Metro Pulse/Music/¡Cubanismo!

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Who:
¡Cubanismo! with Mark Boling, Rusty Holloway and Keith Brown and the Hector Qirko Band

When:
Thurs., Oct. 19 at 5 p.m.

Where:
Market Square

Ticket Info:
Part of the Sundown in the City concert series. FREE

Cuban beats shift to the forefront of popular culture and American traditions

by John Sewell

Multiculturalism is nothing new in the world of music, especially since the dawn of the mass-communications age. Ever since the first radios began sending signals across borders, musicians worldwide began looking to other cultures for inspiration and ideas. ¡Cubanismo!, an all-star band of Cuban musicians led by trumpeter Jesus Alemañy, is the very embodiment of musical cross pollination. Formed in 1995, the large band has met with resounding success in its worldwide travels. Relentless global excursions and the entrance and exit of various members along the way has created an evolution of sound that mixes traditional Cuban elements with a cornucopia of jazz, dance and New Orleans musical styles.

The band's sonic intermingling takes its most pronounced form on the recent release, ¡Cubanismo! In New Orleans (Hannibal Records). For the album, the band prepared a selection of New Orleans standards, reinterpreting them with a Cuban flavor. Essentially, the result is a hybridized form of a hybrid music—as New Orleans music already represents a mix of Cajun, blues and African rhythms.

Oddly enough, the band has found the bulk of its success both in the States and abroad with the largely white jazz audience. "We haven't been heard by the Latin community as much as you might think because of the lack of information about the band," says Alemañy. "That is because since this band started, we have basically been in demand from a more European and Anglo-Saxon community. We seem to go over more with foreign people instead of the Latin audience. So we've been concentrating on these areas where there is more interest.

"On this last record, In New Orleans, we kind of approached the Anglo-Saxon community even closer by doing standards and songs with English lyrics—all with the Cuban flavor as an important element. There are a lot of different rhythms and different elements that come into the history of Cuban music. We have the element of the modernismo—the way we feel today based on the experience that we have playing with different musicians and different audiences.

"If you listen to music from our part of the world, it would give you an idea about some of the things we do. In general, we present the full history of Cuban music and also give the audience the possibility to dance."

And we're not talking disco dancing here, either. No matter where the influence may be coming from, ¡Cubanismo!'s music ends up sounding Latin. And you'll rarely find a more accomplished group of top-tier musicians in one combo, no matter the style. ¡Cubanismo!'s chops are impeccable.

The band has been amid a whirl of activity since its inception, and the pace continues to escalate. Such a demanding schedule is not without its drawbacks. The intermittent travel has caused the expected stress within the ranks, resulting in an ever-changing lineup.

"Obviously, sometimes there are people in the family of this band: collaborators that have played with this band since the beginning that have gone on to play with other musicians or establishing their own bands," says Alemañy. "I mean, all of this has been a part of this touring and meeting people.

"We've traveled so much, I'm not even so sure any more how many dates we end up doing. This has been going on steadily since 1996. We have a ton of commitments in the U.S. and in Europe. And also, we've just started going to the Middle East and to places like Turkey, Hong Kong and Taiwan. For the next year, we're planning to go to Australia and maybe other Asian countries."

Sure, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera may have just the slightest Latin influence in their dance/pop hits, but ¡Cubanismo! is the real deal. The music is most similar to salsa, conjuring up mental images of hot Havana nights, rum and romance. Alemañy feels that mainstream success is in the cards for the band because of the increasing interest in the Latin sound. The time is right for real Latin music to cross over into the mainstream, and he predicts that the band can make it without dumbing down for the pop marketplace.

"That [mainstream success] is something that is on its way. It's one of the things that is happening with so many artists. You never know what music is going to be the next fashion, so we have an open mind. We work in every direction. And, obviously, we plan on feeding from music and ideas from all places. There is no barrier—nothing that can stop the ideas that we can have in our music in terms of writing and composing."