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The
legendary Cuban percussionist Changuito (Jose Luis Quintana) was born
in Casablanca, across the bay from Havana on 18th January 1948. He embarked
upon his musical career in 1956 at the tender age of eight, becoming a
professional musician with the 'Havana Jazz' band directed by Tomas Gonzalez.
During this initiation Changuito played music with his father, who was
also a musical maestro. He then begun playing with an unusual young band
called 'la Pandilla de los Cabezas de Perros', and aged eleven he joined
the band 'Cuba Mambo' under the direction of Rolando Garcia. This band
was based in Guanabacoa, just outside Havana where Changuito now lives.
- Amampondo Africa 2000 DVD
- Flora Purim - Speed of Light
- Fidel Pondo - traditional Xhosa music meets Cuba
- Music With No Name vol 3
By
the age of twelve he was regularly appearing at the Morroco nightclub
on Havana's Prado Boulevard in Old Havana whilst still continuing to play
in various bands in Havana. Aged 13, Changuito volunteered for military
service and played in army bands and joined 'Estrellas de Occidente'
a Jazz band - for the whole three years he was in the military. In 1964
he left the military and joined 'Los Harmonicos' under the direction of
Phillipe Dulzaides. They achieved considerable fame in Cuba, appearing
on TV many times. After this he joined the band 'Sonorama 6' for a year,
which was based at the exclusive La Torre club in Habana's famous Focsa
building. During 1968 he was working as a drummer with two bands: 'Souvinir'
and 'La Orchestra de Musica Moderna' based in the province of Pinar del
Rio. In 1970 he returned to Havana and joined 'Los Van Van'. Los Van Van
soon became one of the most popular Cuban orchestras in the world, achieving
international recognition and fame. With this band Changuito inaugurated
the 'songo', where the original combination of percussion instruments
(timbales, cowbells, woodblocks, electronic drums and cymbals) and the
technical displacement of hands sealed a distinctive and highly original
touch.
Changuito
made his first solo recording in 1992, which led to global recognition
as a musician and teacher of percussion. He has taught many famous percussionists
such as Giovanni Hidalgo and Karl Perazzo (Santana), and in 1996 won the
Grammy Award for 'Ritmo y Candela'. This Cuban master conga and timbale
player first appeared on Melt 2000 in 1994, contributing to Flora Purim's
album, 'Speed of Light'.
The
following year in November 1995, Robert Trunz embarked upon the second
leg of the Meltdown recordings in South Africa inviting Changuito to join
him. During these recordings Changuito fell in love with yet another vast
array of African percussion instruments which transformed with his guidance
into new sounds. A few months later he came to England to work with Amampondo and Airto Moreira at Brownhill Farm, and decided to record a solo album two days prior to
his departure, leaving instructions for overdubs with friends such as
Chucho Valdes. The album Syncopation
was produced by Tony Thorpe and is an interpretation of what can happen
when Havana, London and Jo'burg collaborate. Some of the original acoustic
sessions are now featured in the compilation
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