Isaiah
03-04-2005, 10:30 AM
It was in the Afro-rich port cities of Cuba--La Habana, Matanzas, and Santiago--that the conga drum flourished. As the years progressed, a cross-pollination of Spanish and African musical influences emerged, fusing rumba flamenca--music culled by the gypsies of Southern Spain--with West African rhythms. It gave rise to the popular song-and-dance complex known as rumba. The Yoruba religious practices of Ifa, and its sacred two-headed hourglass shaped batá drums, forged with Catholicism to create santería. Centuries evolved and legendary drummers, singers and dancers became the griots of a new Afro-Spanish reality. Rumberos such as Malanga and Mulenze were the Buddy Boldens of the conga drum, who in the 1800s cast the mold for today's rumba. In the 20th century, the name that rings out as pivotal in taking the rumba from the streets to stage was an eccentric composer/singer/dancer/conguero named Luciano "Chano" Pozo.
"Chano brought to jazz a vocabulary of West African culture," states trap drummer and Latin music scholar Bobby Sanabria in a phone conversation from his home in NYC. "Chano was an initiate in the santería and abakuá religions. He performed chants that most people were hearing for the first time through live performance and recordings. It was a unique way of throwing Africa--the roots of jazz--in everybody's face."
"Chano was a great entertainer," continues Sanabria. "Everybody I've ever talked to about Pozo speaks about his spectacular mesmerizing performances. Dancing and singing while playing his drum at the same time. Chano influenced a generation of drummers in New York City, especially Ray Barretto."
Born on January 17, 1915 in the Verdado neighborhood of Havana, Pozo grew up in poverty. He lost his mother at age 8 and moved to the tough tenement of El Africa in the barrio Pueblo Nuevo. He loved to sing, dance and play his drum and was quite young when he performed in the comparsas (carnival troupes) around Havana. He eventually led the elegantly dressed Los Dandys from barrio Belén and garnered major notoriety penning songs that ushered in the conga dance rage of the early 1940s. He was much talked about and elevated the energy of the orchestras, rumbas and carnival comparsas (troupes) that he played with.
Between 1944-46 Chano performed on RHC-Cadena Azul radio network and did a variety of recording sessions with the house band-Conjunto Azul--that included trumpeter Felix Chappotín and singer Marcelino Guerra. In 1946, they recorded 10 sides for SEECO Records that became quite popular. But it was his song El Pin Pin, about the victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan that was the rage.
In December of that year, Miguelito Valdés flew to Havana and organized a recording session for Musicraft that included Chano Pozo. Valdés was a big star after stints with Casino De La Playa and Xavier Cugat, and invited Pozo to come to New York City. Given his volatile temper, the timing was good, since Pozo had burnt a lot of bridges, including getting shot over a royalty dispute.
The scene for Afro-Cuban music was percolating in NYC with pivotal performers Arsenio Rodríguez, Machito & his Afro-Cubans, Olga Guillot, Marcelino Guerra and others residing in the big apple. The fusion of Afro-Cuban percussion with jazz started surfacing at jam sessions around 1945 with Diego Iborra (chiquitico) sitting in on bongó at the Three Deuces with Dizzy Gillespie's quintet featuring Charlie Parker.
Gillespie put the word out that he wanted one of those tom tom players but none of the musicians he tried quite clicked. In the summer of 1947 he was preparing a concert at Carnegie Hall and Bauzá took Gillespie to meet Pozo at his apartment on Lenox Avenue. It was a revelation for Gillespie, who appreciated the variety of sounds Pozo got out of the conga and invited him to join his big band.
"Gillespie's band did not want Pozo at first," commented Sanabria. "He was not a welcome addition and most of the guys complained. They didn't understand why Dizzy would bring him in. But what Pozo made the African American musicians realize was their own Africanism. That was part of Dizzy Gillespie's genius, who for some unknown reason realized this was the missing link in jazz."
Pozo didn't understand 4/4 swing. He was used to the 2/4 clave patterns and there were rhythmic clashes. This caused havoc and bassist Ray Brown even quit because Pozo couldn't find the groove. Replaced by Al McKibbon, they soon were swimming in new territories and on September 29, 1947 took Carnegie Hall by storm with bebop and a centerpiece written by George Russell for his Afro-Cuban Suite called Cubano Be, Cubano Bop that featured Pozo performing a solo section.
"Pozo had no concept of what the swing feel in jazz was," stated Sanabria. "Mario Bauzá told me that Pozo used to come to him almost in tears because the guys were talking about him and say, 'I don't understand, what is this swing?' Bauzá equated swing with sabor in Cuban music but also the importance of understanding African American rhythms. Pozo played in a straight eighth-note style that did not swing the tumbao. That was a later innovation by Sabú Martínez and Ray Barretto."
From there, Dizzy Gillespie and his orchestra with Chano Pozo became the talk of the town. Much like bebop had liberated the harmonic thinking of jazz, these Afro-Cuban experiments were now freeing up and expanding jazz rhythms. Signed to RCA Victor, Gillespie recorded the big band in December of 1947 and included a tune that Pozo had brought to him. With the aid of arranger Gil Fuller, and Gillespie adding a bridge, the song became Manteca.
This led to the meteoric rise of Pozo. The success of this recording took them around the world and across the country where they were met by bebop fans crowding to hear these new sounds.
But destiny dealt Chano Pozo a fatal blow. His congas were stolen when they were touring the south. Returning to NYC to buy some drums, he decided to hang out in Harlem. Unfortunately, he was murdered a few days later as a result of an alleged drug deal gone sour.
Like a prophet, Pozo soon had disciples who followed in his footsteps. Pivotal congueros Sabú Martínez (who took Pozo's place in Gillespie's band), Cándido Camero, Mongo Santamaría, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, Armando Peraza, Ray Barretto and others who refined the swing. His death was a tragedy but Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie helped mold a new lexicon of possibilities anda new direction in jazz.
"Pozo was the missing link in jazz and Gillespie had the vision to put him and his drum back into the mix. It bonded jazz and Afro-Cuban music and all of us that play this music are eternally grateful," concludes Sanabria.
FOR MORE, CLICK ON THE WEBSITE ADDRESS
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_9_11/ai_80902500
"Chano brought to jazz a vocabulary of West African culture," states trap drummer and Latin music scholar Bobby Sanabria in a phone conversation from his home in NYC. "Chano was an initiate in the santería and abakuá religions. He performed chants that most people were hearing for the first time through live performance and recordings. It was a unique way of throwing Africa--the roots of jazz--in everybody's face."
"Chano was a great entertainer," continues Sanabria. "Everybody I've ever talked to about Pozo speaks about his spectacular mesmerizing performances. Dancing and singing while playing his drum at the same time. Chano influenced a generation of drummers in New York City, especially Ray Barretto."
Born on January 17, 1915 in the Verdado neighborhood of Havana, Pozo grew up in poverty. He lost his mother at age 8 and moved to the tough tenement of El Africa in the barrio Pueblo Nuevo. He loved to sing, dance and play his drum and was quite young when he performed in the comparsas (carnival troupes) around Havana. He eventually led the elegantly dressed Los Dandys from barrio Belén and garnered major notoriety penning songs that ushered in the conga dance rage of the early 1940s. He was much talked about and elevated the energy of the orchestras, rumbas and carnival comparsas (troupes) that he played with.
Between 1944-46 Chano performed on RHC-Cadena Azul radio network and did a variety of recording sessions with the house band-Conjunto Azul--that included trumpeter Felix Chappotín and singer Marcelino Guerra. In 1946, they recorded 10 sides for SEECO Records that became quite popular. But it was his song El Pin Pin, about the victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan that was the rage.
In December of that year, Miguelito Valdés flew to Havana and organized a recording session for Musicraft that included Chano Pozo. Valdés was a big star after stints with Casino De La Playa and Xavier Cugat, and invited Pozo to come to New York City. Given his volatile temper, the timing was good, since Pozo had burnt a lot of bridges, including getting shot over a royalty dispute.
The scene for Afro-Cuban music was percolating in NYC with pivotal performers Arsenio Rodríguez, Machito & his Afro-Cubans, Olga Guillot, Marcelino Guerra and others residing in the big apple. The fusion of Afro-Cuban percussion with jazz started surfacing at jam sessions around 1945 with Diego Iborra (chiquitico) sitting in on bongó at the Three Deuces with Dizzy Gillespie's quintet featuring Charlie Parker.
Gillespie put the word out that he wanted one of those tom tom players but none of the musicians he tried quite clicked. In the summer of 1947 he was preparing a concert at Carnegie Hall and Bauzá took Gillespie to meet Pozo at his apartment on Lenox Avenue. It was a revelation for Gillespie, who appreciated the variety of sounds Pozo got out of the conga and invited him to join his big band.
"Gillespie's band did not want Pozo at first," commented Sanabria. "He was not a welcome addition and most of the guys complained. They didn't understand why Dizzy would bring him in. But what Pozo made the African American musicians realize was their own Africanism. That was part of Dizzy Gillespie's genius, who for some unknown reason realized this was the missing link in jazz."
Pozo didn't understand 4/4 swing. He was used to the 2/4 clave patterns and there were rhythmic clashes. This caused havoc and bassist Ray Brown even quit because Pozo couldn't find the groove. Replaced by Al McKibbon, they soon were swimming in new territories and on September 29, 1947 took Carnegie Hall by storm with bebop and a centerpiece written by George Russell for his Afro-Cuban Suite called Cubano Be, Cubano Bop that featured Pozo performing a solo section.
"Pozo had no concept of what the swing feel in jazz was," stated Sanabria. "Mario Bauzá told me that Pozo used to come to him almost in tears because the guys were talking about him and say, 'I don't understand, what is this swing?' Bauzá equated swing with sabor in Cuban music but also the importance of understanding African American rhythms. Pozo played in a straight eighth-note style that did not swing the tumbao. That was a later innovation by Sabú Martínez and Ray Barretto."
From there, Dizzy Gillespie and his orchestra with Chano Pozo became the talk of the town. Much like bebop had liberated the harmonic thinking of jazz, these Afro-Cuban experiments were now freeing up and expanding jazz rhythms. Signed to RCA Victor, Gillespie recorded the big band in December of 1947 and included a tune that Pozo had brought to him. With the aid of arranger Gil Fuller, and Gillespie adding a bridge, the song became Manteca.
This led to the meteoric rise of Pozo. The success of this recording took them around the world and across the country where they were met by bebop fans crowding to hear these new sounds.
But destiny dealt Chano Pozo a fatal blow. His congas were stolen when they were touring the south. Returning to NYC to buy some drums, he decided to hang out in Harlem. Unfortunately, he was murdered a few days later as a result of an alleged drug deal gone sour.
Like a prophet, Pozo soon had disciples who followed in his footsteps. Pivotal congueros Sabú Martínez (who took Pozo's place in Gillespie's band), Cándido Camero, Mongo Santamaría, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, Armando Peraza, Ray Barretto and others who refined the swing. His death was a tragedy but Chano Pozo and Dizzy Gillespie helped mold a new lexicon of possibilities anda new direction in jazz.
"Pozo was the missing link in jazz and Gillespie had the vision to put him and his drum back into the mix. It bonded jazz and Afro-Cuban music and all of us that play this music are eternally grateful," concludes Sanabria.
FOR MORE, CLICK ON THE WEBSITE ADDRESS
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_9_11/ai_80902500