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Dear forum members,

Cuban anthropologist Miguel Angel García has uploaded a video of that famous concert, recently commented by Chucho and Oscar Valdés. I didn't even know that it existed. The upload is from April 2020, so perhaps many of you haven't been aware of it, either. I have the LP since 1981. It's the original line-up, of course, with Paquito and Arturo Sandoval and Armando Cuervo, and El Niño playing congas. And everybody was so young ...



BTW, Miguel Angel has also uploaded tons of ethnographic material on his "Afrokuba" channel, mostly from Matanzas, and some rare stuff, like Arará, Congo and Gangá. Some of you might be interested in that, too.

Enjoy!

Thomas

Danke for these links, Thomas.

I once recorded Irakere's gig in Moers (1980) on the radio. On a cassette, which unfortunately disappeared over the years. Still miss it.
I think I've got the Irakere record you mentioned (MOntreux 1977)... somewhere...

You're welcome Chtimulato. Irakere was certainly one of my favourite bands. Even today I still discover new things in their recordings. They probably recorded more than the material published on LPs, let alone on CD, and of course they had even more charts in their book for live playing. The guitar player I used to play with in the 1980s was in Cuba and had contact with Carlos Emilio Morales. He said that Irakere had a "bailable" and a cultural/artistic, more jazz-inclined repertoire from which they chose the programs for each event. In Europe, especially on festivals, they presented more the jazz thing, spiced perhaps with a comparsa (in Caramelos, I think) through the audience room. One of their LPs, "Chekere Son", has never been reissued completely on CD. It came on the Japanese JPC label, though recorded in the EGREM studios. I also have two studio numbers on cassette that I have never found on any LP or CD. I even considered inquiring Chucho Valdés about these tunes, but probably won't make it.

The record that I have from Montreux and Newport is on an Areito label, but obviously published in Japan, or at least for the Japanese market:



Finally, I'd like to add a correction. Jorge Alfonso "El Niño" had not been the original conga player for Irakere. I learned that only recently, I think from the timba.com site. I could sing praises about him, but it has been done already on this forum. I might only mention that he is one of the congueros that I had actually transcribed (down-orchestrated from 5 to 3 drums). Joel Driggs is another, of the same period.

Listen to Carlos del Puerto (if you can) ... Man, that's incredible! How could he play like that and make it work in that band? And yet, Irakere would not have been the band we know without his bass parts. He must be a genius. (I hope he is still alive.)

Greetings,
Thomas

I just checked my LPs. I also own the "Chekere son" album, released on the Milestones label. It states "recorded at the Egrem studios", and "remixed at [...] Studios, Tokyo", indeed.
The live LP I own is another than yours, though from the same era (1982). "Juana 1600" and "Iyá" are on the B side and followed by "Aguanile bonkó".

I'll try to post some pics later on. I own several CDs of them, and also a few digital recordings. We could record cassettes (only old schools guys like us know what this word means) and send them to each other.

Thanks Chtimulato!

We could record cassettes (only old schools guys like us know what this word means) and send them to each other.

Oh, sweet nostalgia! CDs are about to become outdated, and we exchange cassettes. I don't even know whether these little things are still commercially available ... But let's keep that in mind as an option - if we are looking for something that isn't on Youtube. Let's use PMs then. It would be easier for me than to digitize LPs. My CD player had been out of order for a couple of weeks, until I got myself together and cleaned the laser lens, and during this time I had thrown in some cassettes again. Still working and sounding great after decades!

I do own the Chekere Son LP, too. The label was JVC, not JPC ... well, whatever. What's funny is that they used live photos from the Montreux concert for the album, although it was definitely a studio production.

The live album is probably the same: Juana 1600, Iya, Aguanile bonko, Misa negra, and Adagio. Perhaps the title order is different.

Thomas

Thomas, did you know Emilio Valdes, Chucho's son, who is a drummer? He lived in Hamburg for 12 years, I am guessing he left around 2012-2013 or so. I just met him around 2014 in New York when he started coming to the rumbas at the Zinc Bar.

Thomas, did you know Emilio Valdes, Chucho's son, who is a drummer? He lived in Hamburg for 12 years, I am guessing he left around 2012-2013 or so.

Yes, I got to know him briefly. But we never worked together. He was in a different clique. It's really sad sometimes ... some non-musical stuff gets in the way. There's a bunch of Cubans here who have decided that Germans don't make it. If I were less confident about my skills, this would really grab me; fortunately there are enough people (Cuban musicians included) who are not afraid to be more affirmative.

Thomas

We could record cassettes

I was just kidding. I can digitalize LPs too.

BTW, Just kidding is also a Paquito d'Rivera's tune, which I also got on LP.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTRHbOYVKDk[/youtube]

I just checked my Irakere live LP (from 1982). The tunes are
A : El coco - La comparsa - Los ojos de Pepa
B : Juana 1600 - Iyá - Aguanile bonkó

I'm pretty sure I own another live recording of them from the same era. It must be somewhere on a hard disk. Somewhere...

Hi Chtimulato,

I was just kidding.

I wasn't.

I can digitalize LPs too.

I should definitely learn that. I think I have all the equipment.

Just kidding is also a Paquito d'Rivera's tune, which I also got on LP.

Nice take! I've got the big band version on "One More Once". (CD)

I'm pretty sure I own another live recording of them from the same era.

O.K. - yes, I think you're right.

Greetings, Thomas

Thomas Altmann wrote:Yes, I got to know him briefly. But we never worked together. He was in a different clique. It's really sad sometimes ... some non-musical stuff gets in the way. There's a bunch of Cubans here who have decided that Germans don't make it. If I were less confident about my skills, this would really grab me; fortunately there are enough people (Cuban musicians included) who are not afraid to be more affirmative.
Thomas

Yeah, cliquishness is a problem. But there is a long history of Afrocubans in Hamburg, which actually has been experienced by some as less racist than other places in Europe and the US as well.

... Hamburg, which actually has been experienced by some as less racist than other places in Europe and the US as well.

Well, let's say: less racist than other places in Germany. Surely you didn't forget that we had that Nazi disaster here, which I did not have to experience myself, thank God. But the rest of Europe - I've been to Switzerland, Scandinavia, Benelux, France, Britain and the Balearic Islands, and there was no racism sensible. I cannot really tell you about Austria, Italy or the Eastern countries. I've been in Prague once, but my contact with the people was too limited. Probably because of the language, many Cubans emigrated to Italy. And to Spain, especially Barcelona, Canary Islands, and Madrid, of course. Barcelona must be a bit like Miami, I suppose.

Thomas