Orquesta Sublime

Orquesta Sublime belongs to a lengthy tradition of distinguished Cuban ensembles whose visibility in the United States grew through the efforts of an overseas visitor. The best-known instance remains the encounter between Ry Cooder, the American slide guitarist, and the musicians later celebrated as the Buena Vista Social Club. For Orquesta Sublime the visitor was Klaus Roehm, a saxophonist born in Germany and now based in Oregon, who met the group during a trip to Havana. Like many storied Cuban orchestras, its roots extend well before the brief surge of U.S. curiosity sparked by Buena Vista Social Club. Flautist Melquiades Fundora established the ensemble in 1956 as a charanga. The band, which had already enjoyed modest success touring Florida before the embargo, still employs the classic charanga lineup: a buoyant, acoustic rhythm section of timbales, acoustic bass, güiro, and congas, with flute and lead vocalist carrying the melodies. This approach, first popularized by Orquesta Aragon, served as a vital bridge between son and the salsa styles that followed. Although devotion to a format already four decades old might have rendered the group a historical curiosity, the long isolation that restricted musical exchange has left Orquesta Sublime’s relaxed, buoyant style sounding immediate and appealing to listeners in the United States.