Antologia de la Musica Afrocubana - Now on CD!

[tamboricua]

Hi Congaforum,

I'm sure many will be interested in this new release. I do have some of the old Egrem LP's.

Antologia de la Musica Afrocubana

Saludos,

Jorge Ginorio



Edited By tamboricua on 1152724273

[niallgregory]

thats looks fantastic ! i have some of the originals on vinyl also , be great to pick up the lot in a box set .

[Charangaman]

I gotta have it :p

[ABAKUA]

:cool: Awesome collection.


Now, please direct me to whom I must kill to receive my free box set. :laugh:

[davidpenalosa]

I just ordered the set last night (ouch!). I hope they improved the sound quality. I have several of the LPs. I hope they were able to improve the sound quality. They were classic recordings, but the fidelity was atrocious! I've neem told that the probelm the Cubans had back then with their vinyl was with their pressing process. Some of the other re-reissued stuff on CD has been infinitely better sounding than the old LPs, so here's hoping.
-David

[davidpenalosa]

I just recieved my boxed set of "Antologia de la Musica Afrocubana" from Descaraga. The sound quality is a little better than the vinyl versions. The liner notes have been translated into English by someone who's not that adept at the language. Check out this excerpt: "The rumba complex is integrated by some dancing modalities that allow differentiating variables of this expression from the primal urban folklore." .."modalities that allow differentiating variables"?!!!
Still, I appreciate the liner notes.

All recordings apparently were recorded in the actual cabildos instead of recording studios. It's hard to hear the drum parts, but the feel is very authentic. Funky, funky, funky! What I especially like are the examples of individual parts of abakua, iyesa, guiro (bembe) and Arara. You can clearly hear the parts on these selections and their relation to clave, Also, their feels are quite subtle. Interesting are the examples of yuka and makuta with son clave, although the three-side sounds like it's more in triple pulse structure. All in all, a must-have.
-David



Edited By davidpenalosa on 1154302012

[jorge]

I agree, this set is a "must have" if you are into Afrocuban folkloric music. I also agree that the English translation of the liner notes is awkward in many spots, but the notes are also provided in Spanish and are excellent and very informative.

I just finished listening to the Abakua CD, the last in the set. This is one of the 3 that had not been released as part of the original 7 volume Antologia (the Palo and Guiro recordings may have been released later, I never got those 2 on vinyl either). It is in a different format than most of the others, recorded as a lesson in Abakua songs starting with Enkame, then an Abakua song, then each part recorded separately (with the Ekon holding time) and then all together again. Recorded in 1988, it includes all of these tracks in both Matanzas and La Habana styles. The Matanzas group includes members of Afrocuba and Los Munequitos, including Francisco Zamora "Minini"; Enrique Mesa (Ibae), Pedro Tapanes "Pello", Ramon Perez "Sandy", Reinaldo Gobel Villamil "Naldo", and others. The Habana group includes Gregorio Hernandez "El Goyo", Juan Campos Cardenas "Chan", and many others.

Even though they are playing non-consecrated tambores "judios" from Fernando Ortiz' museum collection of Abakua instruments, with a tumbadora replacing the bonko, I am amazed that the Abakua powers-that-be let this recording be made and released, I guess these are not the secret songs or rhythms. This CD is pretty clearly recorded, with each part broken down separately so that soon everyone and their mother will be playing bonko enchimiya!



Edited By jorge on 1155052282

[davidpenalosa]

I just finished listening to the Abakua CD.... It is in a different format than most of the others, recorded as a lesson in Abakua songs starting with Enkame, then an Abakua song, then each part recorded separately (with the Ekon holding time) and then all together again. I am amazed that the Abakua powers-that-be let this recording be made and released, I guess these are not the secret songs or rhythms. This CD is pretty clearly recorded, with each part broken down separately so that soon everyone and their mother will be playing bonko enchimiya!

Hi Jorge,
Do you personally object to everyone and their mother playing bonko, or are you just surprised at the clarity of the parts on those cuts? There are recordings of Abakuá with songs and bonkó going back to 1940. They may not all be as clear as the selections on this CD, but the material is definitely decipherable. I've been teaching bonkó for over 20 years. When Los Muñequitos came to my little college town in 1992, their lead drummer Jesus Alfonso was very open in showing us the Matanzas bonkó vocabulary. He played bonkó while one of us held the ekón (clave) pattern, basically the same situation heard on the CD.
-David

[jorge]

Hi David,
I was just commenting on the clarity of the presentation, which seems amazingly straightforward given the secret nature of some of the Abakua songs. Personally, I love the bonko parts that I have heard on many of the publicly available recordings. When Afrocuba de Matanzas was in New York in 1998, I asked Regalao, who plays quinto with them, about the secrecy of Abakua songs and he told me it was ok for drummers not in the Abakua religion to learn and play all the parts except the bonko.

Did you record the class when Jesus showed you the bonko parts? Also, have you had any negative experiences when playing bonko and other Abakua parts in settings where some of the other drummers are Abakua?

Jorge



Edited By jorge on 1155215074

[davidpenalosa]

1.
Did you record the class when Jesus showed you the bonko parts?
2.
Also, have you had any negative experiences when playing bonko and other Abakua parts in settings where some of the other drummers are Abakua?

Hi Jorge,
1. Yes, it basically reflected the vocabulary on the Matanzas bonko cut from the CD.
2.
As far as I know, I've never played abakua in the presence of actual Abakua members. I think out of respect, I would refrain from playing if I knew they were Abakua, until I got a feeling that it was cool.

We have an annual week-long Cuban workshop here every summer. There's lots of great parties that happen that week. At one party, which unfortunately I missed, Francisco Aguabella broke out with abakua and played some killer bonko (I heard the tape)! Francisco has really loosened up in recent years, as this would be unheard of in times past. I played bata with him in dance classes and found him very open and friendly. My point being that the general scene has definitely loosened up since the 70's when I began playing.

[Charangaman]

Well I finaly got the time to sit down and listen properly to this incredible collection ... It is beautifully presented and the sound is great for old field recordings..

I was most impressed by the Iyesa c.d

[zumbi]

just got mine and listen to the first two cd's only, so far.
love the concept, the informations (in their original spanish version, the english is actually a bit funny) and the affordable price.
will post more as of further listening, but i can tell already it is a must have for the serious afro-cuban music lover (and scholar as well)
peace & blessings!