ANGA R.I.P. - obituary

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Postby SkinDeep » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:18 pm

NO PROBLEM, ABAKUA.
HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF ANGA'S INSTRUCTIONAL WORK DONE IN CANADA?




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MOFORIBALE AL TAMBO!!!
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Postby ABAKUA » Tue Aug 15, 2006 1:17 am

SkinDeep wrote:NO PROBLEM, ABAKUA.
HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF ANGA'S INSTRUCTIONAL WORK DONE IN CANADA?

No brother, havent seen much, while with him he mentioned humbly that he had doen some work in Canada, but we left it at that.

Do you have this footage? If so, please PM me.

Gracias.
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Postby blas » Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:44 am

Abakua, if you could recommend one CD that will give me a good perspective of Anga I would appreciate it. I'm sure there are many and it wouldn't be a complete picture of his work and skills without hearing them all. But one is a good start and I will commit to listening to it thoroughly. So please just mention one that you really enjoy, thanks - Matthew

ps. your original thread with all the pictures of Anga and his set up was very interesting, if it weren't for that, perhaps I would never have known who this man was, or be interested in hearing his music. I'm sorry for your personal loss and everyone else who knew him.
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Postby Charangaman » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:06 am

blas do you own Echu mingua? It is Anga's only project as band leader and a fitting testiment to his illustrious career, one which perhaps will only be fully appreciated now...

Also the self titled Cachiato Lopez album on which he plays to me is a very important record in the evolution of the tumbao..

my two quid..
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Postby pavloconga » Wed Aug 16, 2006 12:38 pm

Hi Blas,
If you don't already have a copy of Anga's instructional video "Angamania", I highly recommend you check it out. As well being one of the best instr. vids ever, it also gives a great demonstration of what he was capable of when probably at the height of his career. His flame was truly burning bright when this vid was made.
Still hard to believe he's gone.

pavlo

visit: http://www.mimfilms.com.




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Postby ABAKUA » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:09 pm

Hey blas...

OPUS 13 (band) between 1978 and 1987

Try to get your hands on "Irakere, Live at Ronnie Scotts" awesome trade off solos with Maraca on flute, Anga on congas.

All Irakere recordings made between 1987 and 1994 will feature Anga also.

Pasaporte (Anga + Tata Guines) audio samples available BY CLICKING HERE!

‘A Toda Cuba le Gusta’ with Juan de Marcos’ and Afro-Cuban All Stars

Distinto Differente’ with Afro-Cuban All Stars

‘Chanchullo’ with Rubén González

ORISHAS (afro cuban hip hop fusion) Al lo Cubano (anga on percussion)

Tony Martinez (dont know the name of the CD though, Anga plays awicked ass rumba in track 2.)

That should keep you busy for now, there are many other works with the likes of Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman, Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán , Omara Portuondo, Guajiro Mirabal, and most recently with Omar Sosa and much more.
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Postby yoni » Wed Aug 16, 2006 3:52 pm

Thanks ABAKUA, for putting up all this info and amazing clips by Anga.
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Postby congastu » Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:02 pm

I was lucky enough to see anga twice. Once in 2001 when he was touring with cachaito and more recently after "echu mingua" was released. On the first occasion his musicality and improvisation both as a soloist and in partnership with cachaito was stunning. About that time he appeared on "Later with Jools Holland" and ripped the place up. Unfortunately i only have footage from it on a very old VHS tape, so any suggestions about how to get it on the net would be very welcome.

In 2006, his playing was a lot looser and laid back, but I really believe that his first and only solo album is a MASTERPIECE, weaving so many strands from across the world together into a soundscape of stunning beauty. His legacy has been to take congas beyond the parameters of rhythm and show how they can flow and ebb with the hardest or most ethereal of music.
Great technicians can come and go, hands will get faster and faster, but there will be only one ANGA.
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Postby zaragenca » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:50 pm

You see Congastu I agree with you in relation of musicianship of Anga,.and that people are concern with speed and missing the 'vocabulary'....Now in relation of what you are talking about,..Taking the dimension of the musical/structure to higher ground and Mastering of the parameters,and multi percussion integration,it is something which my generation,(including me),also did it.(and I'm still kicking so it is not over yet),based in the foundation of a pryor generation,(the Tata-Guines' generation),which also followed a pryor generation,The Dr. Obdulio Morales generation.(which was the second generation after the foundation....As I said before, I didn't heard about him to much becouse he was a young percussionist when I came from Cuba and 'El nino' with Oscar Valdez were the one with 'Irakere', at that the start...but I know with 'details' from where everything is coming from and whom were the real people integrating things and how it was integrated..That is my Ph.'Doctorate'.Dr. Zaragemca



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Postby yoni » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:58 pm

That's interesting about how Anga ripped it up in an earlier time and played more laid back later. I saw the same kind of thing with Giovanni. He was just on fire when I saw him in '93, and still on fire but more recent stuff sounds more laid back at times.

That solo album of Anga's is great, I'm lucky I have a copy. Like I said, track #6 especially to me, wow, so great.

I like a player who can do it all, musicality and great chops combined, fast, slow, whatever. Musicality comes first though, I think.

Anga was one of those who could do it all.
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Postby pcastag » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:45 am

A buddy of mine wrote a book based on stuff he learned studying with Anga at the first Afrocubanismo in Canada. I've got the rough copy of it, but it's now being published by Mountain Rhythms. Incredible stuff!
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Postby ABAKUA » Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:59 am

yoni wrote:That's interesting about how Anga ripped it up in an earlier time and played more laid back later. I saw the same kind of thing with Giovanni. He was just on fire when I saw him in '93, and still on fire but more recent stuff sounds more laid back at times.

That solo album of Anga's is great, I'm lucky I have a copy. Like I said, track #6 especially to me, wow, so great.

I like a player who can do it all, musicality and great chops combined, fast, slow, whatever. Musicality comes first though, I think.

Anga was one of those who could do it all.

Hi Yoni,

Anga played in accordance to the setting he was in.
In Irakere, he tore it up, likewise for OPUS13, in AfroCuban All Stars, and similar son styled albums he played straight marcha and would open up when there was space or a solo.
With Omar Sosa, he played everything and anything, in small spaces he was given room to open up and them drums came alive.
Its not that he played aggresively before and later on in his life more laid back, he played to the setting he was in.
When i play with a salsa band, I play one way, when I play with a Timba band, I play a different way, same goes for when I play in Latin Jazz or Descarga bands, and also RnB, Pop, Flamenco etc other genres. You need to be versatile in your playing so that it suits the music you are playing to....
I can tell you now, in the jam I had with Anga, he didnt hold back anything! Laid back my ass!!! :laugh:




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Postby yoni » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:54 am

Hey ABAKUA,

Was just referring to congastu's description here of "a lot looser and laid back" in 2006.

What my own ears know is that Anga sounds amazing in each context I've heard him in. And I want to hear more.

Must have been the experience of a lifetime, to jam with him while he was cutting loose like that.

Thanks for the insight!

Yoni
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Postby congastu » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:59 pm

hi yoni and abakua

to try and qualify what i was saying, anga was playing with cachaito on the first occassion, but the band and vibe was very similar to the later date. i think this is because of angas influence on the direction of the bassists debut album, and he was actually bandleader each time. Interestingly, cachaito was supporting afrocuban allstars on that date and it was amazing seeing both back to back- same roots but explored in such different ways!!

although a great musician for the allstars and also irakere, anga seemed like he was establishing his own voice and legacy with cachaito and in some ways, echu mingua is the sequel or realisation, like he was saying THIS IS ME, THIS IS HOW I SEE IT. All the little things like melodic trade offs between bass and congas, transposing a piano composition to the drums, integrating classical, west african, jazz, hiphop in a CUBAN style.

i think a lot of ideas took place or came to fruition between "cachaito" and "echu mingua" thus the looseness or perhaps more accurately freedom of expression, like someone who is totally at one with themself. In both 2001 and 2006 he had moments of playing hard, but there was a difference. As has been posted he was in peak physical condition around 2000, in 2006 he was at what unfortunately turned out to be a musical peak. Even up to his death, he was pushing the boundaries- the choice was to do it in a musical sense rather than developing rudimentary technique where he was already an incredible virtuoso. He said himself he didnt want to be a rival to hidalgo, i feel lucky to have seen both geniuses and dont see the competition between them- they exploded congas in completely different directions and its gutting that one of them left us prematurely. Its not just how he played but who he chose to play with and why that is really interesting, perhaps unique among famous congueros [as abakuas resume showed]

Abakua, you were one lucky ####### to get to jam with him!!!!!!! LOL
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Postby yoni » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:43 pm

hi congastu,

I see what you are saying; yeah I don't see competition between them either, both being unique!

all the best,

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