Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente - From Havana To New York

[afrocubarico]

Hey congueros & congueras of the world,
Right now I'm listening to a track titled, "Descarga Cubana" on Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente from Havana to New York. This was recorded in 1957 and the conguero was none other than Tata Guines in prime shape!

Now, listen to this carefully and realize that you're listening to technique that was way ahead of its time. Remember, there were no Giovannis or Paolis in those days. For someone to have witnessed or heard a performance of percussionism (damn, is that a word?) of this caliber must have been insane. Especially if you were a percussionist! Pay careful attention to the intro. Brings tears to the eyes.

I was talking to La Mole this afternoon and he was just telling me how important it is for congueros of all levels to not only spend hours practicing your technique by itself, but that the student should listen to as much music from our founding forefathers of the past and present like Mongo, Tata, Patato, and Barretto.

Alright, that's enought typing. Do yourselves a favor, run and get a copy of this album (or Descarga in Miniature). Peace!

afrocubarico

[JohnnyConga]

Besides Mongo Tata had influenced a LOT of us in the Bronx when I was coming up, with his "clean" sound and incredible solos, and I have all those Cachao records with Tata on them....I remember me and Jerry Gonzales sitting together when we were teens in his apartment and listening to Cachao,who also influenced Andy, Jerry's brother...and commenting on his sound and solos. The rest is HIS-Story!....."JC" Johnny Conga...

[afrocubarico]

J.C., That's a great story. Thanks for sharing that. You're right, Tata Guines' sound is very clean and crisp and melodic at the same time. You know, if I could string together the loot required, I would fly out to Cuba and do a 2 or 3 DVD shoot on the man's life and his technique. I'm sure a lot of cats here in the states would be down for a well shot DVD series on Tata's skills and experience.

But anywho, I wanted to ask you. Descarga is advertising a 2-CD compilation titled, "Grupo Cubano De Musica Moderna, Complete Recordings 1960-1962: Frank Emilio Flyn and Tata Guines 2-CD Set". Do you have this in your collection? If so, can you tell me what should I expect from this compilation? Thanks!

afrocubarico



Edited By afrocubarico on 1186770336

[JohnnyConga]

No i don't have it in my collection as of yet, but anything with Emilio and Tata would be great..it's music we never heard before, until now....I have many videos of Tata in Cuba from the 70's to today...."JC" Johnny Conga...