Just as American jazz musicians of the ’50s headed off to jam sessions following their last sets at clubs, Cuban musicians did the same in Havana. Between 1956 and 1964, musicians who dressed in guarachera shirts to play for tourists in hotels slipped into button-down shirts and slacks after at 3 a.m. and headed off to the studios of Ramón Sabat’s Panart Records. There, a dozen or so guests who weren’t due to play stood along the studio’s parameter enjoying the music. Musicians and guests were fueled by rum and cola, resulting in a party atmosphere. The results were five albums entitled Cuban Jam Session Vol. 1-5.
Vol. 1 was recorded in 1956 and was led by pianists Julio Gutiérrez and Pedro Justiz. Vol. 2 was recorded in 1957 and was led by the same…
…musicians as Vol. 1. Vol. 3 was recorded in 1962 in Havana, despite Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. It was led by be-bop influenced tres player Niño Rivera. Vol. 4 was recorded in 1957 and was led by bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez. And Vol. 5, led by flutist Jose Fajardo, was recorded in New York in 1964. By then, Sabat presumably had fled Cuba.
Now, Craft Recordings has released the Complete Cuban Jam Sessions in a five-CD or five-LP box set. The music on these discs provide insight into the development of Latin jazz by Cuban musicians before, during and away from the Castro regime. As you’ll hear, the music has strong, rich rhythms but there’s a quaint lyricism as well. It’s also not as explosively mambo-centric as American Cuban music of the period, emphasizing instead individual soloists and the more subtle and nuanced traditional, countryside forms.
To quote from the liner notes: “The Cuban Jam Sessions collectively feature a line-up that to today’s aficionados of Cuban music and Latin jazz could seem simply unbelievable, including not only many of the most forward-thinking Cuban musicians of the era but many of the greatest of all time.” — AllAboutJazz
Personnel:
Discs One and Two: Julio Gutiérrez: piano; Pedro “Peruchín” Jústiz: piano; Alejandro “El Negro” Vivar: trumpet; Edilberto Scrich: alto saxophone; Osvaldo “Mosquifin” Urrutia: baritone saxophone; Emilio Peñalver: tenor saxophone; José “Chombo” Silva: tenor saxophone; Juan Pablo Miranda: flute; Salvador Vivar: contrabass; Jesus “Chucho” Esquijarroa: timbales; Oscar Valdés: bongo; Marcelino Valdés: tumbadora; Walfredo de los Reyes: drums; plus other unknown guitarist
Disc Three: Niño Rivera: tres; Orestes López: piano; Alejandro “El Negro” Vivar: trumpet; Emilio Peñalver: tenor saxophone; Richard Egües: flute; Salvador Vivar: contrabass; Guillermo Barreto: timbales; Rogelio “Yeyo” Iglesias: bongos; Tata Güines: tumbadora; Gustavo Tamayo: güiro
Disc Four: Israel “Cachao” Lopez: contrabass; Alejandro “El Negro” Vivar: trumpet; Guillermo Barreto: drums; Rogelio “Yeyo” Iglesias: bongos; Tata Güines: tumbadora; Gustavo Tamayo: güiro; Additional musicians: Generoso “Toto” Jiménez: trombone (1, 2); Gustavo Tamayo: güiro; Emilio Peñalver: tenor saxophone (4); Virgilio Lisama: baritone saxophone (4); Emilio Peñalver: tenor saxophone; Niño Rivera: tres (5); Orestes López: piano (6); Richard Egües: flute (5)
Disc Five: José Fajardo: flute; Walfredo de los Reyes: drums; Israel “Cachao” López: contrabass; with unknown Cuban musicians during Cuban session; Salvador Vivar: contrabass; Julio Gutiérrez: piano; Marcelino Valdés: congas; Chihuahua: guiro; plus other unknown musicians: various instruments