by caballoballo » Thu Sep 08, 2016 2:54 pm
Depends on the dancer, nowadays people takes classes with emphasis on dancing in sync with the clave. If I'm dancing on 2/3 clave my left foot would be stepping forward on the 2nd beat of clave,if dancing 3/2 my left foot will step forward on the 1st Beat of the clave, at least that is my approach . If the song become cross it throws the dancer out of sync, rhythm, harmony with the clave.
About Wayne Gorbea song I played the clave throughout and found no changes, maybe was written like that as happened in the past on songs like Willie Colon calle luna calle sol, juana peña both are crossed , Willie Rosario el timbal de Carlitos the mambo is cross,Lebrons brothers lo tuyo llegará y se que sufriré where the clave stops at the break and the starts crossed , Orq la selecta oye mi bongó they mute the clave before the Montuno , Joey Pastrana rumbon melón, those are examples of bad arrangements or charts . On percussion charts (salsa music) many times the song starts on 3/2 clave throughout the body and across the pentagram you play 4 bars, 8 bars, 12 bars, ect and then you play 5 bars before the Coro and Montuno to make it odd so when the bells start playing the clave will become 2/3 which doesn't mean is cross. It is just a way to play in a better swing as it is the common thinking that playing in 2/3 clave is easier.
A good example of a cross clave is Larry Harlow song La cartera "Live" where the clave player after the first break is playing 3/2 where the song is 2/3. The timbalero is looking at him.
Josean