Barry Cox and I are working on an article about the earliest recordings of traditional rumba. The pattern North Americans call
son clave was used on a lot of the rumba recordings from the 1940s to 1950s. I'm going to be lazy and cut-and-paste from the notes of my book
The Clave Matrix:
9. Centro de Investigación de la Música Cubana (CIDMUC) (1997: 63) refers to
son clave as
la clave de La Habana (‘Havana clave’) and attributes the pattern to Havana-style rumba. In the first half of the twentieth century, what we now call
son clave was the clave pattern used in Havana-style yambú and guaguancó. Yambú and guaguancó are Cuban partner dances that evolved from the older Congolese erotic dances of yuka and makuta, both of which can use son clave.
Exmples of son clave used in yuka and makuta:
"Tambor yuka" (
Antología de la música afrocubana 1978: CD).
"Wanilerilo; makuta, Congos" (
Antología de la música afrocubana 1984: CD).
Examples of son clave used in guaguancó:
"Ultima rumba" (
Festival in Havana, Embale 1955: CD).
"Agua que va caer" (Patato Valdés 1968: CD).
Some contemporary Havana folkloric groups still use the son clave pattern for yambú. Recorded examples of son clave used in yambú:
"Ave María" (
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba phonorecord LP).
"Mama abuela" (
Conjunto Clave y Guaguancó 1990: CD).
"Maria Belén" (
Yoruba Andabo 1993: CD).
"Chevere" (
Conjunto Clave y Guaguancó 1996: CD).
"Las lomas de Belén" (
Ecué Tumba 2001: CD).
Most likely the early son borrowed the Havana clave pattern from rumba at the turn of the twentieth century.
yambú:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eufNwxWwW0&list=UUcjcFA3-2aSoe5m-uP1HJtw&index=10&feature=plcp