A Tuba to Cuba

by Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Overview

The soundtrack to the 2019 documentary film A Tuba to Cuba is a vibrant album featuring songs the Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded while on tour in Cuba and after returning home to New Orleans. Also included are a handful of archival songs recorded by previous incarnations of the storied ensemble. As with many of the group's recent albums, including 2013's That's It! and 2016's So It Is, A Tuba to Cuba showcases the band's abundantly cross-pollinated brand of traditional New Orleans jazz. While the titular tuba, played here by bandleader Ben Jaffe, takes a central role on the album, so do many of the Cuban musical traditions the Preservation Hall encountered on their journey. Several of the songs here -- like the buoyant, handclap-driven "Tumba" and the jubilantly funky "Keep Your Head Up" with vocalist Eme Alfonso -- sound more like impromptu jams, deftly combining Afro-Cuban percussion rhythms with New Orleans Mardi Gras energy. Similarly engaging is the upbeat "I Am," with its ringing trumpet melody line, and the mid-tempo stroll of "Kreyol." Also adding a cross-cultural flavor are vintage archival tracks like Alejandro Almenares' yearning guitar/vocal feature "Las Palomas" from the 1940s and Billie & De De Pierce's jubilant rendition of the traditional Cuban song "La Manicero" (aka "The Peanut Vendor"), which was plucked from the Preservation Hall's own musical vaults. More than just a souvenir of an affectionately captured journey, A Tuba to Cuba is a heartfelt celebration of the richly shared musical heritage that connects New Orleans and Cuba. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	11/29/2019
Label:	Sub Pop
UPC:	0098787131017
Rank:	26952

Tracks

1. Yesteryear
2. Tumba
3. I Am
4. Descarga del Son
5. Keep Your Head Up
6. Coraz¿¿n
7. Eleggua
8. Kreyol
9. El Manicero
10. Solitude
11. Las Palomas
12. Malec¿¿n

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Preservation Hall Jazz Band   Primary Artist
Raices Habaneras   Primary Artist
Septeto Tipico Oriental   Primary Artist
Alejandro Almanares   Primary Artist
Alejandro Almenares   Primary Artist,Guitar
Allan Jaffe   Tuba
David Oquendo   Guitar
Louis Nelson   Trombone
Clint Maedgen   Vocals,Sax (Tenor)
Billie Pierce   Piano
Ben Jaffe   Bass,Banjo,Vocals,Keyboards,Percussion
Charlie Gabriel   Vocals,Sax (Tenor)
Ronell Johnson   Vocals,Trombone
Kyle Roussell   Vocals,Keyboards
Walter Harris   Drums,Vocals,Percussion
Branden Lewis   Vocals,Trumpet
Eme Alfonso   Vocals,Featured Artist
Joseph Pierce   Cornet
Josiah Frazier   Drums

Technical Credits

Traditional   Composer
David Oquendo   Composer
Raices Habaneras   Composer
Preservation Hall Jazz Band   Composer
Moises Simons   Composer
Septeto Tipico Oriental   Arranger,Composer
Clint Maedgen   Composer
Ben Jaffe   Composer,Lyricist
Angel Almenares   Composer
Walter Harris   Composer,Lyricist
Eme Alfonso   Composer,Lyricist
Alejandro Almanares   Composer