A herrería is a blacksmith shop and “La Herrería de Sirique” is about a Havana blacksmith who loved music.
Blacksmith by day, musician and music lover Alfredo González Suazo — better known as Sirique — ran one of the most important spaces for Cuban music in 1960s Havana in his blacksmithing shop.
Before the shop and its music program closed in 1968, it was documented in the film “La Herrería de Sirique” by Héctor Veitía.
From the series shot at Sirique’s blacksmith workshop, January 1967, by Ernesto Fernández Courtesy Ernesto Fernández
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
“Al Compas de Cuba” is a survey of essential roots Cuban music released as a documentary in 1960.
It’s attributed Mario Gallo. What’s strange about this attribution is that the Italian-born Argentinian Maria Gallo was born in 1878, died in 1945 and his last film was made in 1919.
The titles are written in Italian and the surnames of some of those credited with the production are Italian. (If anyone can clear up the mystery of how a man who died in 1945 directed a documentary that was released in 1960, please let us know.)
It looks like it was shot MOS (without sound) which means a sound track would have been added after the shooting. Fifteen or more years after the shooting? Inquiring minds want to know.
Musical forms developed in Cuba displayed in this film are:
Danzon, Rumba, Regla de Ocha (Santeria) and Abakuá.
The narration is in Spanish.
The first piece is a Danzon. Note the European kettle drum sneaking in some Afro-Cuban rhythms. Also note the movement of the dancers: European on the top and African below.
You can still hear the danzon performed for dancers in public outdoor settings in Mexican cities like Merida and Veracruz, two places that had a lot of contact with Cuba.
Next rumba.
Then a segment of a Santeria service.
Finally, the music of the Abakuá secret society.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
A few blocks from where I was staying I came across this band.
They got together to accompany an outdoor basketball tournament taking place in in public park.
In the last video the guys identify themselves and the name of the band.
A Saturday morning surprise on Calle 23 in Vedado
Note the little kids watching. This is how the music gets transmitted to the next generation.
Snare, bass drum, trumpet, cow bell. These guys would be at home in New Orleans. Was this one of the sounds of Congo Square?
On days like this, I wish my Spanish was better
These videos are just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of what I saw and heard in Havana. Over the ten days there I went to at least two different shows, some days as many as five, per day.
I could have easily gone to more and I never saw a bad one.
– Ken McCarthy
Jazz on the Tube
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
If you’re looking for a great time to visit Havana, keep your eyes open for the Fiesta del Tambor which takes place every March.
This festival literally offers more music at more locations than any mere mortal could possibly absorb.
I focused on three of the five venues, all of which are relatively close to each other: The Riviera Hotel (you’ve seen fragments of some of the jazz sessions there), Teatro Malla and Jardin de Teatro Malla.
The first four videos are from the Jardin (the garden.)
The last one is from a stage show inside the theater.
Proyecto Mujeres de la Rumba takes the stage.
In Cuba it’s not a surprise to see an audience member join in with complete knowledge of the moves and songs.
Los Papines, a decades old rumba group in its latest form
More from Los Papines
In Cuba, everybody dances: Alain Perez and friends
Keep in mind there was a different stage show at the Mella every night of the Festival and two rumba groups in the garden afterwards every night.
In spite of these musical riches, not everything interesting took place in a theater or garden or as part of the Festival.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
I say our beloved Bronx because the Bronx is a cultural treasure that all Americans can be proud of.
In this wide-ranging and fascinating conversation, Bobby Sanabria talks about the state of jazz education, the historic and ongoing contribution to jazz by Latin music and musicians, and the history of the Bronx, one of the most important centers of musical innovation in the modern world.
“The soul of the people of the Bronx is one of resilience, resistance, and pride,” Mr. Sanabria said. “It really is a majestic history.” (New York Times)
BMHC just broke ground last month, on January 13th, on what will be a 300-seat theater as part of a massive housing complex of over 300 apartments on E. 162nd St. and Elton Ave in the Melrose section of the South Bronx. It will open in December of 2018. This will be the permanent home of the Bronx Music Heritage Center.
From Mambo to Hip Hop
Before the Fires: An Oral History of African American Life in the Bronx from the 1930s to the 1960s by Mark Naison and Bob Gumbs Info about the book “Before the Fires”
The Clave – The Key: Africa, the Caribbean and New Orleans
What New York City sounded like when Bobby was 15. The Puerto Rican community gathers at at the Bandshell in Central Park.
Giovanni Russonello shines a light on two things we’ve been writing about a lot in recent years:
The sublime pleasures of Latin Jazz and the incredible new generation of players and composers who merit a lot more attention than they are currently getting.
This appeared in today’s (February 11, 2017) New York Times:
Latin Jazz is Booming. Look Beyond the Grammys to Find It.
By Giovanni Russonello
When the Grammy Awards eliminated the category of best Latin jazz album six years ago, an outcry arose quickly. Musicians and advocates argued that the move cut off a rare source of institutional recognition for a genre at the commercial fringes. And the academy listened. The next year the category returned.
In the years since, the importance of that recognition has become even clearer: Latin jazz is experiencing a kind of creative bloom, with musicians diversifying their work at an uncommon clip. It’s generating some of the most invigorating improvised music around.
So maybe it is a bit disappointing that the Grammy nominations this year don’t fully reflect those developments, focusing instead on older musicians. Every nominee up for best Latin jazz album this Sunday is over 60.
P.S. Our unique programming is made possible by help from people like you. Learn how you can contribute to our efforts here: Support Jazz on the Tube
Thanks.
Thelonious Monk