Estrellas de Areito

The Singers -
Rafael Bacallao and José Pepe Olmos Alvarez - joined the Orquesta Aragón in the 1950s. Although the bands repertoire also contained son, they mostly sang cha cha cha, both as a duo and in unison. Olmos was also a master of the bolero, known for his version of La gloria eres tú while Bacallao was also known as a great dancer.
Miguelito Cuní - was one of the great voices of Cuban music. Born in Pinar del Río in 1920, he moved to Havana at the age of 18 where he sang first with Ernest Muñoz and then with tres player Niño Rivera and Antonio Arcaño. In 1940 he joined the conjunto led by Arsenio Rodríguez where he stayed until 1947, meeting Felix Chappotín whom he continued to work with for many years. He also sang with Benny Moré and Bebo Valdés. Cuní had a powerful, throaty voice, an unerring sense of rhythm and exceptional ability to improvise. He died in 1984 and Estrellas de Areito was his penultimate recording.
Filiberto Hernández - was a member of Niño Riveras conjunto and the Septeto Tipico Cubano. Previously, he had plaed in Antonio María Romeus Orquesta de Danzón, the band led by singer Barbarito Diez and the Cuban Radio and Television Institute Orchestra.
Wilfredo Pío Leyva - was born in 1917 in Moron. He started his musical career playing the bongos, joining the Orquesta Siboney in his home town. He left for Camagüey where he joined the Licea Brothers Band and the Juanito Blez conjunto. In the 1950s he settled in Havana recorded with Compay Segundo, then joined Benny Morés Banda Gigante which performed his famous song, Francisco Guayabal. Later, he collaborated with the Orquesta Riverside and pianist Bebo Valdés band before going solo. In 1996, he became a founder member of the Afro Cuban All Stars. A virtuoso improviser of verve and humour, he owes his nickname, El montero de Cuba to the fact that he was one of the best exponents of the son montuno, evoking images of daily life in rural Cuba. Pio sadly passed away in March 2006.
Tito Gómez -, real name José Tenreiro, was born into a Spanish family in Havana in 1920 and showed an early and prodigious talent for singing son. At 17 he won the amateur Supreme Court of the Arts contest singing a bolero. He made his professional debut in 1939 with the Sevilla Biltmore Band and in 1942 became soloist in the Orquesta Riverside, a jazz style group with which he stayed until 1975. Working the cabaret stages, he developed a repertoire that allegedly ran into 600 songs. In 1975 he joined the charanga led by Enrique Jorrín at the suggestion of its pianist and musical director, Rubén González. After Jorríns death in 1987, he continued to perform as a guest singer in several orchestras, in particular the charanga fronted by Guillermo Rubalcaba.
Teresita García Caturla - is one of the daughters of composer and band leader Alejandro García Caturla (1906 1940), a decisive figure in contemporary Cuban music who married Stravinsky-influenced moderism with a deep-rooted knowledge of Afro Cuban rhythms. For over 30 years she has sung with Las DAida quartet which she now directs. The quartet was founded in 1952 by Aida Diestro and two of its original members, Elena Burke and Omara Portuondo, went on to carve out careers as internationally successful solo singers. Her powerful contralto voice is at ease in any style, particularly son. On stage she is a charismatic figure and she galvanised the recording sessions for Estrellas de Areito, not only with her voice but also acting as MC. Teresita also features on both the Afro Cuban All Stars records. A toda Cuba le gusta and Distinto, diferente.
Manolo Furé - is a well know traditional son singer. In the 1960s he started singing lead vocals with the Sexteto Tipico Habanero, a group specialising in the repertoire of the inter-war years.
Magaly Fars - was born in Santiago de Cuba, capital of the province of Orient. She is a singer of son and, above all, guaracha in an Eastern style. She has now settled in Toronto, Canada.
Carlos Embale - was born in 1923 in the Jesús María district of Havana famed for the rumba. He made his debut as a singer at the end of the 1930s in the Bolona and Bolera son septets. He went on to work in the charanga which was led by the pianist Neno González. From 1946 to 1954 he then worked with Miguel Matamoros. In 1976 he joined the legendary Septeto Nacional, founded in 1972 by the double bassist and composer Ignacio Pineiro. He also formed several successful traditional guaguanco groups. An all-round singer with an expressive and touchingly fragile voice at ease with son as well as rumba, he has since left the music scene.
Ignacio Carillo Masacote - made his name singing with various son bands. Now a soloist and director of the Sexteto Tipico Habanero.
The Musicians -
Félix Chappotín (trumpet) - was born in Havana in 1909. At the end of the 1920s he was one of the very first trumpet players to join the capitals son groups. He played with the Habanero, Miramar, Bolona and Carabina de Ases septets and in 1940 he joined Arsenio Rodríguez conjunto. When the band left for the USA, he moved to the group fronted by Miguelito Cuní. Their collaboration continued until Chappotíns death in 1983. He remains unforgettable for the power and brilliant resonance of his voice and the expressiveness of his style, able to evoke every emotion from laughter to tears.
Manuel Guajiro Mirabal (trumpet) - was born in Melena del Sur in the province of Havana in 1933. He made his professional debut at 18 and in 1956 moved to Havana to found the Conjunto Rumbavana. In 1967 he joined the Orquesta Riverside alongside Rubén González, as well as joining the house band at the Tropicana Cabaret where he still plays today. He also spent 21 years with the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and made a few brief incursions into the world of the National Symphony Orchestra, playing both classical and contemporary pieces. He played on both the Afro Cuban All Stars records, Buena Vista Social Club, the two Rubén González recordings Introducing... and Chanchullo, Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer, Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo and Cachaíto López debut Cachaíto. His own debut solo album was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2006. He is one of the most versatile and inventive soloists in Cuba today.
Arturo Sandoval (trumpet) - was born in Artemisia in the west of Cuba in 1949. He discovered jazz at the age of 14 and studied the trumpet at the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. In 1967 he joined the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna where he played for four years. In 1974 he joined Irakere, mixing jazz and Cuban traditions. From 1981 he directed his own groups and played in the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band. He has lived in exile in the USA since 1990. A technician with a remarkable purity of sound, his fiery improvisations have their roots in modern jazz and also a deep attachment to the Cuban tradition.
Jorge Varona (trumpet) - was born in Camaguey in 1932. He moved to Havana in 1959 and played with Benny Moré for four years. He was a founder member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna in 1967, then Irakere with whom he played until his death in 1989. A trumpet player of prodigious technical skill, his gentle improvisations are always characterised by sensitivity and originality.
Adalberto Lara (trumpet) -, the soloist with Orquesta de Música Moderna studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte and has performed and recorded with many bands and has toured widely.
Juan Pable Torres (trombone) - was born in Puerto Padre in the province of Oriente in 1946. At the age of 15 he was playing saxophone in the municipal band of his home town before graduating to the trombone. He went to Havana in 1965 where he studied at the Higher Institute of Arts and two years later he became one of the founders of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. In 1976 he formed the group Algo Nuevo, attempting to modernise the traditional son with an instrumentation style closer to jazz rock. He spent several years as an in-house producer and arranger for EGREM and after a long period in Spain he emigrated to the USA in 1993. Since then he has collaborated with Paquito DRivera, Cachao and Bebo Valdés. An impeccable technician and prolific composer, Juan Pablo Torres modelled himself on Generoso Jiménez, a trombonist who played on Cachaos descargas in the 1950s and was Benny Morés arranger. Deeply-rooted in the son tradition, he has broadened his musical language to become one of the best Cuban jazz instrumentalists of today.
Jesús Aguaje Ramos (trombone) - was born in Pinar del Río in 1951. After studying music at the National School of Arts, Amadito Valdés suggested that he perform with Estrellas de Areito and then joined him in the instrumental group which played with the vocal quartet Las DAida. He also played in the Orquesta Cubason directed by Jorge Varona. In 1987 he joined the resident band at the Casino de Monaco, accompanying such stars as George Benson and Dionne Warwick. On returning to Havana in 1994 he recorded with vocalists Raúl Planas, Omara Portuondo, Mercedita Valdés, Pío Leyva, Tito Gómez and Teresita García Caturla and famous instrumentalists including Richard Egües and Tata Güines. Aguaje also featured on Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer, Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo, Rubén González Chanchullo and various other albums for World Circuit. A great lover of improvisation, Aguaje claims to live for the trombone, a difficult instrument to which I am a slave because I have to practise every day.
Paquito DRivera (alto saxophone) - was born in Havana in 1948. After attending the Havana Conservatory at a very early age, he became a saxophone, flute and clarinet virtuoso. By the age of 17 he was playing as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra. He then founded the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna which he directed for two years and was one of the star soloists with Irakere. In 1980 he chose exile in New York where he recorded with Dizzy Gillespie and McCoy Tyner and collaborated with musicians from the Caribbean and Brazil. With a style inherited from the bee bop of Charlie Parker, his solos are always incandescent and highly lyrical.
Richard Egües (flute) - was born in Cruces in 1916. He played as a flutist in the Santa Clara municipal band, moving to Havana to join the Orquesta Aragón in 1953. His contribution was vital to the success of the group, bringing to it a softer resonance and unforgettable compositions such as El bodeguero and Bombom cha. He also played in the famous descargas organised by bassist Cachao in 1957. He retired in the early 1980s but has continued to guest on a few chosen recordings including Pasaporte with Tata Güines and Miguel Angá Díaz in 1994 and the Afro Cuban All Stars album A toda Cuba le gusta on World Circuit. A virtuoso of the classical 5 key flute, his unique style is dynamic and precise, with a rich resonance which has influenced flautists as diverse as Herbie Mann and Johnny Pacheco.
Enrique Jorrín (violin) - was born in the province of Pinar del Río in 1926. At the age of 12 he had already composed his first danzón. At 15 he took violin lessons at the Municipal Conservatory in Havana and from 1944 he played in several charangas, including the group led by Arcaño. As director of the Orquesta Americana from 1946 to 1954, he experimented with a new style which quickly achieved popularity because it was sung and easier to dance than the danzón : it became known as the cha cha cha and took Havana by storm when his composition La engañadora became the first cha cha cha record in 1953. The following year he formed his own band and from 1955 to 1958 he lived in Mexico where he added three trumpets and electric violins and bass. Back in Cuba he worked with his own group and as first violin in the ICRT (Cuban Institute of Radio and Television) Orchestra. He died in 1987.
Miguel Barbon (violin) - has spent his entire career playing in the best charangas in Cuba, acquirring the nicknames El niño prodigo (The Child Prodigy) and Brindis from the name of a famous dynasty of classical violinists which produced a whole series of virtuoso performers in 19th century Cuba. He played with orchestral leader Antonio María Romeu, the grand master danzón and as a soloist with Arcaño y sus Maravillas at the end of the 1940s. In the mid 1950s he played in the band led by Rosendo Ruíz, then in the Charanga Tipica Cubana under the leadership of Guillermo Rubalcaba, one of the last groups devoted primarily to danzón. On Estrellas de Areito, he delivers some inspired solos, demonstrating his perfect mastery and roguish skill in the construction of riffs full of swing, approaching the resonance of the brass section.
Pedro Despestre (violin) - was born in Santiago de Cuba. He played in numerous danzón groups before directing his own charanga. At the time of the Estrellas de Areito recording he was a member of the ICRT Orchestra. In his solos he alternated long fluid phrasing with jumpier, syncopated improvisations. Pedro played on Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer, Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo and also the debut recording of Cachaíto López, Cachaíto. He died in 2001.
Rafael Lay (violin) - was born in Cienfuegos in 1927. He joined the Orquesta Aragón in 1940. In 1948, aged only 21, he replaced Orestes Aragón as director of the band and become a prolific arranger and composer. He later directed the Orquesta Popular de Conciertos, bringing together musicians from various dance groups to play the classical repertoire. He played with a warm and slightly husky tone, his elegant solos both light and incisive. He died in 1982.
Elio Valdés (violin) - began his career in the large Radiofonica group created by flutist Antonio Arcaño in 1944, playing danzón and mambo. In the 1950s he joined the band fronted by flutist Jose Fajardo under whose direction he and Tata Güines played at the Waldorf Astoria in New York in 1958. From the 1960s he played second violin in the charanga led by Enrique Jorrín, who he had first met in Radiofonica.
Angel Barbazán (violin) - has been a member of Barbarito Diez, Arcaño and Antonio María Romeus orchestras and is now a member of the Orquesta de la Radio y la Televisión.
Pedro Hernández (violin) - has directed various charanga bands. For many years he was part of the Orquesta Antonio María Romeu, then Barbarito Diez orchestra and Orquesta de Radio y Televisión. He studied composition and violin at the Conservatorio Municipal.
Félix Reina (violin) - directs Orquesta Estrellas Cubanas. He studied in Trinidad, his place of birth, and then in Havana. He has played in Antonio Arcanos group and Orquesta America and has composed some famous danzones and cha cha chas.
Niño Rivera (tres) - was born in Pinar del Río in 1919. At the age of 5 he was playing bongos in his uncles septet and by 11 he was playing timpani in a charanga. He taught himself the tres and in 1935 moved to Havana where he joined the Sexteto Bolero. In the 1950s he wrote arangements for the Conjunto Casino, Arcano y sus Maravillas and the Orqeuesta Riverside. He played on the famous descargas with Cachao in 1957, then another session as Niño Rivera y sus Cuban All-Stars. Later, he devoted himself primarily to son, fronting his own conjunto. The last record to be released before his death has him playing alongside Miguelito Cuní, Jorge Varona, Manuel Guajiro Mirabal and Rubén González. One of the most original figures of Cuban music, his solos on Estrellas de Areito display a highly original resonance and diversity of his rhythmic figures and the richness of his chords.
Israel Pérez (cuatro) - is based in Havana. He directs a country music group called the Conjunto Palma y Caña. His guitar is simply a tres with an extra double bass string added.
Rubén González (piano) - was born in Santa Clara in 1918. A graduate of the Cienfuegos Conservatory at the age of 15, he rejected a career as a classical concert pianist to play popular music, particularly son. In 1941 he moved to Havana and played with the best bands in the capital, including the group led by singer Paulina Alvarez, the Empress of the Danzonete and with musicians such as percussionist Mongo Santamaría and singer Raúl Planas. He made his first recordings in 1943 with the famous conjunto of Arsenio Rodríguez. He stayed with the band for four years then left for Panama, where he formed Las Estrellas Negras. He travelled around Latin America, staying in Buenos Aires for a year to learn the tango. Back in Havana, he played in the legendary Tropicana Cabaret in a group led by guitarist Senen Suarez, then with Orquesta America and Enrique Jorrín. From 1957 to 1961 he worked in Caracas before returning to Cuba to play in the Orquesta Riverside. He then joined Jorríns group, briefly becoming band leader after the death of its founder. His solos are both logical and surprising in their imaginativeness, frequently slipping in references to classical music and danzón themes. Most at ease playing brilliant son improvisations, on Estrellas de Areito he also shows his talent on a wide variety of rhythmic figures in the guaguanco style.
Rubén is best known as the pianist from the Buena Vista Social Club, he has also released two of his own albums Introducing..., Chanchullo, played on both Afro Cuban All Stars recordings, the Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo recordings. He has also toured extensively with these musicians until his untimely death in 2003.
Jesús Rubalcaba (piano) - was born into a famous family of musicians originally from the province of Pinar del Río. His grandfather Jacobo was a famous composer and danzón band leader. His father Guillermo directed the Charanga Típica Cubana. His brother Gonzalo, also a pianist, is one of the greatest stars of Cuban jazz. In 1976 Jesús became a founder member of the group Algo Nuevo, created by trombonist Juan Pablo Torres. When Torres left Cuba, Jesús took over the band. His improvisations on son are fiery and highly percussive and his piano solo on the danzón Fefita is one of the highlights of the Estrellas sessions.
Fabián García (bass) - introduced electric bass to Orquesta Enrique Jorrín. He toured and recorded with Jorrín and with several other bands.
Filiberto Sánchez (timbales) - plays timpani on the Areito sessions but is also a drummer. He worked for numerous years in the Benny Moré band and currently plays in the ICRT Orchestra.
Amadito Valdés (timbales) - was born in Havana in 1946 where he took lessons at the García Carurla Conservatory and studied with percussionist Walfredo de los Reyes. Since 1971 he has played in the group which accompanies Las DAida and had also worked with numerous directors on classical, jazz and cinema projects. His recording work includes sessions for trombonist Juan Pablo Torres and the jazz pianist Emiliano Salvador (with Pablo Milanese, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito DRivera). He played on Introducing... Rubén González, Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer, Afro Cuban All Stars Distinto, diferente, Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo and Cachaíto Lópezs debut.
Tata Güines (congas) - was born in Güines in Havana in 1930. By the age of nine he was playing bongos and then double bass in local groups. He graduated to the tumbadora (conga) and went to Havana in 1946 sometimes playing as a stand-in with the singer Guillermo Portabales and in Bebo Valdés and Arsenio Rodríguezs bands. In 1952 he joined the band fronted by flutist José Fajardo. He made his first recording on the Panart descargas under the direction of Cachao and Niño Rivera. He left for New York for two years but returned to Cuba after the Castro revolution when he helped form the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna. He also formed Los Amigos with his friends pianist Frank Emilio Flyn and percussionists Guillermo Barret and Gustavo Tamayo, playing descargas, but marrying the influences of danzón, cha cha cha and jazz. During the 1990s he toured widely with pianist Alfredo Rodríguez. His most recent recordings include Pasaporte with Miguel Angá Díaz and Aniversario with his own traditional rumba group. Acclaimed as the best tumbadora players in Cuba for 40 years, he is at ease with a wide range of styles including son, guaguanco, descargas and Latin jazz.
Guillermo García (congas and percussion) - plays congas and percussion with Orquesta Aragón.
Ricardo León (bongos) - is a player who has performed with some of the very best Cuban groups including Hermanos Castro, Conjunto Caney, Orquesta Enrique Jorrín and Orquesta de la Radio y la Televisón Cubana.
Gustavo Tamayo (güiro) - played with Orquesta de Antonia María Romeu, Arcaño y sus Maravillas and Los Amigos de Frank Emilio.