[JPL] "Papa Bass", Israel López Cachao passed away at 89

[Arturo]

The legendary Israel López Cachao whose 2nd surname also served as his
nickname, "Cachao" passed away today Saturday, March 22nd at 7:30am Miami
time after a week long hospitalization, he was 89 years of age. He died from
complications of kidney failure.

I was awakened early this morning from a Miami friend who called me to give
me this very sad news. I am sure in the next few days there will be many
obits and tribute written, most will be filled with erroneous data starting
with his name. Most write his name as Israel "cachao" López when in reality
he was born Israel López Cachao and his 2nd surname became his nickname.
Born September 14th, 1918, Havana Cuba. he was born and raised in the former
house of Cuban poet, freedom fighter and national heroe José Martí. The
López Cachao family have an extensive music connection, musicians &
composers. Israel began playing bass at age 8, he and Mario Bauzá were the
first afro-cubans to play with the Havana Philarmonic. Cachao was also a
fine pianist.

Cachao was, in his last years, the most important living figure in Cuban
music, on or off the island. And according to Cuban-music historian Ned
Sublette he was ''arguably the most important bassist in twentieth-century
popular music,'' innovating not only Cuban music but also influencing the
now familiar bass lines of American R&B, ``which have become such a part of
the environment that we don't even think where they came from.'' Bill Haley
and the Comets' bass player said he picked up his bass influences from
Cachao when his family visited Cuba in the early 1950s.

Cachao and his brother pianist Orestes "Macho"  are most widely known for
their late-1930s invention of the mambo, a hot coda to the popular but
stately danzón that allowed the dancers to break loose at the end of a
piece.  The López brothers were part of Cuba's leading danzón orchesta,
Arcaño y sus Maravillas that was losing popularity in the dance halls
because dancers preferred the new son rhythm that had arrived in Havana from
the eastern end of Cuba because unlike the danzón it was not a structered
and allowed dancers to open up and strut their stuff. The mambo section of
the danzón allowed the dancers to have the same opportunity, they called
this "nuevo ritmo danzón" or new danzón rhythm. The first composition in
this style was titled "Mambo" (1937) Depending on which African dialect
referenced, mambo signifies either "story-tale" or "hot-devilish"  In the
early 1940 Arsenio Rodríguez, the Godfather of "Salsa" was the first to
create mambo riffs for his trumpet section, the second step in the creation
of mambo. Finally in the late 1940s (Damaso) Pérez Prado took what the López
brothers and Arsenio cooked up and developed the full blown mambo we know
today, first in Cuba then Mexico, the US and the world. It was in NYC during
the 1950s the famed "Palladium Era" that the mambo reached its zenith of
popularity and creativity.

In 1957, Cachao gathered a group of musicians in the early hours of the
morning, pumped from playing gigs at Havana's popular nightclubs, to jam in
front of the mikes of a recording studio. The resulting descargas, known to
music aficionados worldwide as Cuban jam sessions, revolutionized Afro-Cuban
popular music. Although Cachao was not the first to lead these descargas-jam
sessions, he helped make them a staple of Latin music.

In 1961 Cachao arrived in New York and recorded for the Joe Cain Orchestra
that featured Clark Terry, Jeromoe Richardson and a fine cast of Latino
musicians, from there he moved on to the Tito Rodríguez Orchestra and
participated in the famed Tico Jam Sessions at the Village Gate of which
there are 3 volumes recorded for Tico, now re-issued under the Fania
umbrella of labels. Cachao lived in Las Vegas for many years playing for the
casinos and was part of the fine Pablo recording "Ecue: Ritmos Cubanos"
under Louis Bellson's heading. In the early 1980s Israel moved to Miami to
get away from his gambling complusions and worked in relative obscurity for
many Miami and NYC salsa bands until Andy garcía decided to make him the
subject of a documentary and series of recordings in the early 1990s which
catapulted Israel López Cachao-"Cachao" into worldwide fame, traveling and
recording.

Cachao's wife of 58 years, Ester Buenaventura López, died in 2004. Cachao
continued to perform and record with all the energy of a much younger
artist. Though visibly moved at the funeral of his fellow legend, trombonist
Generoso "El Tojo" Jiménez, in September 2007, he headlined a rollicking
concert in Miami a week later. On March 9 of this year, days before being
hospitalized, the multiple Grammy winner was in the Dominican Republic
receiving a lifetime achievement award, Cachao was planning an European tour
in August.

Buena Vista Social Club bassist "Cachaito", Orlando López is Cachao's
nephew-son of his brother Orestes "Macho" López Cachao.

Gracias por tanta buena música Maestro y por ser tan caballero conmigo.

Arturo