|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Ebony, CD Review >>
Alex Cuba looks like a latter day Sly Stone, with a towering fro, skin-tight bell-bottoms and bushy sideburns that creep towards the sides of his mouth. But rather than just copping a fabulously retro fashion sense, Cuba also borrows from Stone’s genre-bending musical approach. A multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter who grew up in the Cuban countryside, he produces sophisticated Latin pop in the artic fringes of a Canadian logging and mining town. Drawing diverse influences from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and The Blind Boys of Alabama as well as from his rich heritage, Alex Cuba artfully represents the new face of Cuban contemporary music.
For people who still think Cuban music means the vigorous rumba of Los Munequitos de Matanzas or the big band son of Buena Vista Social Club, Alex Cuba has got something for you. His eloquent sophomore album, Agua Del Pozo (Caracol) pours out like a creamy tropical drink. There are no orchestras, no bombast, no raucous rhythms. Playing a vintage Gibson guitar and crooning through 13 tracks with a supple voice that caresses the Spanish lyrics, Cuba’s sound bridges tradition with new-school flair. He layers funk, jazz and pop over a foundation of Cuban elements that form a fresh take on Latin music.
As the son of noted Cuban guitarist and teacher, Valentin Puentes, Cuba received a rigorous music education while growing up in rural Artemisa, 45 miles south of Havana. By the time he was four, he was on national Cuban TV playing the claves with an orchestra of 24 guitars led by his father, who insisted on first approving any music he and his twin brother, Adonis heard.
It was under these exacting demands that Cuba formed his understanding of Cuban traditional music. He and his brother toured the island and became popular musicians, first with their father’s guitar ensemble and then with their own. Wielding authority that comes from an encyclopedic knowledge of Cuban music, Valentin advised Cuba to stick with playing and leave the singing to his robust-voiced brother. Cuban music traditionally uses large ensembles and orchestras that require singers to have huge, colorful voices that ring out over the sprawling sound. So Cuba kept his softly nuanced voice to himself and concentrated on playing jazz bass.
Perhaps the frosty British Columbia climate snapped Cuba into his real identity because once he moved there in 2000, everything about him changed. He walked into a thrift store and a pair of 70s era bell-bottoms just called to him. They were an exact fit. Realizing that even though he was born in 1974, a large chunk of his influences stem from a free flowing, soulful, 70s sound, Cuba connected his image to his music. He joined his twin, who had moved to Canada before him and formed the Puentes Brothers, finally singing as well as playing bass. They produced a critically acclaimed album of Cuban music, Morumba Cubano and then promptly disbanded. Adonis became a salsa singer and Cuba became what he really wanted--a singer-songwriter with Cuban influences.
His 2006 debut Humo de Tabasco (Globe Star), announced his arrival with a collection of understated tunes and expressive vocals. It even produced a UK top ten hit, (the first Spanish language song to ever accomplish this) “Lo Mismo Que Yo,” a catchy bolero with a guest spot by Canadian singer Ron Sexsmith. The album won Cuba a Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) for best world music album and the inspiration to delve further into how he thinks contemporary Cuban music should sound.
Agua Del Pozo does not initially sound like Cuban music. Filled with sunny lyrics that deal with love on some level and oozing with a relaxed vibe and delicate rhythms, the CD easily joins the polished Latin pop ranks of Columbia’s Juanes, Brazil’s Seu Jorge and Mexico’s Café Tacuba. On closer inspection, the essence of Cuba is all there, it just whispers instead of shouts. On “Y Que Bongo,” funk mixes with swirling Cuban horns to create a tune so full of flavor that even Cuba’s finicky father sings back-up on it. Most tellingly, in his album acknowledgments Cuba not only thanks his family, but Eleggua, his orisha or deity, in the Santeria religion practiced by most of Cuba. Indeed, underneath the CD notes, a photo of elekes, the brightly colored, bead necklaces worn by Santeria devotees, sparkles. Traditional Cuban music may not dictate Alex Cuba’s sound but the presence quietly remains.
- by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates 01/07/08 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
