Israel "Cachao" Lopez: The Cuban Tradition
NEW YORK, 20 SEPTEMBER 2010 — A little over a decade ago when a Culturekiosque editor in Madrid asked the Spanish baroque music specialist Eduardo Lopez Banzo if he had any advice for classical musicians on the performance practice of the complex and constant rhythmic changes in Iberian baroque music, he replied, "They need to spend some time in Cuba!" Thanks to the on-going PBS series, American Masters and the Cuban-American film actor Andy Garcia, North American audiences will grasp the significance of this remark. Scheduled to air across the U.S. as of 20 September 2010 (check local PBS listings), American Masters takes an in-depth look at the Grammy winning bassist Israel "Cachao" López, who died in March 2008.
Entitled Cachao: Uno Más, the documentary is produced and narrated by Andy Garcia, a close friend and ardent fan, who helped reinvigorate Cachao’s career in the 1990s. The spine of his film is a sold-out 2005 concert at Bimbo’s 365 Club, a famous San Francisco nightclub. In addition to Mr. Garcia playing the bongos with Cachao, reminiscing over lunch and smoking cigars, the bilingual production features informative commentary by Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Ray Santos, Cachao’s daughter Elena, his driver, and fellow musicians such as percussionist and historian John Santos....
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Entitled Cachao: Uno Más, the documentary is produced and narrated by Andy Garcia, a close friend and ardent fan, who helped reinvigorate Cachao’s career in the 1990s. The spine of his film is a sold-out 2005 concert at Bimbo’s 365 Club, a famous San Francisco nightclub. In addition to Mr. Garcia playing the bongos with Cachao, reminiscing over lunch and smoking cigars, the bilingual production features informative commentary by Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Ray Santos, Cachao’s daughter Elena, his driver, and fellow musicians such as percussionist and historian John Santos....