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

[Bobby Jackson]

Cachao gave so much during his life.  He will certainly be missed.  Now he 
is with Orestes.

R.I.P.

:(

Aloha,

Bobby Jackson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Arturo" <arturo893 at qwest.net>
To: "jazzproglist at jazzweek. com" <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2008 2:54 PM
Subject: [JPL] "Papa Bass", Israel López Cachao passed away at 89


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> 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
>
>
>
> --
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