drumming | BLACK GROOVES

Title: Mabagwe: A Tribute to “Los Mayores”

Artist: Los Rumberos De La Bahia

Formats: CD, Digital

Release date: November 10, 2017

Mabagwe is a collaborative album between Cuban native José Luis Gómez (vocalist), Michael Spiro (percussionist and associate professor at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music), and Jesus Díaz (producer, percussionist, vocalist)—performing as Los Rumberos De La Bahia. Featuring high-spirited songs in the rumba tradition, the album displays superb performances by many featured musicians—Rogelio Ernesto Gatell Coto (vocalist), Ivan Camblor (tres guitar), Colin Douglas (percussion), Jesus Gonzalez (quinto), Jason McGuire (acoustic guitar), Beatriz Godinez Muñiz (vocalist), Fito Reinoso (vocalist), Genesie Reinoso (vocals), and Randel Villalongo (quinto)—and highlights the socio-cultural aspect of the Cuban music-making process.

As the title indicates, Mabagwe (“Remembrance” in Yoruba) honors the legacies and memories of legendary Cuban rumberos and culture bearers of Cuban folkloric music—Regino Jimenez Saez (“Omi Saide”), Esteband Vega Bacallao (“Cha-Cha”), Gregorio Hernández, Juan de Dios Ramos, Francisco Hernández Mora, Gregorio Díaz, Jesus Alfonso, Julito Collazo, Francisco Aguabella, and Pedro Aballí.

The album opens with “Siempre Viviran,” an arrangement dedicated to the legacy of the group’s mentors, featuring call-and-response dialogues coupled with toque to the orisha spirit Olokun, guaguancó rhythms, and the bata toque for the Egun (spirits of departed ancestors). Later on, “Potpourri De Boleros” treats the listener to a beautiful medley of popular boleros—“Sabor a Mi,” “Muchas Veces,” and “Y Tu Que Has Hecho”—supported by a light and sophisticated rumba.

Publicist Ron Kadish writes, “Rumba can be played anywhere—at the kitchen table, on some buckets in the patio, on a desktop—whenever and wherever rumberos decide to start playing clave and sing about what’s going on their lives.” Mabagwe is most definitely an encapsulation of this rumba tradition, capturing an image of the San Francisco community of rumberos—Cubans and Americans—as they channel the spirits of “Los Mayores,” or elder Cuban rumberos.

Reviewed by Jamaal Baptiste

Title: Loé Loá: Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree

Artist: Betsayda Machado & La Parranda El Clavo

Label: Odelia

Formats: CD, MP3

Release date: September 14, 2017

Known as “the Black voice of Barlovento,” Venezuelan vocalist Betsayda Machado and her fellow musicians hail from descendants of rebel slaves who lived in clandestine villages deep in the Barlovento region of Venezuela. One of the most culturally distinctive traditions that has endured in these villages is Afro-Latin drumming, or tambor venezolano, expressed through the local genre parranda. This percussion heavy music, often performed by as many as one hundred musicians at village celebrations and funerals, has many different branches. Machado and her village band, La Parranda El Clavo, prefer to focus on the “trunk,” which she defines as the drums and vocals that form the heart of their tradition: “We are purists; we don’t worry about adding lots of melodic instruments. We defend the old ways and make our own drums.”

Though Machado has performed on world music stages in North America and with bands in Caracas, it wasn’t until recent years that efforts were made to capture her music in situ with La Parranda El Clavo. Thanks to the efforts of producer Juan Souki and Jose Luis Pardo (aka Los Amigos Invisibles’ DJ Afro), field recordings made in the village by Latin Grammy-winner Dario Penaloza were transformed into the groups’ debut album, Loé Loá: Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree.

Featuring a 16 member chorus and 12 member percussion ensemble, all of the tracks on the album vibrate with the spirit of El Clavo. In particular, “Oh Santa Rosa” and “Merengada E’ Ron” perhaps best exemplify the virtuosity of the drumming, along with “No La Peles, Papá” and “La Situación” which also address current hardships and food shortages in Venezuela. The band also advocates against gun violence through the poignant song “Sentimiento,” written following the death of two of their friends:

Loé Loá presents an intimate portrait of a centuries old musical tradition that connects a small village in Venezuela with its African roots.

Editor’s note: Betsayda Machado is touring the U.S. this fall, including performances on September 16-17 at the World Music Festival Chicago and Sept. 30 at the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival in Bloomington, IN.

Reviewed by Brenda Nelson-Strauss

Tag Archives: drumming

Los Rumberos De La Bahia – Mabagwe: A Tribute to “Los Mayores”

Betsayda Machado & La Parranda El Clavo – Loé Loá: Rural Recordings Under the Mango Tree