This entertaining history of Cuba and its music begins with the collision of Spain and Africa and continues through the era of Miguelito Valdes, Arsenio Rodriguez, Benny More, and Perez Prado. It offers a behind-the-scenes examination of music from a Cuban point of view, unearthing surprising, provocative connections and making the case that Cuba was fundamental to the evolution of music in the New World. The ways in which the music of black slaves transformed 16th-century Europe, how the claves appeared, and how Cuban music influenced ragtime, jazz, and rhythm and blues are revealed. Music lovers will follow this journey from Andalucia, the Congo, the Calabar, Dahomey, and Yorubaland via Cuba to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint-Domingue, New Orleans, New York, and Miami. The music is placed in a historical context that considers the complexities of the slave trade; Cuba's relationship to the United States; its revolutionary political traditions; the music of Santeria, Palo, Abakua, and Vodu; and much more.

Table of Contents

The Highest-Priced Slaves; Drums of War; "We Have Always Had the Drum"; Zarabanda's Mambo; The Areito and the Romance; By Post from the Indies; The Shipyard; The Fertile Crescent; The Atlantis of the Caribbean; Buying Whites and Selling Blacks: A Contradanza; La Nuit des Tropiques; The Western and Central Sudanic Blues; The Congo That Was Cuba; A Secret Language, for Men Only; Hiding in Plain Sight; The Romance of Revolution; Rumba; Fire; Marti's Monster; Guitar and Piano; If He Bathes, He Splashes You; The Tango Age; Tres and Bongo; The Dance of the Millions; The Son Boom; The Mulata Love triangles; The Peanut Vendor; The Fall; The Revolution of 1933; The Liberation of the Drum; Nague, Nague, Nague, Nague; Mano a Mano; Biablo!; Life is a Dream; Mambo Number Five; Television; Index.

Reviews

In this fascinating first volume of a two-part chronicle, Sublette, a musician, self-made scholar, radio show host, and record producer based in New York City, ranges across Africa, Spain, the Caribbean isles, and Central, South, and North America from the 16th century to 1952 to document Cuban music's wide influence. While paying particular attention to societal changes, he describes in great detail how the music of certain African regions was brought over to the New World and helped produce the rhythmic and dynamic music of Cuba (which, in turn, influenced ragtime, jazz, and rhythm & blues, a point that will be traced fully in Volume 2). His grand scope is a reminder of how little most Americans know about their nearby neighbor and its culture, and though not novel, this point deserves reiteration. Sublette's accessible writing should appeal to a popular as well as a scholarly audience. Maya Roy's recent Cuban Music makes similar historical and sociological connections, but it lacks the depth and accessibility of Sublette's book. A welcome addition to the very small field of books available on Cuban music.-Bill Walker, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

"Like none other...a chronicle as much of the music itself as of the histories embedded in the sounds." "--The Boston Phoenix"

As the cofounder of the important Cuban music label Qbadisc and coproducer of public radio's Afropop Worldwide, Sublette is a well-known figure among elite mambo aficionados. Still, the sheer size and historical precision that makes this volume essential is a bit surprising coming from this proud nonacademic. The first two chapters, for instance, offer a fascinating narrative that explains the complex formulation of Iberian culture, beginning with the appearance of Phoenician traders in what is now the southern Spanish city of C diz in 1104 B.C. When the Cuban story finally kicks in with chapter five, Sublette makes the most of his prehistory to create a visceral and astute vision of the island as incubator of musical revolution. Most of the story has been told before, but rarely in such painstaking detail, and Sublette's easygoing and engaging writing style makes the reading almost painless, although sometimes his analysis is overly determined by politics. His most important accomplishment is combining information from rarely translated musicological works from Cuba with data from his active involvement with surviving giants of the music to produce one sustained, living history. Given all this, it is odd that he ends the book so abruptly, in 1952, especially since he has participated so much in the music's recent permutations. While not exactly for beginners, this book is a solid, supremely lush effort. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.