Soul of Cuba

by Edesio Alejandro

Overview

It would be interesting to know what 74-year-old Cuban singer Adriano Rodriguez thought when his young, hip neighbor, Edesio Alejandro, approached him with the suggestion they work together in the recording studio in 2000. Whatever he thought going in, he must be at least a little mystified by what came out of this unusual collaboration, and intrigued with the imagination of his young partner. Young musicians have worked with the old masters in the past, usually resulting in fairly faithful renditions of the old guy's hits. Not this time. Alejandro started with a selection of 11 classic Cuban sons from the likes of Arsenio Rodriguez and Felix Chapottin. Next, he added the fundamental sounds of the traditional son: claves clicking out the characteristic 3-2 beat that is at the heart of Cuban music; bongo and conga drums and bells filling out the rhythm; the Cuban bass, staying off the first beat of each measure, then dancing across beats two, three, and four; the tres, a guitar with three pairs of ringing steel strings; and a solo trumpet, sometimes muted, playing melodic runs on top. But then some completely new elements are added: electronic drums playing a sort of lazy hip-hop beat, the familiar electro-snare patterns that accompany rap music, but slower, more languid; a synthesizer droning along to produce a sitar-like effect, and Alejandro delivering some of the lyrics in a slow rap, speaking the words in a low monotone. The effect is hypnotic, mesmerizing. On top of all this is Adriano Rodriguez's mahogany voice singing the familiar lyrics, sometimes accompanied by a traditional coro. Traditional Cuban music has spawned many different musical styles -- mambo, cha-cha, salsa, Latin jazz, soukous, songo -- but none so strange and beguiling as the music on this CD. ~ Bruce Ishikawa

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/1999
Label:	BEMBE RECORDS
UPC:	0602303201926

Tracks

1. El Reloj de Pastora
2. Camina y Prende el Fog¿¿n
3. Sobre una Tumba Una Rumba
4. Macorina
5. Yo Se Como Candela
6. Consuelate Como Yo
7. Suavecito
8. Huella del Pasado
9. Bilongo
10. Sarandonga
11. Perla Marina

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Edesio Alejandro   Primary Artist,Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part,Synthesizer
Adriano Rodriguez   Primary Artist
Arsenio Rodriguez   Primary Artist
Adrian Rodriguez   Primary Artist
Gerardo Garcia   Synthesizer
Carlos del Puerto   Bass (Electric)
Julio Padron   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Annie Walzer   Artwork,Design
Benigno Echemendia   Composer
Adrian Rodriguez   Performer
Jesus Ventura   Assistant Producer
David Garten   Photography
Ramon Alon   Mixing,Engineer
Jimmy Durchslag   Executive Producer,Liner Notes
Gerardo Garcia   Assistant Producer,Programming,Arranger
Adriano Rodriguez   Performer
Francisco Repilado   Composer
Edesio Alejandro   Programming,Producer,Arranger,Mixing
Gonzalo Asencio   Composer
Sindo Garay   Composer
Ignacio Pineiro   Composer
Tim Gray   Mastering
Arsenio Rodriguez   Composer,Performer
Guillermo Rodriguez Fiffe   Composer