El Hijo del Padre en la Casa de Nora : )

 

Elio Revé Jr y su Charangón
Changüí en la casa de Nora
2000

Tracks:

01. Changui En La Casa De Nora
02. Bueno, Bueno Y Que
03. Muevete Pa' Qui
04. Soy Reve
05. Iyabo
06. Pensamiento Absurdo
07. Al Principio
08. La Visita
09. El Trompo
10. La Duena De La Habana

Personnel:

Elio Revé Jr. - piano
Giovanni Cofiño - bass
Raúl Martínez - güiro
Carlos Rodríguez - timbales, batá, bongó del monte, quinto, campana
Humberto Sosa - congas
Fernando Revé - clave
Luis Ravelo - bongó
Eulises Benavides, Fidel Laniel, Orlando Montaner - trombones
Leonel González - tres
Dagoberto Vazquez, Rosendi Diaz, Abdel Rosalps and Pascual Matos Aguirren, Hector Vaentin, Felipe Valdes Flores - vocals

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The musical legacy of the father of changui, Elio Reve, lives on through his son Elio Reve Jr who, together with the legendary band of his father presents the rhythm of changui, both traditional and new. A big sound from a big band, Elio Reve Jr continues the tradition, leading the band that his father formed, the Orquesta Reve.

"The musical legacy of the father of Changüí, Elio Revé, lives on through his son Elio Revé Jr who, together with the legendary band, presents the rhythm of Changüí from a new and exciting angle."



Changüí, changüí, changüí, there are ten different changüí played here, all combining into a stylish, swinging presentation. Changüí en la Casa de Nora is a sizzling concept album brought into being by the people who most rightfully should be acknowledged. Created by Elio Revé, Jr., the son and heir to Elio Revé, Sr., the man who did most to bring the changüí from the province first into Havana, then into all of Cuba, and finally to the world. This is as authentic as it gets.

To think of changüí and where it came from, you must first think of the Eastern corner of island of Cuba. The Oriente’s most well-known province is Guantanamo, an area rich in musical culture, but unique because moving populations in the early 1800s brought many Bantu influences from the Congo and the Ivory Coast of Africa by way of nearby Haiti. At the turn of nineteenth century into the twentieth, the mountainous Oriente was a remote, rural area whose inhabitants had developed many traditions in music and dance. There and about then, the changüí settled into its recognizable form.

The changüí is a regional creation, a lively country music, with some Bantu rhythm influences. This is a pulsating earthy music, which sounds a little rough, but always seems spontaneous. The basic broad range of sound results from combining percussion from maracas, bongos, marinbola (a large wooden box with metal hoops which acts as a mixture of percussion and bass), and guiro (usually a metal can hit with a stick) all being driven by a tres (three stringed guitar) played aggressively. The lead singing I can only describe as acrobatic

The first song here “Changüí en la Casa de Nora” is how the changüí was traditionally played before Elio Revé, Sr. migrated to Havana in 1955. Nora was born in the same place as Revé, Sr. and maintains her home there where the jam sessions still take place. After hours of musicians playing and the country dance probably going all night until close to dawn, she is known to serve up her famous soup and seafood. The chorus, always sung rapidly in childish voices, says “Let’s go to Nora’s house to eat ajiaco”.

As a young man, Elio Revé, Sr. made his way to Havana and carried the changüí with him. He began experimenting, and began using trombones and piano to enhance the form, as heard here on the next track “Bueno, Bueno y Que”. He fused the changüí with son, which had made its way down from the Orientes a few decades earlier. In 1956, he formed the Orquesta Revé, which as well as becoming one of the most important Cuban bands has qualified as Cuba’s most important musical school, where many of the country’s top musicians began their careers. Revé, Sr. continued experimenting, adding the five-key timbale as well as the bata drum to the percussive mix, all of which earned his band the title of “Father of all Orchestras” and he became known as the “Father of Changüí”.

A few years back, the legendary and innovative musical director died in a road accident. His legacy lives on through his son, Elio Revé, Jr., who has since his first steps as a professional pianist has been a key element in his father’s band, Orquesta Revé, more commonly known as El Charagon.

Elio Revé, Jr. is musical director now and dedicates the record to his father, both as a tribute to his memory and a fulfillment of his wishes. Revé, Jr. has ladled up a wonderful serving of changüí. El Charagon is gifted with three different vocal soloists who genuinely soar and the chorus is a delight. “Soy Revé” is a solid dance tune, deserving of much play on Latin music stations. In “La Visita,” the singer bursts out with “toon, toon, toon” imitating the percussive sound of the clave to remind us the rhythm sticks are not found in the changüí. Whether you miss that particular rhythm spice or not, all the selections are pretty tasty.

For the best time, put this record on while you and your guests are preparing a friendly casual dinner at home. At over fifty minutes of play, it’s a pretty good serving, but there’s never enough changüí for a rhythm-hog.

Barbara Flaska

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El Changüí se dice así...

 

Orquesta Revé

El Ritmo Changüí
1994

 

Tracks:

 

 01. Yo soy el changüi
02. Yateras changüi
03. Changüi morena
04. Juaniquita
05. La betea changüi
06. Pulmeron
07. Mi ritmo changüi
08. Conel diablilo
09. Sama
10. Rigodon
11. Changüi esta en la calle
12. Los Reve del changüi lamas

 

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Elio Revé founder of Orquesta Revé and the one who re-invented changüi says:

“I play son-changüi: they call me the father of changüi – although changüi has been around far longer than I have. Changüi is a very old and traditional form… The son left the eastern provinces and, via Havana, went around the world; but changüi has just stayed at home until I took it to town and dressed it up.”

 

 Elio Revé Matos

 

***

 

Talking of Orquesta Revé, it’s talking of Changüi, a rhythm and a musical genre coming from the so musical Oriente of Cuba.
Changüi is Celebration, Party, Country Feast, an encounter where music and dances are celebrating happiness and friendship.
The guantanamera province is the birthplace of this genuine festive expression of country music.
It is possible to indicate very precisely its birthplace in the areas of Yateras, El Salvador, Manuel Tames and in the very famous guantanamero district of the Loma Del Chivo.
Some improvised groups were gathering spontaneously in these places to play the primitive forms of Changüi with rudimental instrumentation.
During the genesis of this musical form, that according to musicologist sources goes back to 1860, were combined Hispanic-European, African and also afro-French elements, maybe the most fertile ones, due to the Haitian presence in that region.
The original core of instruments used to play Changüi was composed of the Tres, the Guayo and the Bongo De Monte, different from the traditional Bongo.
Over the years other instruments were added such as the Botjia, the Marimbula and the Maracas but the Tres and Bongo continued being the main protagonists.
This is the constant dialogue between the Tres and the Bongo that makes the originality and the rhythmic-harmonic wealth of this musical form that turns out to be much more syncopated than the Son.
In other words Changüi is a precursor of the Son with which it combined itself to become nowadays considered as one variant in the generic complex of the Son.
The first expressions of Changüi were nothing more than a ditty song reiterative that, like some other ancestors of the Son such as the Nengon, the Regina, the Kiriba, present itself like a Montuno built on the elementary Tumbao of the Tres and its dialogue with the Bongo.
The singing of the lead singer who begins expressing himself using quatrains or decimas, is then followed by the traditional scheme of call and response, between the soloist and the coro.
In the history two different ways to play Changuì can be identified: the traditional Changuì (played by Conjunto bands) and the orchestral Changuì (played by Charanga ensemble). Among musicians and groups that represent the traditional style, one can highlight “Changuì de Guantanamo”, group founded on 1945 with legendary figures like Pedro Speck, Cambron, Arthur and Chito Latamblèt and “Estrellas Campesinas of Yateras”, founded on 1952 in Yateras and directed by Eduardo Goulet (Pipi).
The other changuisera variant is represented by the work of the brilliant guantanamero Elio Revé who was able to innovate deeply this musical gene, dressing it with new colors.
The traditional Changüi under the direction of Revé, even if it have been maintaining its typical characteristics, does no longer sound the same due to the change of orchestral format. Revé brought numerous innovations to the Changüi in its execution, in the instruments used, opening Changüi to other national and foreign rhythms and more recent expressions of the Son (Salsa and Timba).
Revé was also the great ambassador of the Changüi that made it well-know worldwide.
Although Orquesta Revé represents Changüi’s most outstanding protagonist, today like yesterday, many musicians remain Changui’s best admirers and perpetuate its tradition in the Cuban musical panorama.
Even the great Benny Moré recorded in 1958 the track " Maracaibo oriental" that is perhaps the most famous Changüi song of history.
Also the Salsa movement explored the Changuì in several occasions leaving behind recordings of famous figures like Ray Barreto and Celia Cross.
In Cuba Los Van Van, Issac Delgado, Sierra Maestra, Felix Baloy, Pancho Amat, and last but not least, Oderquis Revé, the brother of Elio Revé and ex- member of the Charangon, have developed and continue cultivating the Changüi.

 

THE SOURCE 

 

some more to read

source of the link and some more ; )

 

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Low Class Dance Music : )

Grupo Changüí

and

Estrellas Campesinas

Changüí

Recorded live in Cuba

1998

Tracks:

 01. Mi Son Tiene Candela
02. El Güararey de Pastora
03. Mujeres
04. Chubi Chubi
05. La Rumba Está Buena
06. Hoy Es el Día
07. Lidia
08. Mayumbe
09. Los Animales
10. Vengan Mujeres Para Bailar
11. Fiesta en Cecilia
12. Maria Guevara en la Cumbancha
13. El Güararey de Pastora
14. Soy la Tradición

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 Grupo Changüí and Estrellas Campesinas

In the era of sound recording, the music of Cuba has had an impact out of all proportion to the size of the country; its influence on jazz, and on the musics of South America and Africa, and its role as the source of numerous of this century's dance crazes (mambo, rhumba, cha-cha, conga), are well known. That said, I came to this CD as someone who has never been bitten by the bug; the Cuban tunes I can whistle are The Peanut Vendor and Guantanamera, and when I play the scattering of Cuban CDs in my collection, I re-hear them as pleasant sounds, rather than greeting the tunes, rhythms and arrangements as old friends. In other words, I approached changüí (the music) and Changüí (the CD) with a severe lack of context, and my account here is heavily reliant on Dita Sullivan's excellent notes.

I don't expect to be adding to the repertoire of Cuban tunes I can whistle, but listening to this CD is certainly a challenging and rewarding experience, and one that I expect to be repeating often. play Sound ClipSince I came to it with little idea of what I would hear, it seems appropriate to play part of the first track, Mi Son Tiene Candela; the title means My Son Is Hot, and the song proclaims that 'the son is traditional in our country, linked to the chords of changüí that we must never forget.' The clip gives a good picture of the sound of changüí, and in particular of its polyrhythms, and their division among the various instruments (which are discussed below) and the vocal line. Since this is dance music, the basic pulse is pretty clear, but it's equally obvious how much else is going on rhythmically, and listening to changüí is, for these ears at least, an exercise in being constantly surprised by the twists and turns of the music.

Changüí is defined by Cassell's Spanish-English Dictionary as a 'low-class dance' - and that may be recommendation enough. The distinction being made is a pre-revolutionary one, between salon music, played for the middle and upper classes, and known as puerta cerrada (closed door), and the dance music of the rural and urban working classes, played in aire libre (in the open air). Changüí is the dance music of Guantanamo, in the extreme southeast of Cuba. While it uses similar instrumentation to son, the arrangements and tunings are quite different; the tres is common to both, as are maracas and bongo, but in changüí the maracas are high-pitched and the bongo low-pitched, while the reverse is true in son. The guiro in changüí is made of metal, rather than being a hollowed-out gourd. Probably the most obvious difference between changüí and son is in the use of the marimbula as simultaneous bass and percussion instrument in place of son's bass and congas. The marimbula is clearly of African derivation - it's a bass mbira - and it is also found, under other names, in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic; Dita Sullivan observes that changüí's instrumentation most closely resembles the perico ripiao of the Dominican Republic. (Perico ripiao may be heard for comparison on the splendid Corason CD Essential Merengue: Stripping the Parrots (CORA122), although the use of the accordion as lead instrument makes a considerable difference to the sound).

Other distinctive features of changüí are accounted for by sociohistorical factors. Changüí's African component 'is not the Yoruba-Ibo culture of Nigeria, but the Bantu culture of Congo and the Ivory Coast. The different language, though no longer widely spoken in Cuba, produces a different rhythm.' In addition, Guantanamo's cultural history is one of immigration and syncretism; the province was founded by French refugees from the Haitian revolution in 1804, and the construction of the US naval base in the early years of this century led to an influx of workers from the English- and French-speaking islands.

Of the two bands heard on this CD, Grupo Changüí was founded in 1945, and is a professional dance band, while Estrellas Campesinas are designated by the Cuban government as un grupo aficionado (an amateur group), a description which Dita Sullivan rightly calls 'odious,' as indeed is the mindset that feels it's the business of the state to fit musicians into bureaucratic pigeonholes. Despite its roots being very specific to Guantanamo, changüí has not been without influence on the wider Cuban music scene. Elio Revé, founder of Orquesta Revé, was a Guantanamero, and the band's music, among the most popular in fifties Cuba, had a changüí inflection. For a few years Orquesta Revé's bass player was Juan Formell, who left to found Los Van Van, one of whose first hits, in 1973, was Pastorita, which Formell had picked up at a dance where he was sharing the bill with Grupo Changüí. This CD includes two versions of El Guararey de Pastora, as the song was originally called, and Grupo Changüí and Estrellas Campesinas give the song very different deliveries, as may be heard by comparing their respective tracks.

Changüí lyrics typically invite listeners to dance, while celebrating good times, recounting local history, and boosting the importance of changüí and its traditions:

I don't care if you criticise my traditional changüí
It flows in my blood because I'm Cuban.
How groovy [sic] that the changüí of the past returns
Everybody dance and enjoy my changüí.

That said, I want, as Dita Sullivan does, to single out the complex layers of meaning in Mayumbe which, while functioning as dance music, is also a mambo in the original Bantu meaning: an invocation, in the syncretic religion palo monte, of the many aspects of Changó, the African god of thunder and lightning, in whose name the singer speaks. I give a summary of Sullivan's translation and comments in brackets:

Yo soy siguaraya (I am a sacred plant)
Yo soy siete rayos (I am seven rays of sun and lightning, also an 1823 anti-Spanish conspiracy)
Yo soy palo monte (I am [a priest of] palo monte)
Yo soy Bonifacio (a local palero)
Yo soy Lucumí (a reference to the Yoruba tribe, and to St Barbara, patron saint of the Lucumí, who represents Changó in santería)
Yo soy Lucifer (another palero)
Yo soy tumba yaya (a sacred tree)
Yo como candela (I eat fire)
Yo soy el diablo (I am the devil)
Yo soy palo caja (another sacred tree)
Yo soy mata ceiba (I am the leaves of the ceiba tree, sacred to Changó)
Yo soy mata siete (I am the leaves of the magic tree 'seven rays', also the nickname of a radio announcer in the late fifties[!])
Yo soy Santa Cecilia (patron saint of musicians, and the name of the recording location)
Sí, ven a parrendearlo! a guaracharlo! aha, ven a cantarlo! (Come dance and sing at the party!)

It only remains to say that the recordings, made on a rooftop by Stuart Deutsch in June 1988, are of absolutely outstanding technical quality. I've been trying to find a way that won't sound like damning with faint praise, to say that even people who, like me, aren't hugely interested in Cuban music, will find this CD compelling listening and great fun. On second thoughts, maybe that will do it.

Chris Smith - 2.4.1999 

source of the text above : )

Instrumentos del Changüí

bongó, maracas, guayo, tres y marímbula. 

(Foto: Ileana Pinedo, Archivo Centro Inciarte)

 

source of the picture above : ) 

 

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