HISTORY OF TIMBA

Los Van Van developed what came to be known as the ‘songo’ genre, making countless innovations to traditional son, both in style and orchestration. In Latin music, genres are commonly attributed to rhythms (though of course not every rhythm is a genre), and whether or not timba is a genre of its own is debatable. Songo, however, can be considered to be a genre and is in all likelihood the only genre in the world played by only one orchestra, Los Van Van. The songo rhythm was created by percussionist José Luís Quintana ("Changuito”), at the behest of Van Van bandleader Juan Formell. Since the band’s creation in 1969, Los Van Van has been the most popular band in Cuba, and are themselves considered to be one of the major timba bands.

Irakere is known largely as a Latin Jazz band outside Cuba, yet much of their music can be considered to be popular dance music. Like Los Van Van, Irakere experimented with many different styles, mixing Afro-Cuban rhythms with son and jazz. While bandleader Chucho Valdés is revered as one of the great jazz musicians of Cuba, both jazz and timba prodigies came out of the orchestra, including flutist José Luis Cortés ("El Tosco”), who assembled a group of highly talented musicians to form NG La Banda in the mid-1980s. NG experimented with different styles, including Latin jazz, for several years, before recording what is considered by many to be the first timba album, "En La Calle", in 1989.

Though NG La Banda had huge successes in the early 1990s, and is credited with being the first timba band, the band’s fortunes have been mixed, partly because they remain highly experimental. What came to be known as the "timba explosion” started not with NG La Banda, but with the debut album of La Charanga Habanera, "Me Sube La Fiebre”, in 1992. This album included all the elements of what is now known as timba, and the band dominated the scene until the break-up of the original band in 1998 (they have since reformed). Since then a large number of bands have sprung up in Cuba and internationally, many of the best known being headed or staffed by former members of the above-mentioned bands. Some important figures and bands include: Pachito Alonso y sus kini kini, Azúcar Negra, Bamboleo, La Charanga Habanera, Charanga Forever, Los Dan Den, Alain Perez, Issac Delgado, Tirso Duarte, Klimax, Manolín "El Médico de la salsa", Manolito y su Trabuco, NG La Banda, Paulo FG, Pupy y Los que Son, Son (directed by Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso, former pianist of Los Van Van), and Los Van Van.