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" Afro-Cuban Ensemble Conjunto Guantánamo [explore] the rhythms of son montuno, cha-cha-cha, mambo and rumba with contemporary energy…"
– Jane Levere, Forbes
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Hola [FIRSTNAME],
Conjunto Guantánamo is getting set to release some new music just for you – our Tribe! We had originally planned to release the first singles off the new album by early this month but we decided to push it back a little to put some amazing finishig touches on it. We can't wait to hear your reaction when we finally do release these tracks we've worked so hard on. In the meantime, [FIRSTNAME], read on and find out more. Stay tuned!
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Our Bands Influences
In 1996, Buena Vista Social Club had taken this musical genre out of the cold storage imposed on it by the Cuban blockade and the passing decades, and thoroughly dusted it off for us as they masterfully reminded the whole world of how truly compelling the genre of Afro-Cuban "son" music is.
”When Buena Vista came out” says Ulises Beato, “it was such a stark contrast to the run of the mill comercial salsa music that was around. Back then all you heard on the Latin scene was either this whiney, agonizing, uninteresting over-commercialized salsa romantica or the NYC style of salsa and Gloria Estefan which, for me, were all just watered down albeit somewhat danceable imitations of the original authentic son sound. The "salsa" world was alive and well and it's roots in Afro-Cuban son were widely acknowledged but everyone was playing their own versions as they went along and they were taking the music further and further away from it’s original essence.”
"When I heard Buena Vista I was reminded of this special feeling. Of the jam sessions that would sometimes break out in my parents house after around 1980, when some our family members arrived on the Mariel Boat lift, still fresh from that then isolated city that had incubated it's own inimitable culture and music. I remember how unique and different it all felt. It was like finding a prized possession you didn’t even know you had lost.”
“Nobody had that authentic traditional Cuban sound in NYC city or around Miami like I had heard in my youth. Because of this, I set out to provide what was missing. A syncopated music with the energy, cadence, poise, elegance wit and humorous innuendo that expressed a certain authentic Cuban aesthetic and sensibility. I wanted to play this more traditional music that had been largely shelved and forgotten.”
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The Ambassadors of Cuban Folklore
After gigging around New York City for a couple of years the band solidified as the ambassadors of Cuban folklore, with a freshly interpreted, classic Afro-Cuban sound like Son Montuno, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo and Rumba with contemporary energy, their performances sometimes transition into extended experimental descargas -- a type of Afro-Cuban improvisational jam session -- using musical motifs straight from the streets of Havana and Matanzas, combined with the very spirit of New York City.
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Footnote: Here is a Spotify playlist of well over 80 of my most influential tracks in my own personal music collection. I curated this list to share with our fans and keep these nearly forgotten recordings alive and continuing to influence new generations. In it you'll find a huge variety of Cuban artists with some of the recordings being nearly a century old and still so relevant. – Ulises
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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ALL THE TRACKS (NEARLY 6 HOURS) FOR FREE ON SPOTIFY.
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Formation of the Band
In 2003, Ulises Beato founded Conjunto Guantánamo (CG) at the behest of friend and jazz trumpeter Jack Cassidy. In a late night conversation after a jam session, Cassidy planted the seed with Ulises and even suggested “Why don't you call it Guantanamo?" To which Ulises immediately replied "conjunto" Guantánamo (Guantanamo ensemble)! Since everyone familiar with the genre knows that the Southeastern province of Guantánamo in Cuba, is the original birthplace of son montuno, this made perfect sense to Ulises and Conjunto Guantánamo was born. Shortly after this, CG played its first few gigs in the Brooklyn neighborhood of DUMBO which at the time had, arguably the largest enclave of bohemians, artists and musicians in the North East US. It was in that crucible of DUMBO where the band formed, that it solidified and eventually gelled into what it is today.
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A Solidified Sound
In 2006, CG started to solidify its sound while around NYC at the many residencies they had at the time. “in those years we were gigging a lot and had weekly and monthly residencies at the places like the notorious Socialista club on Jane Street, Sasha Petraske’s Little Branch bar downtown, Gonzales and Gonzales, Barbes, etc.” says Ulises.
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Discography
See and hear our current discography on CG's official Web site or find us on Spotify and iTunes. Take a look now and... don't forget your dance shoes!
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© 2018, Nganga Records, LLC and Conjunto Guantanamo, All rights reserved.
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