Trio Tesis - Ritmos de Cuba (2002)

The name of this group may sound familiar to son cubano lovers, as Trio Tesis made a first appearance on Europe's musical landscape three years ago, on the Cuadernos De La Habana, Winter & Winter Edition's ambitious five-CD box (910 030-2), which invited the listener, in the midst of the Cuba boom, on a literary and musical journey through Havana's nightlife. The trio enriched the line-up of this undertaking of equal style and swing, alongside such greats as the pianist Frank Emilio Flynn and the Cuarteto Tradición Cubana. Although the trio constellation already had a strong advocate in Miguel Matamoros back then, for dancing parties, one did tend to favor larger groups, which brought more tonalities into play, with pervasive percussion sections, as well as trumpets, fiddles or flutes. In contrast, a trio can appear limited in its expressive resources – but only at first glance. Listening to the pioneering recordings of a Guillermo Portabales, who reaches peaks of perfection in this compact formation, leaves no doubt that a trio can be complete in itself. Although this lounge musician, who died in 1970, occasionally also played in larger orchestras, his excellent technique allowed for admirable trio renderings of songs such as his moving "El Carretero". Trio Tesis also follow this path. Within the trio, classics such as Matamoros' immortal "Son De La Loma" or, again, Portabales' sublime "El Carretero" are enriched with a new, exciting interpretation. The remarkable musical density of the pieces is attributable in no small part to the vocal presence of all three musicians. Thanks to their new approach, the trio has come up with renderings of these classics in the genre which are both faithful and refreshing. The repertoire of Trio Tesis is made up of 14 selected 20th century Cuban classics. In addition to the evergreen "Guantanamera", one of the most interpreted songs of all places and times, the play list ranges from Ñico Saquito's lively self-referential classic "Oye Mi Son" all the way to Julio Brito's "El Amor De Mi Bohio", which sings the love of the native land. The hit song "Yolanda" by Nueva Trova star Pablo Milanés can also be heard on the album. The latest hit featured, "Que Manera de Quererte", written by Luis Emilio Ríos Morales, a member of the Cuban group Raisón, was a huge hit on Latin American dancefloors in the early 90's, first in its interpretation by the romantic salsa crooner Gilberto Santa Rosa, and later in an equally successful version by the singer Albita. Once again, Cuba reveals itself to be a real treasure island for enchanting melodies with a relaxed, light, yet melancholy, Caribbean flair. The pieces gathered here all belong to the canon of Cuban music. These are the songs which marked an entire genre, made it famous around the world under the name "salsa" and which, as a result, more or less define the spectrum of Afro-Cuban music (made up of popular rhythms such as son, guajira, guaracha, danzón, bolero, guaguancó, etc.). They were also a source of inspiration to countless singers and composers all over the world. These recordings are a demonstration of the perfect unity of theory and practice. The musicians succeed, irrespective of their academic degrees, in getting the people out of their seats and onto their feet, as for example during a concert they gave recently in Bordeaux, France, when some of the couples sweeping across a more and more crowded dance floor, ended up invading the stage and facing the musicians – a great thrill for both sides. In Cuba, Trio Tesis had already made a name for itself. They were invited to perform in well-known nightclubs, such as the Club Habana, famous in diplomatic circles, before obtaining international engagements which led the group all the way to Japan.