timberamayor
Son Montuno
As I mentioned in another thread, many people consider Con la conciencia tranquila to be a masterpiece of timba. Certainly at the time it was one of the best technical quality albums to come out of Cuba.
Kevin has done some great analyses of Paulitoi's use of "gears" that include plenty of audio sample to help if you have trouble hearing them.
www.timba.com
The second page contains also some comparative audio clips of various bands
www.timba.com
Then he does analysis of the same song from several concerts, demonstratiing how PFG used hand signals to call the gears and how the same song differed at the performances. Maybe too much information, but really a great way to hear what's happening and what people mean when they tak about timba gears and how the affect what the dancers do. They are probably one of the things salseros dislike.
"Most hardcore fans agree that live Timba is immensely more exciting than studio recordings and there are many reasons why. After hearing dozens of live concerts and recordings of live concerts by any given band, one starts to get a sense of which parts are worked out and which are improvised. Each band has its own way allowing for the spontanaeity which is the life's blood of great live performances. For example, in case of the legendary Issac Delgado band of 1997, the gear changes are much more loosely defined than Paulito's, but if you listen carefully to Alain Pérez on bass and Melón González on piano, it's almost as if they're soloing -- each iteration of the tumbao is fair game for virtuosic variations and improvisations. It's the best of two worlds -- combining the visceral gratification of the best Pop music with the unpredictable musical creativity of the best Jazz. With Bamboleo, watch pianist/leader Lazarito Valdés as he holds up different numbers of fingers to cue in different bloques at different points each night. In the case of Manolito y su Trabuco, listen to the bombastic and heavily improvised fills of their titanic drummer Roicel Riverón. In contrast, Charanga Habanera uses a much more rigid structure because it's necessary to support the visual element of their intricately choreographed espectáculo (stage show). "
Kevin has done some great analyses of Paulitoi's use of "gears" that include plenty of audio sample to help if you have trouble hearing them.
Gears in Action: In the Studio - pt. 1
Timba.com is the largest Cuban music portal in the world. A veritable wiki of all things related to Cuban music, on volume of content alone it is by far the biggest and most extensive Latin music website available on the planet. With reporters from the United States, Europe and Latin America...
www.timba.com
The second page contains also some comparative audio clips of various bands
Gears in Action: In the Studio - pt. 2
Timba.com is the largest Cuban music portal in the world. A veritable wiki of all things related to Cuban music, on volume of content alone it is by far the biggest and most extensive Latin music website available on the planet. With reporters from the United States, Europe and Latin America...
www.timba.com
Then he does analysis of the same song from several concerts, demonstratiing how PFG used hand signals to call the gears and how the same song differed at the performances. Maybe too much information, but really a great way to hear what's happening and what people mean when they tak about timba gears and how the affect what the dancers do. They are probably one of the things salseros dislike.
"Most hardcore fans agree that live Timba is immensely more exciting than studio recordings and there are many reasons why. After hearing dozens of live concerts and recordings of live concerts by any given band, one starts to get a sense of which parts are worked out and which are improvised. Each band has its own way allowing for the spontanaeity which is the life's blood of great live performances. For example, in case of the legendary Issac Delgado band of 1997, the gear changes are much more loosely defined than Paulito's, but if you listen carefully to Alain Pérez on bass and Melón González on piano, it's almost as if they're soloing -- each iteration of the tumbao is fair game for virtuosic variations and improvisations. It's the best of two worlds -- combining the visceral gratification of the best Pop music with the unpredictable musical creativity of the best Jazz. With Bamboleo, watch pianist/leader Lazarito Valdés as he holds up different numbers of fingers to cue in different bloques at different points each night. In the case of Manolito y su Trabuco, listen to the bombastic and heavily improvised fills of their titanic drummer Roicel Riverón. In contrast, Charanga Habanera uses a much more rigid structure because it's necessary to support the visual element of their intricately choreographed espectáculo (stage show). "
