Cubanismo

¡Cubanismo! entered the scene with impeccable timing. Their debut arrived just ahead of Buena Vista Social Club’s breakthrough, positioning the ensemble to capitalize on melodic Cuban music that honored its traditions while injecting rhythmic drive and exploratory flair. Trumpeter Jesús Alemañy assembled the group after a storied early career that began as a child prodigy navigating Havana’s Conservatorio Amadeo Roldan and, at sixteen, entering Sierra Maestra, the ensemble credited with revitalizing Cuban son. More than a decade of immersion in those traditions prepared him to strike out independently. Relocating to London in 1992, he immersed himself in performance and collaboration with fellow Cuban expatriates, among them percussionist Patato Valdez, and in 1994 he arranged a descarga in Paris for the latter. Record producer Joe Boyd, head of Hannibal Records, attended and responded by urging Alemañy to reconvene musicians in Cuba for a recorded session. The project materialized in 1995 at Havana’s Egrem Studios, drawing veteran pianist Alfredo Rodríguez together with ten-year-old bongo player Julian Oveido and a broad generational span of equally gifted players. Their interpretations of classic Cuban repertoire, animated by incisive solos and propulsive percussion, became the self-titled ¡Cubanismo! album issued in 1996. Repeated touring and personnel shifts produced a noticeably altered lineup for the 1997 follow-up, Malembe, yet the music grew hotter and jazzier while remaining anchored in Cuban classics supplemented by occasional originals. Buena Vista Social Club’s contemporaneous success helped channel international attention toward ¡Cubanismo!, whose ceaseless global itinerary further solidified their presence. By 1998 the band operated at peak intensity, as Reencarnacion demonstrated through its blazing rhythms, stratospheric trumpet lines, and a once-again reconfigured ensemble that radiated collective fire. Further progress along that path risked repetition, prompting a two-year hiatus that ended with the 2000 release of Mardi Gras Mambo, an album bridging Havana and New Orleans idioms through second-line rhythms, New Orleans R&B, rap, son, and mambo. Louisiana guests including veteran singer John Boutté contributed to readings of the traditional “Iko Iko,” Huey P. Smith’s “It Do Me Good,” and new compositions, yielding a flavorful blend that refreshed ¡Cubanismo!’s sound. A triumphant U.S. tour followed the album’s appearance.