Cachao

A detailed Summary of Cachao

"His name is Israel Lopez, but he is known as "Cachao." His real name is music though. Born into a family who were all bass crazy, at least thirty five members of the Cachao clan have played the double bass at one time or another, either with the Havana Filarmonica, or in popular combos. Some of them, like his older brother the late Orestes played with the Filarmonica under the baton of Eric Kleiber, formerly the conductor of the Berlin Opera Orchestra. Cachao was so young then that they had to build him a soapbox to reach his double bass. He is not only a bass virtuoso, but a composer, arranger and bandleader as well. He also plays the trumpet, the piano, the celesta and the bongos." (Figueroa, 1) But he is not your usual one-man band. His modesty precludes him to claim that he is actually a peer of Charlie Mingus. It is virtually impossible to catch Cachao-or to pin him down to a single instrument, though the double bass is his constant companion. (Someone)

It was 1939 when Cachao and his brother created the first mambo which was called what else? "Mambo". "It derived from the most classical of Cuban rhythms, the danzon. Out of the danzon also the chachacha-and a little later another first by Cachao, the descarga,

For the next piece, yet another genre is introduced. Mi guajira, a son montuno, starting leisurely, evocatively in Alfredo Valdes Jr.'s piano, but when the percussion and Nelson Gonzalez step in, you feel a taste of rural paths, palms and coffee...and there all the master soloists step in, Nelson Gonzalez, Jimmy Bosch and Juanito Marquez on the guitar.

"Cachao was born in Havana in 1918, curiouser, in the house where Jose Marti, poet, politician and patriot, was born in 1853. But here the resemblance ends. Marti was small and frail, Cachao is tall and stocky with striking blue eyes in an Egyptian face. When he plays he looks like a bronco buster breaking in his bass every time he mounts. He plucks the strings, or uses his bow to whip the six-foot wooden horse of the bass to flog it alive."(Ayala, 2) At the same time he keeps a blue eye on his sidekicks to submit them with a stare. He always places his instrument very close to the piano but he never loses sight of the orchestra. He leads with his eye and eyebrows.

Saving best for last, this production finishes with Descarga Cachao. There is a dialogue of tres and trumpet, a brief intervention by the sax, and a breathing solo by Cachao.

Agozar con mi combo (To rejoice with my combo). One of the greatest achievements on this production is the novel sound from the combination of guitar, tenor sax, trumpet, trombone and clarinet. Sounding original, and at the same time sounding creole and exotic.

Isora Club, the second number, is a classical danzon, with its six parts well detached. Theme A starts with two peremptory notes commanding you to dance. Then comes theme B embroidered by Nestor Torres on flute, and back with theme A followed by C; mastered by the violins in a slower pace, and again theme A to announce the faster part D, or mambo, with Nestor, Alfredito Valdes' piano and the chorus intervening, with the back-up of the percussivesection led by Orestes Vilato at the timbales (kettle drums).

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1353
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Music