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TimbaTimba is the Cuban variant of salsa music, and is often understood to be a sub-category of salsa. However, the historical development of timba has been quite independent of the development of salsa in the United States and Puerto Rico and the music has its own trademark aspects. History Though as in salsa the roots of timba go back to the son montuno, it has incorporated several different styles and genres, including classical music, nueva trova, latin jazz, disco, funk and hip hop. The main precursors of timba are three bands: Los Van Van, Irakere (both in the 1970s) and NG La Banda (1980s), though many other bands (eg. Son 14, Original de Manzanillo, Orquesta Rev) were influential in setting new standards. Los Van Van developed what came to be known as the songo genre, making countless innovations to traditional son, both in style and orchestration. In latin music, genres are commonly attributed to rhythms (though of course not every rhythm is a genre), and whether or not timba is a genre of its own is debatable. Songo, however, can be considered to be a genre and is in all likelihood the only genre in the world played by only one orchestra, Los Van Van. The songo rhythm was created by percussionist Jos Lus Quintana ("Changuito), at the behest of Van Van bandleader Juan Formell. Since the bands creation in 1969, Los Van Van has been the most popular band in Cuba, and are themselves considered to be one of the major timba bands. Irakere is known largely as a Latin Jazz band outside Cuba, yet much of their music can be considered to be popular dance music. Like Los Van Van, Irakere experimented with many different styles, mixing Afro-Cuban rhythms with son and jazz. While bandleader Chucho Valds is revered as one of the great jazz musicians of Cuba, both jazz and timba prodigies came out of the orchestra, including flutist Jos Luis Corts ("El Tosco), who assembled a group of highly talented musicians to form NG La Banda in the mid-80s. NG experimented with different styles, including latin jazz, for several years, before recording what is considered to be the first timba album, "En La Calle", in 1989. Though NG La Banda had huge successes in the early 1990s, and is credited with being the first timba band, the bands fortunes have been mixed, partly because they remain highly experimental. What came to be known as the "timba explosion started not with NG La Banda, but with the debut album of La Charanga Habanera, "Me Sube La Fiebre, in 1992. This album included all the elements of what is now known as timba, and the band dominated the scene until their break-up in 1998. Since then a large number of bands have sprung up in Cuba and internationally, many of the best known being headed or staffed by former members of the above-mentioned bands. Some important figures and bands include: Pachito Alonso, Azcar Negra, Bamboleo, La Charanga Habanera, Charanga Forever, Los Dan Den, Isaac Delgado, Tirso Duarte, Klimax, Manoln "El Mdico", Manolito y su Trabuco, NG La Banda, Paulo FG, Cesar "Pupy Pedroso, Los Van Van. Stylistic aspects Though quite similar to salsa on the surface of things, timba has certain qualities of its own which distinguish it from salsa, similar to the way American R&B is distinguished from soul. In general, timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of salsa, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Important to note is that very little "traditional" salsa existed (or exists) in Cuba, the most influential foreign 'salsero' being Venezuelan Oscar d'Len, who is one of the few salsa artists to have performed in Cuba. Timba musicians thus rightly claim a different musical heritage from salsa musicians. At its most basic, timba is more flexible and innovative than salsa, and includes a more diverse range of styles, all of which could be defined as timba. The limits of what is timba and what is not are in fact quite fluid, as many consider timba to be any kind of popular Cuban dance music, with the exception Afro-Cuban rumba and reggaeton, the Cuban variant of Jamaican ragga/dancehall. Important to note is that timba incorporates many elements of Afro-Cuban culture and music. This includes rhythmic elements of Afro-Cuban music (on all instruments), expressions or parts of lyrics in Lucum (Cuban Yorb, used almost exclusively in a religious context) and references to Afro-Cuban religion, the imperative for improvisation and interaction with audiences during concerts, story-telling in the lyrics, the quoting of melodies or lyrics from other sources (similar to electronic or digital sampling in modern music), the frequent inclusion of "rap", and sustained sections of gua-coro (call and response) interaction in songs. Contrary to (early) salsa, timba makes no claim to social or political messages, partly because of the political circumstances in Cuba. More specifically, timba differs from salsa in orchestration and arrangement. Many timba artists readily concede that they have been more influenced by funk or soul than by salsa. Thus, bands like La Charanga Habanera or Bamboleo often have horns or other instruments playing short parts of tunes by Earth, Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang or other US funk bands. In terms of instrumentation, the most important innovation has been the permanent incorporation of a kick drum and a synthesiser. Many timba bands have otherwise kept the traditional charanga ensemble of the 1940s, which includes bass, conga, cowbell, clave, piano, violins, flute and in timba an expanded horn section that (in addition to the charanga trumpet and salsa trombones) may include saxophones. However, many innovations were made in the style of playing and the arrangements, especially on the bass (with elements of funk and R&B), the piano (with elements of classical music such as Bach), the horns (fugues or other complex arrangements), and the use of the clave. Also different from salsa is the frequent shift from major to minor keys (and vice versa), the highly complex rhythmic arrangements (often based on santera or abaku rhythms), the shifts in speed and the large number of orchestrated breaks, or "bloques". The status of timba Though timba is considered to be a form of popular music, the technical mastery of timba is only possibly through highly trained musicians, who have solid backgrounds in classical music and jazz, as well as traditional Cuban music. This is made possible through the high standards of government-run music schools in Cuba, as well as the strong competition between musicians. Government policy favours artistic excellence and Cuban music is regarded as a source of revenue and a legitimate way to attract tourism. Nevertheless, many Cuban musicians seek to work abroad, and a significant number of musicians now work in exile, both in the United States and in Europe (and to a lesser extent in Latin America). While timba has gone past its peak in recent years, all major groups are still actively recording and performing, and major labels — especially in Europe — have started taking an interest in timba. Though timba is not overly popular in the world-wide salsa scene (many dancers considering it to be difficult to dance), it has found a niche among a growing number of fans and has been influential amongst Cuban-American and European salsa musicians. References - Aln Rodriguez, O. (1998) From Afrocuban music to Salsa, Piranha Records, Berlin
- Delgado, A. (1999) "The Death of Salsa" in http://www.descarga.com
- Duany, J. (1996) "Rethinking the Popular: Recent Essays on Caribbean Music and Identity" in Latin American Music Review, vol. 17(2):176-192
- Ferguson, R. J. (2003) "The Transnational Politics of Cuban Music and Cuban Culture in The Culture Mandala, vol. 6(1)
- Moore, R. (2002) "Salsa and Socialism: Dance Music in Cuba, 1959-99" in Waxer, L. (ed.) Situatin Salsa: Global Markets & Local Meaning in Latin Popular Music, Routledge, London
- Pacini Hernandez, D. (1998) "Dancing with the Enemy: Cuban Popular Music, Race, Authenticity, and the World-Music Landscape" in Latin American Perspectives, vol. 25(3): 110-125
- Roy, M. (2000) "La musique populaire cubaine depuis la rvolution" in Borras, G. (ed.) Musiques et socits en Amrique Latine, Presses universitaires de Rennes, pp. 167-183
- Silverman, C. (1999) Timba New Styles in Afro-Cuban popular music in http://www.chucksilverman.com/timbapaper.html
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