School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2008 The conjunto piano in 1940s Cuba: An analysis of the emergence of a distinctive piano role and style Juliet E. Hill ProQuest Number: 10731423 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10731423 Published by ProQuest LLC (2 0 1 7 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 I hereby declare that the work presented In this thesis is entirely my own. Juliet E. Hill J? j I oj o f 1A Abstract By the early 1940s, the piano was an established part of the Cuban conjunto in the performance of son montuno, one of the great 20th century Cuban dance musics. Its role, however, has been given little attention by scholars. This thesis documents the emergence of an idiomatic and highly influential piano style during the 1940s in the new context of the conjunto. It argues that the piano represents a challenge to accepted views of the continuation of African musical practices in Cuba. Popular and academic perceptions of the African heritage in Cuba are directly related to the country’s historical position as a former plantation slave society, in which African cultural forms were seen to survive within specific parameters, and in which the recreation of African musical instruments was a key feature. This has resulted in an over-simplification and binary categorisation of European and African musical elements. The perception of the piano as European has precluded it from the study of the broader application of African musical principles in the Americas, and discussions of African influence in Cuban piano style concentrate on the instrument’s percussive qualities rather than a change in function. The conjunto piano style contests this paradigm, and the transformation that it embodies is more complex than a rhythmic or percussive touch. Although drawing on the role of the piano in other types of ensemble, conjunto pianists also recreated the musical function of the tres, a Cuban variant of the guitar, which had been the predecessor of the piano in the playing of son montuno. It is this that links the conjunto piano style with a wider musical world. Although elements such as call and response and the prominence given to improvisation have been seen in the literature as part of son montuno''s African legacy, only Sublette (2004) has made the connection between African musical structures and the piano montuno, the repeated rhythmic ostinato which underscores instrumental and vocal improvisation. My approach draws on both detailed musical analysis and the wider study of African music. Working from commercial recordings from the period, I argue that the construction and function of this ostinato can be linked to wider African musical principles. The practice of interlocking - the creation of harmony by means of a continuing stream of interlocked notes rather than block chords, and using motion to establish a harmonic centre - is characteristic of many African musical forms and is a key part of the piano montuno. Illustrated with extensive transcriptions from 1940s recording and present day performance, this analysis of the multiple functions of the conjunto piano provides insights into deeper principles of musical organisation that are at the heart of Cuban musical identity. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES 7 Acknowledgements 13 PREFACE 14 INTRODUCTION 21 1. Son montuno and the conjunto piano 21 An overview of the conjunto piano style 23 2. Review of Literature 24 A Critique of Fernando Ortiz and the Binary Cultural Paradigm in Cuba 25 Contesting the Paradigm 27 Interlocking as a Musical Principle- A Theory 30 The piano montuno and the principle of interlocking 33 The Wider Literature on Popular Music in Cuba 35 Popular Music and the Revolution 35 The Influence of Ortiz 37 Literature on Salsa 38 Popular Music in Cuba, Social Context and the Pre-revolutionary period 39 3. Methodology, Sources and Issues 41 Chapter 1 SON MONTUNO, THE TUMBAO AND THE ROLE OF THE PIANO 47 1.1 Son Montuno 49 The Structural Elements of Son Montuno 50 Son Montuno as an approach to musical creation 51 The tumbao of son montuno 53 Analysing the tumbao 55 Summary 56 1.2 The Rhythmic matrix of the Tumbao 57 Rhythmic relationships within the tumbao 59 Rhythmic Density 61 Anticipation 63 3 Summary 65 Conclusion 66 Chapter 2 BEFORE THE CON JUNTO PIANO: A WIDER PERSPECTIVE ON THE MUSICAL ORIGINS OF THE TRES AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF SON MONTUNO 67 2.1 The location of the tres within the binary paradigm 69 Social and Historical Factors in Cuban musical development 70 2.2 Early styles of son montuno and the role of the tres 72 The absence of clave in changiii 73 2.3 An Alternative view of the tres 74 African chordophones and the tres 76 Further parallels: The tres and the ‘African’ guitar 79 2.4 An analysis of Mi Son Tiene Candela 80 2.5 The Emergence of son montuno in Havana 85 Instrumental Expansion and Substitution 85 The adoption of the clave as a rhythmic principle 87 2.6 An Analysis of the role of the tres in selected sones 1918-1931 88 The Sexteto Habanero Godinez recordings 89 The 1920s recordings 91 Summary 95 Conclusion 96 Chapter 3 THE PIANO IN CUBA: FROM SALON TO DANCEHALL 98 3.1 Salon Music and Cuban Nationalism 100 19th century salon music for piano 101 The second wave of nationalists 105 Summary 108 3.2 The earliest recordings of the piano in son montuno 108 The 1928 Sexteto Gloria Cubana recordings 109 Abom Are 111 Los marineros 113 El Pelotero and Mi Amor 116 Summary 119 Conclusion 120 Chapter 4 CHARANGA, JAZZ BAND AND CONJUNTO: MUSICAL INNOVATION AND A NEW KEYBOARD PROMINENCE 122 4.1 Social Stratification and Popular Dance music in Batista’s Cuba 124 The piano in Cuban popular genres 127 4.2 Danzon 128 The charatiga piano 129 The nuevo ritmo and charanga innovation 132 The charanga piano solo 136 Summary 137 4.3 Cuban Jazz Bands 138 The piano in Cuban jazz bands 141 The piano solo 145 Summary 150 Conclusion 150 Chapter 5 THE FORMATION OF THE CONJUNTO AND THE EMERGENCE OF A CONJUNTO PIANO STYLE 1940-44 152 5.1 National identity, son montuno and the development of the conjunto 154 The expansion of the sextet/septet format 155 The impact of instrumental expansion and improved technology 156 The musical potential of the piano in the conjunto 158 5.2 Emerging Trends: Conjuntos and recordings 1940-44 159 Early conjuntos and pianists 159 The musical structure of conjunto son montuno and the role of the piano 162 The beginnings of a conjunto stylistic division 163 5.3 The role of the piano in conjunto recordings 1940-44 164 Stylistic freedom and fluidity 164 Chordal harmony, vamp and the son afro 168 Clave and anticipation 169 The arpeggiated piano montuno 172 The development of a counter-melodic montunoYIS Tres and piano 177 Summary 179 5.4 The piano solo in conjunto recordings 1940-44 179 Conclusion 187 Chapter 6 GUARACHEROS AND SONEROS 189 6.1 Cuban Musical life 1945-51 190 Repertoire and stylistic differences between guaracheros and soneros 193 Summary 198 6.2 Guaracheros 198 Stylistic Features of guarachero montunos 199 Staggered anticipation 203 Chordal and octave reinforcement 206 Rhythmically static montunos and pedal notes 207 Sectional structure and multiple montunos 209 Sonero influence 212 Summary 215 6.3 Soneros 216 The sonero style of Arsenio Rodriguez 217 Contemporary recordings of Arsenio’s son montuno style 220 Los Astros 228 Summary 233 Conclusion 233 THESIS CONCLUSION 236 GLOSSARY 242 INTERVIEWS 249 BIBLIOGRAPHY 250 DISCOGRAPHY 262 List of tracks on accompanying CDs 266 Musical Examples Chapter 1 Ex 1.1 Tumbao basic score Ex 1.2 Son montuno: rhythmic matrix Ex 1.3 Son montuno: time box unit notation Ex 1.4 Different forms of clave Ex 1.5 Rhythmic relationships in rumba guaguanco Ex 1.6 Rhythmic relationships in son montuno Ex 1.7 No Toque el Guao (Arsenio Rodriguez) Transcription from Garcia 2003: 149 Chapter 2 Ex 2,1 Mi Son Tiene Candela: Grupo Changiii de Guantanamo Chan gin, Traditional Crossroads 4290 (1998) track 1 Ex 2.2 Mi Soti Tiene Candela: Grupo Changuf de Guantanamo Changiii, Traditional Crossroads 4290 (1998) track 1 Ex 2.3 Mi Son Tiene Candela: Grupo Changiii de Guantanamo La Rumba Esta Buena, Disky Communications DC640752 (2001) track 14 Ex 2.4 Mujer Bandolera: Sexteto Habanero Godinez Early Music of the North Caribbean, Harlequin HQ67 (1995) track 10 Ex 2.5 Rosa que Linda Eres: Sexteto Habanero Godinez Early Music of the North Caribbean, Harlequin HQ67 (1995) track 11 Ex 2.6 Aquella Boca: Sexteto Habanero Los Raices del Son, Tumbao TCD009 (1992) track 1 Ex 2.7 Mujeres Enamdrenme: Sexteto Nacional The Music of Cuba 1909-1951, Columbia/Legacy CK62234 (2000) track 8 Ex 2.8 Martillo Claro: Sexteto Bologna Cuban Counterpoint, Rounder Records CD 1978 (1992) track 5 Ex 2.9 Mujeres Enamdrenme: Sexteto Nacional The Music of Cuba 1909-1951, Columbia/Legacy CK62234 (2000) track 8 Ex 2.10 Somos Ocho Orientates: Grupo Tfpico Oriental The Music of Cuba 1909-1951, Columbia/Legacy CK62234 (2000) track 4 Chapter 3 Ex 3.1 Characteristic rhythms of the contradanza, danza and danzon Ex 3,2 Juan Quinones (Enrique Guerrero).