Early Cuban bands
For about a hundred years, from early in the nineteenth century to about 1920, the main orchestral format for popular music was the típica based on wind instruments, usually about 8–10 members.
Founded early in the 19th century by the black violinist and double bass player Claudio Brindis de Salas, it played the dance music of the epoch at the balls of the island's aristocracy: contradanzas, minuets, rigadoons, quadrilles, lancers.
Brindis de Salas, a disciple of maestro Ignacio Calvo, was also a composer of creole danzas and the author of an operetta, Congojas matrimoniales.
In 1844 his musical career was interrupted by his involvement in the Escalera Conspiracy, for which whites were absolved, but blacks paid dearly.
His son, Claudio Brindis de Salas Garrido (Havana, 4 August 1852 – Buenos Aires, 1 June 1911) was an even better violinist, of world renown.
The orchestra was a típica, with cornet, trombone, ophicleide, two clarinets, two violins, double bass, kettle drum, and güíro.
They were playing in the Teatro Villanueva in Havana in 1869 when the Spanish Voluntarios attacked the theatre, killing some ten or so patrons who had been watching a bufo (musical satirical comedy), and applauding its revolutionary sentiments.
Creole sentiments were running high, and the Colonial government and their rich Spanish traders were reacting.
Alemán was a tailor's cutter in Santiago de Las Vegas and a composer of dance and religious music.
He studied music under Pedro Álvarez, and became a double bass player, also a good violinist and pianist.
It included Alejo Carillo (cornet); Pedro Espinosa (trombone); Leobino Zayas (ophicleide); Julián Allende (1st clarinet); Ramón Alemán (2nd clarinet); Elias Fuentes (1st violin); Juan Tómas Alemán (2nd violin); Aniceto Rodrígues (timpanist); Quirino Sastre (güíro).
On the death of José Alemán in 1924, the orchestra was directed by his brother Ramón, and there were numerous changes of personnel.
The set-up was: González (ophicleide), Dolores Betancourt (t-bone); José Belén Puig (first clarinet); José Urfé (second clarinet); Miguel Ángel Mendieta and Benito Moya (violins); Guillermo Maherve (d. bass); Demetrio Pacheco (tympani) and Ulpiano Díaz (güiro).
Its line-up at its peak was: Tata Alfonso (flute); Bruno Quijarro (violin); Pablo Bequé (double bass); Jesús Lopéz (piano); Abelardo Valdés (güiro); Ulpiano Díaz (timbales).
Romeu had previously played in Orquesta Cervantes, one of several charangas founded at the beginning of the 1900s, and became one of the most prolific composers of danzones.
The initial line-up for Orchestra Romeu was: Romeu (piano); Feliciano Facenda (violin); Alfredo Valdés (flute); Rafael Calazán (double bass); Remigio Valdés (timbal); Juan de la Merced (güiro): quite a small group.
The singers (introduced after the introduction of the sung danzón, known as the danzonete) were, at two different times, Fernando Collazo and Barbarito Díez.
Actual names of players and musical groups appear after the then Cuban President, José Miguel Gómez, sent the battalions of the Ejército Permanente away from their native provinces.
Some of the theatre music was interesting, for example, the Teatro Alhambra had a group of which Adolfo Colombo was the leading personality.
[27] The artists singing are Colombo and Claudio García, the guitar probably Alberto Villalón, plus an unknown tres player.
He played the marimbula, the bongó and the guitar at different times and, despite his physical limitations (dwarfism), he was a force in Cuban music for half a century.
[28] In October 1926, the Sexteto Boloña recorded in New York City a set of numbers for Columbia which is available today on the usual media.
[34] The music is of high quality, considering the technical limitations of the time; the group won first prize in the Concurso de Sones in 1925 and 1926.
[36] One of the early son sextetos, formed in 1925 by María Teresa Vera and Miguel García, it went to New York and recorded numbers, but lasted only about 18 months.
It was significantly different from the típicas, both in music, instruments and racial composition (the members were usually white).
[42] Giro gives this set-up as characteristic of Estudientinas: two tres, 1st and 2nd; two guitars; one trumpet; botija or double bass; paila (timbal); cencerro (cow-bell); güiro; three singers, 1st, 2nd and falsetto, and maybe both sexes.
The key figure in revealing the early days of Cuban jazz is Leonardo Acosta, musician and musicologist, who has been working on this topic for many years.
Members: Hipólito Herrera (trumpet); Norberto Fabelo (cornet); Ernesto Ribalta (flute & sax); Humberto Domínguez (violin); Luciano Galindo (trombone); Antonio Temprano (tuba); Tomás Medina (drum kit); Marino Rojo (güiro).
The personnel included his son Rodrigo Prats on violin, the great flautist Alberto Socarrás on flute and saxophone and Pucho Jiménez on slide trombone.
In 1928, still at the same venue, Simons hired Julio Cueva, a famous trumpeter, and Enrique Santiesteban, a future media star, as vocalist and drummer.
