JOHN SANTOS Y EL CORO FOLKLORICO KINDEMBO: Para Ellos (Latin Grammy nominated!)

John Santos y El Coro Folklorico Kindembo

Para Ellos (Latin Grammy nominated!)

© 2004 John Santos (825346316420)

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Exciting and masterful Afro-Cuban folkloric and contemporary drumming and song featuring original and traditional rumbas as well as rhythms and chants from the Congolese and Yoruba spiritual traditions.

notes

John Santos is one of the foremost exponents of Afro-Latin music in the world today. He is known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music, and has earned much respect and recognition as a record and event producer.

He has performed, recorded and studied with acknowledged masters of the Afro-Latin and Jazz idioms such as Cachao, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Lazaro Ros, Armando Peraza, Eddie Palmieri, Patato Valdés, Francisco Aguabella, Orestes Vilató, Rene López, Max Roach, Walfredo de los Reyes, Milton Cardona, Roberto Borrell and Chocolate Armenteros.

Para Ellos (For Them) refers to our elders and all our ancestors upon whose shoulders we stand - in particular those whose courage, conviction, and love have left us the legacy of drum, dance, and song, and the tradition of fighting for the dignity of all beings. Para Ellos is for all of them - those we never met in this life as well as those whose paths we were honored to physically cross. We are intimately connected to every one of them, centuries and millennium notwithstanding. We dedicate this project to the countless defenders, teachers, and interpreters of drum/dance/song traditions the world over - especially to five of the greatest of all time who gave so much and left us recently - Mongo Santamaria, Julito Collazo, Oscar Valdés Sr., Chichito Cepeda, and Malonga Casquelord.

Among the music, dance, spiritual practice, and language of the West and Central Africans brought to Cuba during the brutal slave trade, none have been more influential than that of the Yoruba (from present-day Nigeria and Benin) and the Kongo nations (Bantú linguistic groups hailing from a huge section of Central Africa). Their fascinating, resilient cultural legacy has been largely incorporated into the social fabric of Cuban society. The same holds true for Caribbean society in general.

The collision of cultures produced by this forced encounter has borne various levels of syncretization of spiritual practices and their associated music/song/dance traditions. This process is clearly demonstrated throughout the Americas in general, and the Caribbean Basin in particular. The geographic and economic position of Cuba at the heart of the colonial Americas made it the major port of disembarkation and the cultural focal point of Spain's empire. These factors contributed heavily to Cuba's intense African heritage.

The music presented here is a testament to the vital current traditions conceived by the continued transmittal and valorization of Afro-Cuban cultural practices of West and Central African origin, which thrive in countless communities in the Americas (and in Europe as well). These cultural practices have survived because of their considerable, inherent spiritual and practical information, the unsinkable, courageous spirit of Africans and their descendents, the honoring and recognition of ancestral values by successive generations, and because of the improvisational and adaptive nature of these forms. Our San Francisco Bay Area has become one of the most important hotbeds of African-based drumming in the world. The Cuban contributions to the movement here are strong, begun by resident pioneers such as Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, and Mongo Santamaría, continued by local musicians of various ethnic backgrounds, and fortified mightily by the immigrant Cuban community.

These vibrant rhythms and styles are intended to be uplifting in all ways. More importantly, as they have done for decades and in some cases centuries, they continue to offer a mode of expression where we can bridge gaps of generation, nationality, gender, and politics. They give voice to that which concerns and inspires us in a social reality that leaves little room for our thought, much less our voices. We feel it urgent to maintain this music of resistance in its role as a strong advocate for colonized, marginalized, and otherwise disenfranchised communities. The music and dance have grown beyond their undeniable Cuban roots and have become part of a greater international community surrounding the drum, dance, and song, united by a common desire for peace and respect.

El Coro Folklórico Kindembo is the evolution of el Conjunto Folklórico Yambú, a group I co-founded in 1972 with my compadre, Raul Rekow (conguero with Santana since 1976). It was a wonderful vehicle to study and share the rich folkloric traditions of Cuba and Puerto Rico that we love so much. I have maintained and directed the group ever since then. Over the years, the name (Grupo Tambor Cubano, Tambokuba) and personnel have changed, but the premise remains the same: to study and present the music that lies at the root of Latin Jazz and Salsa. We have been extremely fortunate since the beginning to have the collaboration (performing and recording), advice, and encouragement of such masters as Armando Peraza, Francisco Aguabella, Orestes Vilató, Roberto Borrell, Israel Lopez "Cachao," Alfredo Armenteros "Chocolate," and others. Many of the current members of the group have been with us for fifteen to twenty five years.

Para Ellos (For Them) is the second full-length CD by The Coro Folklórico Kindembo. Our first, Hacia El Amor (Towards Love) was recorded and released in the mid-1990s. We also recorded a few pieces on the two albums by the Orquesta Batachanga, La Nueva Tradición (1981-82), and Mañana Para Los Niños (1984-85), as well as the first album by the Machete Ensemble, Africa Vol. 1 (1986-87). Of the thirty musicians of several generations on this project, twenty-five live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once again we are honored by the presence of several masters of the idiom who have given us their blessings and shared their time-honored art with us. For that, we are forever grateful and inspired anew to do all we can to defend these traditions and to insure their place in our community and beyond. We've also dedicated several of the compositions to certain individuals who have set examples for us through their lives. From the 1940s to the present day, they have devoted themselves to the honorable legacy of the drum . . .

(exerpt from liner notes)

John Santos
Oakland, CA
Feb 2004

reviews

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  • Real Afro-Cuban music
    author: Roberto

    This is an excellent CD; one that every fan of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music fan should have. I do believe a few tracks should not have been included, or at least replaced by something better, but still, John Santos & el Grupo Folklorico Kindembo have done it once again: they have taken Afro-Cuban music to new levels.

  • Absolutily wonderful
    author: Fred Wille

    This is excellent singing. High quality musicians who are playing and grooving very deep.

  • author: John Colt

    perfect in every way.

  • De corazon, Wonderful, Awsome
    author: Rebecca Rush

    This cd will touch your heart and spirit. It made me thankful for all those that came before me.Also greatful for all those present at this time John Santos and El Coro Folklorico creating this wonderful music.

  • Thank you John :)
    author: Ricky Carrido

    Thank you John :) This is a beautiful masterpiece Hermano !! All the bay area brothers on this album ! tu hermano, Ricky Carrido ache`

  • proud
    author: maxine

    this Cd makes me proud to be an Orisha follower....add to your collection, you won't regret it!

  • author: Tamara Turner, CD Baby

    Highly regarded and respected for his use of traditional forms and instruments embraced within and intermingled with contemporary music, John Santos presents an engrossing album of complex rhythm and heart-moving vocals from the Afro-Cuban tradition. This albums brims with vitality, pairing the hearty, full-bodied, interlocking rhythms of Africa with the fluid sway of Cuban influence to amount in an album that feels as necessary and as natural as one's own heartbeat, lulling and invigorating the collective memory of humankind within every listener. A must-have recording for any follower of world music, drumming, African or Latin music.

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