Details

Field of Interest

Jazz

Content Type

Music recording

Duration

36 mins

Format

Audio

Sub Genre

Latin Jazz, Afro-Jazz

Label

Verve Records

Performer

Patato Valdés, 1926-2007

UPC (Physical)

00602498624456

Release Date

2004-06-08

Review

The landmark recording Patato & Totico belongs neither entirely to rhumberos nor to jazzers. The musical style will feel very familiar to those familiar with Cuba's rhumba tradition, which springs from the ritual songs of Yorubans and their descendants who found themselves sold into servitude to Cuba's sugar and tobacco plantations. The ensemble consists of tumbadora, tres golpes, quinto, shekere, clave, and voice, just as it would have a hundred years before in Havana basements or Matanzas slave quarters. The musicians, however, are no strangers to Manhattan jazz clubs, and that sensibility shines through. From the bass master Israel "Cachao" Lopez, who was a budding talent at the time, to the legendary Arsenio Rodriguez on tres, to Patato, who went on to become one of the most influential voices on his instrument, this band of rhumberos was a force in the jazz world as well. This sensibility shines through in their renditions of "Mas Que Nada" and "Ya Yo E." The fidelity is not the best, and future Patato recordings like Authority shine through as stronger on the whole. However, as one of the first New York contributions to the rhumba world, Patato & Totico is a very pleasing, rich piece of history. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, All Music Guide

Subject

Jazz, Music & Performing Arts, Latin Jazz, Afro-Jazz, Jazz Latino, Afro-Jazz

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Jazz Latino, Afro-Jazz