Roberto Pacheco: Trombone (Spain) Raul Gil: Trumpet Alana Sinkey: Voice. María López/Lidon Patiño: Baile (Spain)

CMQ Big Band plays Benny More, featuring Alain Perez. This amazing cultural project needs support...!!!

Indigogo Campaign

English version below!

CMQ Big Band plays Benny More feat. Alain Perez

Luis Guerra y Alain Perez presentan "CMQ Big Band" un proyecto que reune 17 musicos cubanos y españoles para rendir tributo a la música de Beny More.

Fue en la Habana a principios de los 40' que, en un concurso de la radio-emisora CMQ se dio a conocer Beny More. Su nombre se hizo sinónimo de la música cubana y es sin duda hoy, uno de los artistas cubanos más populares de todos los tiempos. Se debe la genialidad de su obra no sólo a su inconfundible voz, musicalidad y carisma sino también al excelente trabajo de los músicos y arreglistas que formaron parte de su Banda Gigante. Personas como Generoso Jimenez, Eduardo Cabrera, Joaquín Mendível, Pedro Jústiz, Bebo Valdes y muchos otros, fueron los responsables de las novedosas ideas y sofisticadas armonías que definieron el sonido Beny More. Hoy día se hace prácticamente imposible encontrar música popular cubana escrita antes del 59' en notación musical, por ende este valioso legado no ha estado al alcance de las posteriores generaciones de músicos cubanos.

La "CMQ Big Band" trae de vuelta el sabor y la sabiduría de la época dorada de la música cubana. Para ello Luis Guerra ha transcrito a partir de las grabaciones originales nota por nota, parte por parte 17 arreglos de las canciones más conocidas del Beny. Con la ayuda de 17 talentosos músicos cubanos y españoles creamos la "CMQ Big Band", una banda con la misma instrumentación que la Banda Gigante de More. Para el difícil reto de interpretar las canciones, nadie mejor que Alain Perez, quien es sin duda una de las figuras más importantes de la música cubana de estos tiempos.

Que Necesitamos

Queremos filmar un concierto en vivo en formato DVD y así compartir con todos ustedes  y las futuras generaciones la belleza de la música de Beny More. Por más de 40 años no se han tocado en vivo las canciones del Beny con la instrumentación y arreglos originales con las que fueron grabadas en los años 50. Queremos hacer justicia a esta preciosa sonoridad y para ello necesitamos fondos para:

- Rentar un teatro

- Cubrir los gastos de grabación y edición del video.

- Cubrir los gastos de grabación, mezcla y masterización.

- Cubrir los gastos de diseño.

- Producir las copias del DVD y CD.

Que Te Ofrecemos

Visita nuestra sección de "PERKS" y verás los artículos que te ofrecemos por tu aporte, desde un download digital del CD hasta una copia física del DVD y CD firmada, camiseta de la CMQ, una copia de las partituras para Big Band, boletos para la noche de la grabación, acceso a los ensayos y mucho mas.

La producción de este DVD & CD será solo posible gracias a tu ayuda, así que si eres fan de la música cubana y te gusta como suena nuestra banda coméntaselo a tus amigos y ayúdanos a preservar el valioso legado que nos dejaron Beny More y los músicos de su Banda Gigante.

Gracias!!!

English Version

CMQ Big Band plays Beny More feat. Alain Perez

Luis Guerra and Alain Perez present "CMQ Big Band", a project that unites 17 musicians from Cuba and Spain to pay tribute to Beny More's music.

It was in the early 40' in a radio show organized by the CMQ Radio Station in Havana that Beny More got first known. He later became one of the most renowned cuban artist of all times. The genius of his work not only lies in his exepcional voice, musicality and charisma but also in the exelent work of the musicians and arrangers that formed his "Banda Gigante". People like Generoso Jimenez, Eduardo Cabrera, Joaquín Mendível, Bebo Valdes, Pedro Jústiz and many others were the ones behind the novel ideas and sophisticated harmonies that gave shape to Beny More's sound. Nowdays, it is almost impossible to find any popular cuban music composed prior to 1959 in the written format. Therefore this vital musical heritage has not been available to all of the later generations of cuban musicians.

The "CMQ Big Band" brings back the flavour and musical knowledge of the golden era of Cuban music. To achieve this Luis Guerra transcribed, note by note, part by part, 17 arragements of Beny More's "Banda Gigante". With the help of 17 Cuban and Spanish talented musicians with the comon goal of preserving this precious music we created the "CMQ Big Band", a band of the same instrumentation as More's band. For the challenging task of singing the songs there is no one better than composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer Alain Perez, who is without a doubt one of the most important figures of Cuban music today.

What We Need

We want to film a live show and share with you guys and the generations to come the beauty of Beny More's music. For more than 40 years More's songs haven't been performed live with its original instrumentation and arragements. We want to make justice to this music and for that we need funds to:

-Rent a Theater

-Cover the cost of Video Filming and Editing

-Cover the cost of Audio Recording, Mixing and Mastering

-Produce the physical copies of the DVD and CD

What You Get

 Please check out our "PERKS" section to see all the goodies you can get, from a Digital download of the CD to a physical copy of signed  DVD and CD, Shirts, a copy of the written scores for Big Band, Tickets for the night of the recording, access to rehearsals and many more.

The production of this DVD & CD will only be possible with your support. So, if you love cuban music and like how we sound please do spread de word and help us preserve this precious part of our Cuban heritage.