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Rock 'n' Rumba--Concert Preview and CD Review
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Pasadena Weekly, Rock 'n' Rumba--Concert Preview and CD Review >>
Cuban grooves link Congolese ensemble Kékélé and Ska Cubano, both in concert this weekend at California Plaza
By Bliss
Just like the blues, rumba’s roots are long and twisted. African slaves — an enormous number of whom were illicitly shuttled from the Congo to Cuba late into the 19th century — transplanted their culture to Cuba’s fertile ground, including their infectious musical rhythms, dances and percussive instruments. The ties binding Cuban and Congolese rumba will be illuminated by two very different but rhythmically connected bands on the Grand Performances stage this weekend: Kékélé (on Friday) and Ska Cubano (on Saturday).
By the 1930s, Cuba had co-opted rumba as its own, and was sending it back across the Atlantic to Africa on recordings spun by radio DJs. Silky melodies and responsive harmonies put a fresh twist on the underlying rumba rhythms that were immediately recognizable to music lovers in the Congo. Musicians embraced the new sounds as bands began transposing their own Lingala dialect onto the Spanish lyrics and incorporating diverse African and Caribbean rhythms into the mix.
Rumba started sailing back to Cuba with a sweeter lilt. The hybridization of Afro-Cubano music had begun. By the 1950s and ’60s, when American R&B and soul was also pulsing out of club stereo speakers in Congolese cities like Kinshasa, myriad orchestras throughout Africa were entertaining dancers with individually styled versions of rumba as well as a rowdier offshoot — soukous.
Meanwhile, back in the Caribbean, Cuban rumba and Jamaican ska were spawning salsa and reggae, respectively.
Rather than isolate individual branches of rumba, Congolese ensemble Kékélé celebrates all of rumba’s gloriously tangled African and Cuban roots. Comprised of veteran players like guitarist Papa Noel and singers Bumba Massa and Loko Massengo — all of whom have been riffing on rumba rhythms since the 1960s and ’70s — the group followed their 2000 debut “Rumba Congo” and 2003’s “Congo Life” with this year’s “Kinavana,” a breezy and often beautiful salute to Cuban singer and guitarist Guillermo Portabales. Kékélé lay their own, community-conscious lyrics over Portabales’ laid-back guajira melodies, which were popular in Cuba and South America throughout the mid-20th century.
In youthful contrast, the 11-piece ensemble Ska Cubano — fronted by stylish UK Top Cats ska singer Natty Bo and over-the-top Cuban vocalist Beny Billy — exudes an electric, look-at-me attitude on their delirious album “Ay Caramba!” that’s more aggressive than Kékélé’s elegantly suited approach. Where Kékélé gently pairs Cuban rumba and son with African folk, Ska Cubano marries Cuban son and mambo to Jamaican ska and throws down a flashy, brassy invitation to party at the wedding that’s damn hard to resist.
Kékélé in concert at 8 p.m. Friday; Ska Cubano in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday. Both are part of the free Grand Performances series at California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Call (213) 687-2159. 07/06/06 >> go there
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