CUBAN ROOTS & JAZZ
Changüí, timba, guarachas, son cubano, rumba, and mambo.
Origins: 19th century to mid-20th century.
BOOKS
- The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States by John Storm Roberts, 1979. ︎
- Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives ed. by Peter Manuel, 1991.
- Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940 by Robin D. Moore, 1997. ︎
- Latin Jazz: The First of the Fusions, 1880s to Today by John Storm Roberts, 1999.
- Cuban Fire: The Story of Salsa and Latin Jazz by Isabelle Leymarie, 1999.
- Music from Cuba: Mongo Santamaria, Chocolate Armenteros, and Other Stateside Cuban Musicians by Charles D. Gerard, 2001.
- Cubano Be, Cubano Bop: One Hundred Years of Jazz in Cuba by Leonardo Acosta, 2003.
- Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo by Ned Sublette, 2004.
- Timba: The Sound Of The Cuban Crisis by Vincenzo Perna, 2005.
- Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub by Rosa Lowinger, Ofelia Fox, 2005. ︎
- From Afro-Cuban Rhythms to Latin Jazz (Music of the African Diaspora) by Raul A. Fernandez, 2006.
- Afro-Cuban Traditional Music and Transculturation by Nolan Warden, 2007.
- Origins of Cuban Music and Dance: Changüí by Benjamin Lapidus, 2008.
- The Clave Matrix: Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins by David Penalosa, 2009. ︎
- Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba by Umi Vaughan, 2012.
- The Artistry of Afro-Cuban Batá Drumming: Aesthetics, Transmission, Bonding, and Creativity by Kenneth Schweitzer, 2013.
- Danzón: Circum-Caribbean Dialogues in Music and Dance by Alejandro L. Madrid and Robin D. Moore, 2013.
- Roots in Reverse: Senegalese Afro-Cuban Music and Tropical Cosmopolitanism by Richard M Shain, 2018.
- Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz: The Music of Chucho Valdes by Chucho Valdes and Rebeca Mauleon, 2019.
ARTICLES
- “Music of Cuba” (Notes on recordings by John Santos) by Smithsonian Folkways, 1985. ︎
- “Timba burns in Cuba" by Howell Llewellyn, Billboard, January 1999.
- “Rumba, the Heartbeat of Cuban Music” by Jon Pareles, NYTimes, June 2000.
- “The Changüí Genre of Guantánamo, Cuba” by Benjamin Lapidus, Ethnomusicology, Vol. 49, No. 1, 2005.
- “Mongo Santamaria (1917-2003)” by Amber Eaton, Blackpast, April 2009.
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“In New Afro-Cuban Music, Ancient Tradition Meets Future Shock” by John Murph, NPR, September 2013.
- “A Brief History of the Rumba” by Sasha Ingber, Smithsonian Mag, November 2016.
- “Daptone Records Bets On Mambo For Its Own Latin Crossover” by Jessica Lipsky, Billboard, March 2018.
- “Discovering Cuba, an Island of Music” by Shannon Sims, New York Times, September 2019.
- Curator’s Note: This headline is terrible; the use of “discovery” reeks of colonialism. The article is only included here for now because it provides a good overview for those unfamiliar with Cuba’s music styles.
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“The Legacy of Changüí, the Signature Sound of Guantánamo, Cuba” by Raphael Helfand, Bandcamp Daily, August 2021.
FILM & SERIES
- Buena Vista Social Club, dir. Wim Wenders, 1999. 1h 45m.
- A Tuba to Cuba, dir. T.G. Herrington, Danny Clinch, 2019. Available on Netflix.
PODCASTS & RADIO
- “Santiago de Cuba and Son Music” on BBC Radio 3’s World Routes, March 2008. 1hr.
- “Changüí and Decimas Music” on BBC Radio 3’s World Routes, March 2008. 1hr.
- “Matanzas, birthplace of rumba and danzon” on BBC Radio 3’s World Routes, March 2008. 1hr.
- “Latin Roots: Cuban Rumba” by NPR, 2012. 6 minutes.
- “Latin Roots: Timba, Cuba's Funky Dance Music” by NPR, 2013. 14 mins.
- “Ancient Text Messages: Batá Drums in a Changing World” by Afropop Worldwide, August 2020. 1h.
- “Changüí!” by Afropop Worldwide, September 2021. 59m.
- “The Cameroon-Cuba Connection” by Afropop Worldwide, August 2021. 59m.
- “Cimafunk's 'El Alimento' blends Afro-Cuban rhythms with classic American funk” by Ari Shapiro, Noah Caldwell and Mallory Yu, NPR All Things Considered, October 2021. 7m.