02.12.16 : Azucar Negra y Alexander Abreu – Tonada Pa’l Bailador

Good day dear readers, listeners and blog followers!

Today I gladly present you a nice composite composition, released about 3 weeks ago by Azucar Negra together with Alexander Abreu of Havana de Primera.

Jokes aside, I consider this composition to contain the 2 necessary components a composition needs, coming together from 2 different constituent sources.
I’ll explain.

As I mentioned some time ago, the band Bamboleo, which is the progenitor of Azucar Negra, was once an innovative Timba powerhouse, releasing compositions and albums that became staples and landmarks of the genre.
But over the years, quality started deteriorating, as the band turned more and more away from Timba and ventured into the fields of western pop and reggaeton… sic transit gloria mundi…

Ironically, the same process has been happening in Azucar Negra roughly at the same time (and to think that Leonel moved out of one to start the other with the purpose of taking a different direction from the one taken by the original band…), with a slow and steady commercialization of their music, and the melodic \ harmonic side of it taking the biggest hit.

On the other hand, we have Alexander Abreu, who in addition to being a virtuoso trumpet player has also been recognized again and yet again as one of the best composers in the field of world music in recent years… and if that’s not enough, Alexander is also one of the best voices of Timba and Cuban music of our time!

So, what does one need for a well balanced composition?
Rhythm, melody and harmony…
Now guess what? bringing together the rhythm section of Azucar Negra and the great vocal abilities of Alexander achieves exactly that!
A very nice, rhythmic composition, which is also full of emotional and harmonic singing.
Throw in some good old musical traditions like subtle references to well know Cuban compositions (can you name them all?), and you get a delicious “salsa”, which the dance community would definitely have a great time experiencing on the dance floor (DJs, please take note 🙂 ).

So, here it is… Disfruten!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *