Hello,
Today's artist is one of Cuba’s most influential bands. Founded in 1973, they created a sound that mixed jazz, European traditional music, rock, funk with the rhythmic Cuban tradition, enriched with Afro-Cuban and electronic influences. Many of the best Cuban musicians have played in the band during the past decades. .......N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest' is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album Irakere They were a seminal musical laboratory, where historic innovations in both Afro-Cuban jazz and Cuban popular dance music were created. The group used a wide array of percussion instruments like batá, abakuá and arará drums, chequerés, erikundis, maracas, claves, cencerros, bongó, tumbadoras (congas), and güiro.
"Jazz bands" began forming in Cuba as early as the 1920s. These bands often included both Cuban popular music and popular North American jazz, and show tunes in their repertoires. Despite this musical versatility, the movement of blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz was not strong in Cuba itself for decades. As Leonardo Acosta observes: "Afro-Cuban jazz developed simultaneously in New York and Havana, with the difference that in Cuba it was a silent and almost natural process, practically imperceptible" (2003: 59). Cuba's significant contribution to the genre came relatively late. However, when it did come, the Cubans exhibited a level of Cuban-jazz integration that went far beyond most of what had come before. The first Cuban band of this new wave was Irakere.
With Irakere, a new era in Cuban jazz begins in 1973, one that will extend all the way to the present. At the same time, this period represents the culmination of a series of individual and collective efforts from our so-called transition period, which will end with the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. Irakere was in part a product of the Moderna, as its founding members completed their musical training in that orchestra and also played jazz in the different quartets and quintets that were created with the OCMM. Among the founders of Irakere were pianist Chucho Valdés, its director since the beginning; saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, who acted as assistant director; trumpet player Jorge Varona; guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales; bassist Carlos del Puerto; drummer Bernardo García; and percussionist Oscar Valdés II, also a singer—Acosta.
That was a time where jazz music was a four-letter word in Cuba – literally! After many years of that thought, in 1967, they decided to create the Orquesta [Cubana de Música Moderna]. There were a lot of left wing people going to Cuba, attending congresses and visiting. So the government decided to create an image that jazz was not forbidden and that nothing was forbidden there. So they created the Orquesta to play American music – that is incredible. It was to create a different image than what they had created all those years. So they created the Orquesta. I directed the band for two years. . . . When I decided that I wanted to play only jazz in the Orquesta, then I got fired . . . . and after a while, the Orquesta ceased to achieve the function that it was created for and it disappeared—D'Rivera
Irakere, which was founded by members of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, has always been an eclectic band. From the beginning, the group showcased the scope of their uniquely Cuban music education: Afro-Cuban folkloric music, Cuban popular dance music, funk, jazz, and even classical music. The early years saw a lot of experimenting, with the mixing these different genres in original ways. From the vantage point of today, some of Irakere's early experiments sound awkward and don't mesh. On the other hand, some early experiments by the group were musical landmarks, that began entirely new traditions.
"Cubanized" bebop-flavored horn lines
"Chékere-son" (1976) for example, introduced a style of "Cubanized" bebop-flavored lines, that departed from the more "angular" guajeo-based lines typical of Cuban popular music. The horn line style introduced in "Chékere-son" is heard today in Afro-Cuban jazz, and the contemporary popular dance genre known as timba.
Another important Irakere contribution is their use of batá and other Afro-Cuban folkloric drums. "Bacalao con pan" is the first song recorded by Irakere to use batá. The tune combines the folkloric drums, jazzy dance music, and distorted electric guitar with wah-wah pedal. According to UC Irvine musicologist and Irakere expert Raúl A. Fernández, the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna members would not have been allowed by the orquesta to record the unconventional song. The musicians travelled to Santiago to record it. "somehow the tune made it from Santiago to radio stations in Havana where it became a hit; Irakere was formally organized a little bit later"
Ironically, several of the founding members did not always appreciate Irakere's fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban elements. They saw the Cuban folk elements as a type of nationalistic "fig leaf," cover for their true love—jazz. They were obsessed with jazz. The fusing of Afro-Cuban elements with jazz in Irakere is a direct consequence of the poor relations between the Cuban and United States governments. Cuba's Ministry of Culture is said to have viewed jazz as the music of "imperialist America." Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval states: "We wanted to play bebop, but we were told that our drummer couldn’t even use cymbals, because they sounded 'too jazzy.' We eventually used congas and cowbells instead, and in the end, it helped us to come up with something new and creative" (2007: web).[8] Pablo Menéndez, founder of Mezcla, recalls: "Irakere were jazz musicians who played stuff like 'Bacalao con pan' with a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude—'for the masses.' I remember Paquito d'Rivera thought it was pretty funny stuff (as opposed to 'serious' stuff)" (2011: web).[9] In spite of the ambivalence by some members towards Irakere's Afro-Cuban folkloric/jazz fusion, their experiments forever changed Cuban popular music, Latin jazz, and salsa. As D'Rivera states: "We didn’t know that we were going to have such an impact in jazz and Latin music around the world. We were just working to do something good" (2011: web).[10]
In 1977 Irakere performed at two jazz festivals held in the "Eastern Bloc"—the Belgrade Jazz Festival and the Warsaw Jazz Jamboree. The group had the opportunity to play along with jazz artists Betty Carter, Mel Lewis and Thad Jones. That same year several jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, and Earl Hines travelled to Cuba on a "jazz cruise." This was the first time since the break in relations between Cuba and the United States that a group of jazz musicians from each country were able to play together. In Havana, members of Irakere had the good fortune to jam with Gillespie and Getz. Gillespie later told the press that he had fulfilled a long-standing wish to visit the island, homeland of his close friend and partner Chano Pozo. In 1980 Irakere appeared at both the Newport Jazz Festival in New York City and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Columbia Records edited an album of five tracks recorded at the two festivals. The LP was titled Irakere, and was released by both CBS Records and EGREM. The album had two sets of liner notes, one by the North American John Storm Roberts and the other by Cuban Leonardo Acosta. Irakere won a Grammy in 1979 for the best "Latin" music recording in the United States. Following this success, the band participated in the most important international jazz festivals. At the 1995 Afrocubanismo Festival at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada, Irakere performed their piece "Xiomara" live on stage with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Changuito (!Afrocubanismo Live!).
In the 1980s Irakere recorded dance music, rhythmically akin to the contemporaneous style known as songo. This body of material can be seen as a type of bridge, connecting the songo era with the timba era which began in the early 1990s. One of the more popular Irakere dance tunes is "Rucu rucu a Santa Clara" (1985), written by José Luis Cortés "El Tosco," who would later found NG La Banda, and launch the timba movement. Trumpeter José Crego "El Greco," and saxophonists Carlos Averhoff and Germán Velazco, are heard playing the bop-like horn lines in this dance music. The three wind players would later go on to become part of NG La Banda's "metales de terror" horn section, the basic template for timba horns. Irakere continued recording dance pieces into the 1990s.
With Babalú Ayé (1997), the band fully embraced timba, the new genre which had directly resulted in part, from Irakere's innovations two decades earlier. The CD, which was nominated for a Grammy, features singer and timbales player José Miguel. In contrast to the impeccably executed dance music on the CD, Babalú Ayé also contains a long "bonus track"—"Babalú Ayé'," a loose folkloric/jazz experiment featuring the legendary lead vocalist Lazaro Ros. In 1997 Chucho Valdés left the group, and Chucho's son Chuchito took over the piano chair and the role of director between 1997 and 1999.
Irakere's jazz legacy
Paquito D'Rivera defected to the United States in 1980. Arturo Sandoval left the group a year later, and then defected to the United States in 1990. Both musicians have commented on the joy they felt, at being able to finally pursue jazz careers in the United States, and the honor of playing alongside their jazz heroes. As is typical of Cuban jazz musicians who defect to the U.S., their jazz playing fully matured when they moved to the country where jazz was born. As time went on, D'Rivera began looking back, and gained a deeper appreciation for the music of his first home. In 1994 he stated that he fell in love with Cuban music again on the shores of the Hudson River. Since he left Cuba, D'Rivera has recorded several albums with Cuban themes, including La Habana-Rio Conexión (1992), 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session (1994), Habanera Absolute Ensemble (1999), and Tropicana Nights (1999). Sandoval, who was once threatened with imprisonment by the Cuban government for listening to American jazz on the radio, has recorded albums of both straight-ahead jazz, and jazz with a strong Cuban influence. Chucho Valdés has also pursued a successful jazz career, recording for the prestigious Blue Note jazz label.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The sudden breakout of Chucho Valdés as a solo artist in North America in 1998 was no doubt the leverage behind the new billing of his band, "Irakere featuring Chucho Valdés," and the large amount of exposure that his piano fireworks get here. The band sometimes doesn't sound all that electrified by the prospect, though ultimately they do take us on a wide-ranging tour of acoustic and electric Latin jazz idioms and grooves. "Mister Bruce" most emphatically features the leader, a tour de force for Valdes who unleashes a torrent of notes (not always coherently) over percussion, bass and drums. "Santa Amalia" is straight ahead Latin jazz with lots of Valdes, hot horn solos and a flourish of vocals at the close, yet for all of its 13 minutes, it doesn't totally ignite. "La Explosión," with quotes from "Love for Sale" near the end, presents a multi-sectioned serpent of funk, bop and mambo -- nothing really fused since the grooves appear in sections -- while "San Francisco" is a fine, barely updated Latin boogaloo. "Son Montuno," which also appears on Valdes' Bele Bele en la Habana solo album, is blown open by some rough rock guitar, the old freewheeling Irakere spirit at work. Though Yemayá has its big moments, Valdés seems to have saved his most heated inspirations of the late '90s for his own solo work.
Irakere - Yemaya (flac 361mb)
01 Danza De Los Ñañigos 5:18
02 Chorriño 6:58
03 Yemayá 7:39
04 Mister Bruce 9:53
05 Santa Amalia 13:04
06 La Explosion 8:18
07 San Francisco 4:08
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
2004 album of re-recorded hits taken from the Cuban jazz legends' over thirty years of music making. The songs cover a broad scope, as you might imagine: 70s ("100 Años De Juventud") and 80s ("Estrella Va A Estellar"); danceable fusion ("Juana 1600") and jazzy meditations ("Nothing Personal"). There's more of Morales on guitar than we'd heard in ages ("Bacalao Con Pan"); Velazco also returned for this album, and contributes his usual soprano stylings to "Zanaith." Impeccably arranged, performed and recorded. The album was produced by Chucho Valdes along with Cesar Lopez and Alexis Bosch and won the 2004 Cubadisco award for Best Jazz Album.
Irakere - 30 Años (flac 309mb)
01 Juana 1600 8:25
02 Nothing Personal 6:28
03 Zanaith 5:28
04 Drume Negrita 3:56
05 100 Años De Juventud 6:12
06 Estella Va A Estallar 11:56
07 Changó 5:54
08 Bacalao Con Pan 5:29
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The Irakere Group was composed of Armando Cuervo (Percussion), Oscar Valdés (Vocal and Percussion), Jorge "el niño" Alfonso (Congas), Enrique Plá (Drums), Carlos del Puerto (Bass), Jorge Varona (Trumpet), Arturo Sandoval (Trumpet), Carlos Averhoff (Saxo Tenor), Paquito D'Rivera (Alto Saxo) and Carlos Emilio Morales (Guitar). His repertoires over the years have been a clear and defined combination of jazzy, experimental and danceable themes; with elaborate arrangements that allow us to appreciate the virtuosity of the soloists and the quality of the compositions. All of them are a mix that have made the presence of Irakere on stage a must-attend event in any world jazz event.
The impressive sound of Irakere has impacted very diverse audiences, demonstrating in each presentation the physical and cultural stature of these men, where the maestro of the piano, Chucho Valdés, stands out in a singular way, that for his extraordinary contributions to the modern variants of the Jazz and his quality as a pianist is considered the world leader of this musical genre. In Irakere live the percussionists of Africa, but also the metals of Cuba and the keyboards of Valdés, a piano teacher, virtuoso in his instrument, and a true school of unquestionable musical quality. Son of Bebo Valdés, Chucho has taken his musical heritage to the front of Irakere for the most demanding and varied scenarios of the entire world.
Irakere - Jazzcuba Vol 5 (flac 350mb)
01 Adagio Para Clarinete
02 Chekere Que Son
03 38 У Medio
04 En Nosotros
05 Juana 1600
06 Moja El Pan
07 Este Camino Largo
08 Xiomara Mayoral
09 Iya
10 Summertime
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The album Cuba Libre was originally released in 1980 as exclusive Japanese vinyl LP and composed, arranged and produced by Japanese musician Chikara Ueda. To prevent this unique album from the Cuban band Iraqi from falling into oblivion, Joe Davis of Far Out Recordings has conjured Cuba Libre from the dusty record archives and re-released it with great enthusiasm.
With almost the complete original line-up, including Chucho and Oscar Valdes, Arturo Sandoval and Jorge Alfonso, the multiple Grammy-laden band on this album shows why they are seen as one of Cuba's most influential bands. Irakere was founded in 1973 by a group of talented young musicians. The band combined the Cuban rousing rhythms with the free expression of American jazz and created a new music movement in Cuba. Chucho Valdes, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera (on this album replaced by German Valazco Vrdeliz) have all become very successful in the United States and Iraqi has always been leading for the new Cuban class of musicians.
The fun of playing really falls off from Cuba Libre. The title song Cuba Libre clearly forms the excellent foundation of the album. The song gives the go-ahead for forty minutes of Latin jazz on the top shelf and the reprise finishes the album nicely. In between, Iraqi old-fashioned is well under way with powerful brass work in Gospelanza, is there room for relaxation in the sunny sounding and dreamy Sea Mail, is jubilant in the swinging Encuentro and is it carefully constructed and melodic Que Pasa? for a good balance between quiet and up-tempo numbers.
Irakere - Cuba Libre (flac 265mb)
01 Cuba Libre 12:53
02 Sea Mail 6:55
03 Encuentro 7:37
04 Que Pasa? 5:26
05 Gospelanza 6:00
06 Cuba Libre (Reprise) 1:07
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Today's artist is one of Cuba’s most influential bands. Founded in 1973, they created a sound that mixed jazz, European traditional music, rock, funk with the rhythmic Cuban tradition, enriched with Afro-Cuban and electronic influences. Many of the best Cuban musicians have played in the band during the past decades. .......N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest' is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album Irakere They were a seminal musical laboratory, where historic innovations in both Afro-Cuban jazz and Cuban popular dance music were created. The group used a wide array of percussion instruments like batá, abakuá and arará drums, chequerés, erikundis, maracas, claves, cencerros, bongó, tumbadoras (congas), and güiro.
"Jazz bands" began forming in Cuba as early as the 1920s. These bands often included both Cuban popular music and popular North American jazz, and show tunes in their repertoires. Despite this musical versatility, the movement of blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz was not strong in Cuba itself for decades. As Leonardo Acosta observes: "Afro-Cuban jazz developed simultaneously in New York and Havana, with the difference that in Cuba it was a silent and almost natural process, practically imperceptible" (2003: 59). Cuba's significant contribution to the genre came relatively late. However, when it did come, the Cubans exhibited a level of Cuban-jazz integration that went far beyond most of what had come before. The first Cuban band of this new wave was Irakere.
With Irakere, a new era in Cuban jazz begins in 1973, one that will extend all the way to the present. At the same time, this period represents the culmination of a series of individual and collective efforts from our so-called transition period, which will end with the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. Irakere was in part a product of the Moderna, as its founding members completed their musical training in that orchestra and also played jazz in the different quartets and quintets that were created with the OCMM. Among the founders of Irakere were pianist Chucho Valdés, its director since the beginning; saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, who acted as assistant director; trumpet player Jorge Varona; guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales; bassist Carlos del Puerto; drummer Bernardo García; and percussionist Oscar Valdés II, also a singer—Acosta.
That was a time where jazz music was a four-letter word in Cuba – literally! After many years of that thought, in 1967, they decided to create the Orquesta [Cubana de Música Moderna]. There were a lot of left wing people going to Cuba, attending congresses and visiting. So the government decided to create an image that jazz was not forbidden and that nothing was forbidden there. So they created the Orquesta to play American music – that is incredible. It was to create a different image than what they had created all those years. So they created the Orquesta. I directed the band for two years. . . . When I decided that I wanted to play only jazz in the Orquesta, then I got fired . . . . and after a while, the Orquesta ceased to achieve the function that it was created for and it disappeared—D'Rivera
Irakere, which was founded by members of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, has always been an eclectic band. From the beginning, the group showcased the scope of their uniquely Cuban music education: Afro-Cuban folkloric music, Cuban popular dance music, funk, jazz, and even classical music. The early years saw a lot of experimenting, with the mixing these different genres in original ways. From the vantage point of today, some of Irakere's early experiments sound awkward and don't mesh. On the other hand, some early experiments by the group were musical landmarks, that began entirely new traditions.
"Cubanized" bebop-flavored horn lines
"Chékere-son" (1976) for example, introduced a style of "Cubanized" bebop-flavored lines, that departed from the more "angular" guajeo-based lines typical of Cuban popular music. The horn line style introduced in "Chékere-son" is heard today in Afro-Cuban jazz, and the contemporary popular dance genre known as timba.
Another important Irakere contribution is their use of batá and other Afro-Cuban folkloric drums. "Bacalao con pan" is the first song recorded by Irakere to use batá. The tune combines the folkloric drums, jazzy dance music, and distorted electric guitar with wah-wah pedal. According to UC Irvine musicologist and Irakere expert Raúl A. Fernández, the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna members would not have been allowed by the orquesta to record the unconventional song. The musicians travelled to Santiago to record it. "somehow the tune made it from Santiago to radio stations in Havana where it became a hit; Irakere was formally organized a little bit later"
Ironically, several of the founding members did not always appreciate Irakere's fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban elements. They saw the Cuban folk elements as a type of nationalistic "fig leaf," cover for their true love—jazz. They were obsessed with jazz. The fusing of Afro-Cuban elements with jazz in Irakere is a direct consequence of the poor relations between the Cuban and United States governments. Cuba's Ministry of Culture is said to have viewed jazz as the music of "imperialist America." Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval states: "We wanted to play bebop, but we were told that our drummer couldn’t even use cymbals, because they sounded 'too jazzy.' We eventually used congas and cowbells instead, and in the end, it helped us to come up with something new and creative" (2007: web).[8] Pablo Menéndez, founder of Mezcla, recalls: "Irakere were jazz musicians who played stuff like 'Bacalao con pan' with a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude—'for the masses.' I remember Paquito d'Rivera thought it was pretty funny stuff (as opposed to 'serious' stuff)" (2011: web).[9] In spite of the ambivalence by some members towards Irakere's Afro-Cuban folkloric/jazz fusion, their experiments forever changed Cuban popular music, Latin jazz, and salsa. As D'Rivera states: "We didn’t know that we were going to have such an impact in jazz and Latin music around the world. We were just working to do something good" (2011: web).[10]
In 1977 Irakere performed at two jazz festivals held in the "Eastern Bloc"—the Belgrade Jazz Festival and the Warsaw Jazz Jamboree. The group had the opportunity to play along with jazz artists Betty Carter, Mel Lewis and Thad Jones. That same year several jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, and Earl Hines travelled to Cuba on a "jazz cruise." This was the first time since the break in relations between Cuba and the United States that a group of jazz musicians from each country were able to play together. In Havana, members of Irakere had the good fortune to jam with Gillespie and Getz. Gillespie later told the press that he had fulfilled a long-standing wish to visit the island, homeland of his close friend and partner Chano Pozo. In 1980 Irakere appeared at both the Newport Jazz Festival in New York City and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Columbia Records edited an album of five tracks recorded at the two festivals. The LP was titled Irakere, and was released by both CBS Records and EGREM. The album had two sets of liner notes, one by the North American John Storm Roberts and the other by Cuban Leonardo Acosta. Irakere won a Grammy in 1979 for the best "Latin" music recording in the United States. Following this success, the band participated in the most important international jazz festivals. At the 1995 Afrocubanismo Festival at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada, Irakere performed their piece "Xiomara" live on stage with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Changuito (!Afrocubanismo Live!).
In the 1980s Irakere recorded dance music, rhythmically akin to the contemporaneous style known as songo. This body of material can be seen as a type of bridge, connecting the songo era with the timba era which began in the early 1990s. One of the more popular Irakere dance tunes is "Rucu rucu a Santa Clara" (1985), written by José Luis Cortés "El Tosco," who would later found NG La Banda, and launch the timba movement. Trumpeter José Crego "El Greco," and saxophonists Carlos Averhoff and Germán Velazco, are heard playing the bop-like horn lines in this dance music. The three wind players would later go on to become part of NG La Banda's "metales de terror" horn section, the basic template for timba horns. Irakere continued recording dance pieces into the 1990s.
With Babalú Ayé (1997), the band fully embraced timba, the new genre which had directly resulted in part, from Irakere's innovations two decades earlier. The CD, which was nominated for a Grammy, features singer and timbales player José Miguel. In contrast to the impeccably executed dance music on the CD, Babalú Ayé also contains a long "bonus track"—"Babalú Ayé'," a loose folkloric/jazz experiment featuring the legendary lead vocalist Lazaro Ros. In 1997 Chucho Valdés left the group, and Chucho's son Chuchito took over the piano chair and the role of director between 1997 and 1999.
Irakere's jazz legacy
Paquito D'Rivera defected to the United States in 1980. Arturo Sandoval left the group a year later, and then defected to the United States in 1990. Both musicians have commented on the joy they felt, at being able to finally pursue jazz careers in the United States, and the honor of playing alongside their jazz heroes. As is typical of Cuban jazz musicians who defect to the U.S., their jazz playing fully matured when they moved to the country where jazz was born. As time went on, D'Rivera began looking back, and gained a deeper appreciation for the music of his first home. In 1994 he stated that he fell in love with Cuban music again on the shores of the Hudson River. Since he left Cuba, D'Rivera has recorded several albums with Cuban themes, including La Habana-Rio Conexión (1992), 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session (1994), Habanera Absolute Ensemble (1999), and Tropicana Nights (1999). Sandoval, who was once threatened with imprisonment by the Cuban government for listening to American jazz on the radio, has recorded albums of both straight-ahead jazz, and jazz with a strong Cuban influence. Chucho Valdés has also pursued a successful jazz career, recording for the prestigious Blue Note jazz label.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The sudden breakout of Chucho Valdés as a solo artist in North America in 1998 was no doubt the leverage behind the new billing of his band, "Irakere featuring Chucho Valdés," and the large amount of exposure that his piano fireworks get here. The band sometimes doesn't sound all that electrified by the prospect, though ultimately they do take us on a wide-ranging tour of acoustic and electric Latin jazz idioms and grooves. "Mister Bruce" most emphatically features the leader, a tour de force for Valdes who unleashes a torrent of notes (not always coherently) over percussion, bass and drums. "Santa Amalia" is straight ahead Latin jazz with lots of Valdes, hot horn solos and a flourish of vocals at the close, yet for all of its 13 minutes, it doesn't totally ignite. "La Explosión," with quotes from "Love for Sale" near the end, presents a multi-sectioned serpent of funk, bop and mambo -- nothing really fused since the grooves appear in sections -- while "San Francisco" is a fine, barely updated Latin boogaloo. "Son Montuno," which also appears on Valdes' Bele Bele en la Habana solo album, is blown open by some rough rock guitar, the old freewheeling Irakere spirit at work. Though Yemayá has its big moments, Valdés seems to have saved his most heated inspirations of the late '90s for his own solo work.
Irakere - Yemaya (flac 361mb)
01 Danza De Los Ñañigos 5:18
02 Chorriño 6:58
03 Yemayá 7:39
04 Mister Bruce 9:53
05 Santa Amalia 13:04
06 La Explosion 8:18
07 San Francisco 4:08
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
2004 album of re-recorded hits taken from the Cuban jazz legends' over thirty years of music making. The songs cover a broad scope, as you might imagine: 70s ("100 Años De Juventud") and 80s ("Estrella Va A Estellar"); danceable fusion ("Juana 1600") and jazzy meditations ("Nothing Personal"). There's more of Morales on guitar than we'd heard in ages ("Bacalao Con Pan"); Velazco also returned for this album, and contributes his usual soprano stylings to "Zanaith." Impeccably arranged, performed and recorded. The album was produced by Chucho Valdes along with Cesar Lopez and Alexis Bosch and won the 2004 Cubadisco award for Best Jazz Album.
Irakere - 30 Años (flac 309mb)
01 Juana 1600 8:25
02 Nothing Personal 6:28
03 Zanaith 5:28
04 Drume Negrita 3:56
05 100 Años De Juventud 6:12
06 Estella Va A Estallar 11:56
07 Changó 5:54
08 Bacalao Con Pan 5:29
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The Irakere Group was composed of Armando Cuervo (Percussion), Oscar Valdés (Vocal and Percussion), Jorge "el niño" Alfonso (Congas), Enrique Plá (Drums), Carlos del Puerto (Bass), Jorge Varona (Trumpet), Arturo Sandoval (Trumpet), Carlos Averhoff (Saxo Tenor), Paquito D'Rivera (Alto Saxo) and Carlos Emilio Morales (Guitar). His repertoires over the years have been a clear and defined combination of jazzy, experimental and danceable themes; with elaborate arrangements that allow us to appreciate the virtuosity of the soloists and the quality of the compositions. All of them are a mix that have made the presence of Irakere on stage a must-attend event in any world jazz event.
The impressive sound of Irakere has impacted very diverse audiences, demonstrating in each presentation the physical and cultural stature of these men, where the maestro of the piano, Chucho Valdés, stands out in a singular way, that for his extraordinary contributions to the modern variants of the Jazz and his quality as a pianist is considered the world leader of this musical genre. In Irakere live the percussionists of Africa, but also the metals of Cuba and the keyboards of Valdés, a piano teacher, virtuoso in his instrument, and a true school of unquestionable musical quality. Son of Bebo Valdés, Chucho has taken his musical heritage to the front of Irakere for the most demanding and varied scenarios of the entire world.
Irakere - Jazzcuba Vol 5 (flac 350mb)
01 Adagio Para Clarinete
02 Chekere Que Son
03 38 У Medio
04 En Nosotros
05 Juana 1600
06 Moja El Pan
07 Este Camino Largo
08 Xiomara Mayoral
09 Iya
10 Summertime
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The album Cuba Libre was originally released in 1980 as exclusive Japanese vinyl LP and composed, arranged and produced by Japanese musician Chikara Ueda. To prevent this unique album from the Cuban band Iraqi from falling into oblivion, Joe Davis of Far Out Recordings has conjured Cuba Libre from the dusty record archives and re-released it with great enthusiasm.
With almost the complete original line-up, including Chucho and Oscar Valdes, Arturo Sandoval and Jorge Alfonso, the multiple Grammy-laden band on this album shows why they are seen as one of Cuba's most influential bands. Irakere was founded in 1973 by a group of talented young musicians. The band combined the Cuban rousing rhythms with the free expression of American jazz and created a new music movement in Cuba. Chucho Valdes, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera (on this album replaced by German Valazco Vrdeliz) have all become very successful in the United States and Iraqi has always been leading for the new Cuban class of musicians.
The fun of playing really falls off from Cuba Libre. The title song Cuba Libre clearly forms the excellent foundation of the album. The song gives the go-ahead for forty minutes of Latin jazz on the top shelf and the reprise finishes the album nicely. In between, Iraqi old-fashioned is well under way with powerful brass work in Gospelanza, is there room for relaxation in the sunny sounding and dreamy Sea Mail, is jubilant in the swinging Encuentro and is it carefully constructed and melodic Que Pasa? for a good balance between quiet and up-tempo numbers.
Irakere - Cuba Libre (flac 265mb)
01 Cuba Libre 12:53
02 Sea Mail 6:55
03 Encuentro 7:37
04 Que Pasa? 5:26
05 Gospelanza 6:00
06 Cuba Libre (Reprise) 1:07
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Hi Rho,
ReplyDeleteWould it be possible to re-up these?
Cheers.
please re upload if you can thanks :) .
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