'The Cuban' Aventura musical con un organillo (Musical adventures with a street organ)
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salsas & merengues
Los algodones (merengue; traditional) Je t'ai vu passer (bolero-cha; Lecuona-Dayra)* Mambo nr.5 (mambo; Prado) A la cumbia (cumbia; Cortes) Lo que paso con mama y papa (cumbia; traditional) Maria bonita (rumba-cha; Lara) Balle guaraguao (son; Rubiel) Bombon de Helena (plena-son; Cepeda) Reposta de segredo co mar (bolero; Leza) Amsterdam (danzon-cha; Barrera) Carbonera quema madera (son; Rubiel) Shade of pale (pop-ballad; Brooker-Reid) Anjo de crianca (samba; Morais) El barbuo (salsa; Palacio) Juanita Morel (merengue; traditional) Merengue sentimental (pambiche; Kwaasteniet) Merengue percusion (cascarengue; Kwaasteniet) Pambiche lento (pambiche; Kwaasteniet) Lonely one (bolero; Tizol) Felices dias (danza; Campos) |
Jaap de Kwaasteniet organ, marimbula, percussion, vocals
Jos Oey percussion, vocals
Jochen Hachgenei percussion
Wouter van Bemmel trumpet
Henk Koekkoek alto saxophone, sousaphone
Hein Offermans double bass
*Gert-Jan Blom musical saw: Sandvik, model Stradivarius
Liner notes by Jaap de Kwaasteniet. Strange noises at the end of some
tracks are actually the remaining air escaping from the organ's windchamber.
CHANNEL Crossings CCS 15098
[57:40] full-price
by Soo Kian Hing
The barrel organ reached Cuba from Europe through Haiti, and was originally
meant to play waltzes and polkas with its accordion-like sound. However,
indigenous music soon replaced the Western repertoire and the organ began
playing Carribean music. It was this irresistible rhythm that inspired Jaap
de Kwaasteniet to combine the barrel organ with a range of percussion
instruments to play music from the Carribean region, including mambo, son,
bolero, merengue, chacha, and rumba. In this disc, the trio plays several
arrangements in various dance rhythms (forms) and tempi, together with guest players
on other instruments to add variety and colour.
The opening number gives a taste of this Latin dance-music.
Beginning with fast syncopated chords on the barrel organ over a 'bom-pa,
bom-pa' bass, the trio gets us into the mood with Los algodones, a
short introduction to the exotic and infectious Cuban rhythm:
feel your feet tapping and head bopping to the merengue. The other merengue
in this recording, Juanita Morel, is an enjoyable reel with some
singing thrown in, giving it a 'live' feel, as if the band is playing right
next to the listener at a seaside Carribean cafe.
Gert-Jan Blom guest-plays with his musical saw in the piece Je t'ai vu
passer a slow love-song. A musical saw is just that - the metal tool
we see in carpentry, ironically adapted for playing music. And I assure you
that the sound from the saw is not the screeching that might be expected.
In fact, it is just as musical as any instrument, and carries with it a
certain vocal quality, not unlike a haunting soprano sans lyrics.
And haunt it does, imparting a mystical and ethereal beauty to this lovely
bolero.
Mambo No.5 should be familiar to many (including those from MTV-land) and this arrangement for organ
and percussion, while being innovative with the instruments, does not lose
the flavour of the mambo, combining fleet-footedness and accuracy of rhythm
with an improvisatory flair and sizzling steam. Wouter van Bemmel plays the
trumpet in Reposta de segredo co mar, a slow bolero in strict time,
supplying the second voice with short improvisatory bursts, not showy but
providing an excellent complement to the melody in the organ.
Baile guaraguao features Henk Koekkoek prominently on the sousaphone,
and he gives a bright and buoyant bassline, almost stealing the limelight
from the melody in the organ. He plays the melody excellently
in Felices dias with a rounded tone and confident poise. This
moderate dance rounds up the whole collection of various rhythms and dances,
each with its own feel and mood (even though some of them may fall under the
same category, like rumba-cha or son, the rhythm is always
slightly different).
Founded in the Netherlands in 1991 by Jaap de Kwaasteniet, the trio
Dansorgel de Cubaan comprises the three percussionists Jaap, Jos and Jochen
which forms the backbone behind this ensemble. Though none are of Carribean
descent, they are well-versed in the Cuban idiom, giving a convincing
perfomance that could just as easily have come from the streets of Cuba.
Hein Offermans provides a steady beat with his double bass througout the
pieces, an integral part of the ensemble.
Several of the pieces have vocal contributions: after all, Cuban
music is inseparable from her singers. As in the streets
and cafes, the singers sing "folk"-style, and enjoy
themselves peppering the pieces with spontaneity and a genuine feel for
the music. Similarly, much of the playing on this disc comes from true
enjoyment on the part of the musicians. After all, this music can't be
played with a straight face. And neither can the listeners resist swaying
along.
Shade of pale is an arrangement of the pop ballad for the organ
with minimal percussion; the piping organ,
however, lacks the dramatic sentiment that one would expect in a ballad.
The "pambiche" is a degeneration of the word 'palm beach', where tourists to
the Dominican Republic stay - they find the traditional merengue too fast,
hence the invention of this slower rhythm. Merengue sentimental
features Koekkoek on the alto saxophone, giving a rich tropical swing.
Amidst the smoke billowing from Havana cigars, Soo Kian Hing finds some adventurous Dutchman who play Cuban organ and tropical rhythms.
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641: 12.1.2000 ©SOO Kian Hing
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