Homenaje a Tata Güines part 1/2

THE CUBAN MASTERS ENSEMBLE Presents Del Pasado Al Presente / The Past Meets the Present cd available at cdbaby.com Members of the The Cuban Masters Ensemble feature the song, "A Comer Con Manteca: Homenaje a Tata Güines" at the Fiesta de Tambor celebration held every year in Cuba. The Cuban Masters Ensemble brings together some of Cubas finest musicians and singers, drawn from many different musical fields and performing eleven new original tunes written by Aaron Singer in collaboration with Orlando Pérez Montero (Orquesta Aragón), Jormán Almagro (Pachito Alonso), Ernesto El Gato Gatell (Rumberos de Cuba) , Bobby Carcassés, Rafael Lay Jr., and Emilio Morales .The featured singers include Lázaro Galarraga ,Ernesto Bacallao ,Tamayo, Sixto Llorente (El Indio) ,Pedro Lugo Martínez (El Nene), Ariel Monterecy ,Lisset Caro Farquenson and the abovementioned El Gato. All of the tunes recorded here reflect a wide variety of Cubas rich and varied musical styles . There is a danzón dedicated to Ochún ,the Afro-Cuban goddess of love and sensuality, performed by current members of Orquesta Aragón (under the direction of Rafael Lay Jr.) and sung by the great Cuban master Lázaro Galarraga. A Comer Con Manteca is a rumba written in memory of Tata Güines, the late great and irreplaceable percussionist . In order to pay proper tribute to Tata ,the rumba was recorded live and performed by Muñequitos de Matanzas legendary percussionists _Jesús Alfonso (who recently passed away) and Freddie Alfonso, in addition to Changuito and Maximino Duquesne Martínez (from Los Rumberos de Cuba),and rumba singer Ariel Monterecy . The rumba also includes solos from pianist Jormán Almagro and tresero Pancho Amat . There are two Latin Jazz tunes on the CD as well: Mojito Blues is arranged in 6/8 by Bobby Carcassés (who also provides the flugelhorn solo), while See Seven Sabor features exhilerating solos by violinist Dagoberto González Siboré (Orquesta Aragón ) and pianist Emilio Morales . In addition , there is a bonus track, Son a Celia, written by Blas Muñoz and dedicated to the memory of Celia Cruz (referred to as the Queen of Salsa). It is performed here by La Caro Band, a well-known salsa group in Cuba. Much of this CD was recorded live, without any time restrictions placed upon the soloists, thus granting them total freedom to express their musical ideas. For such reason, the music is destined to live forever, as it captures the spontaneity and creativity of these Cuban masters. I hope that you enjoy it. Aaron Singer