- Tata Güines
Infobox Person
name=Tata Güines (Federico Aristides Soto y Alejoà)
caption=
birth_date=June 30, 1930
birth_place=Güines, Matanzas, Cuba
death_date=February 4, 2008
death_place=Havana, CubaTata Güines (born Federico Aristides Soto y Alejoà
June 30 ,1930 , diedFebruary 4 ,2008 ) was aCuba n percussionist on thetumbadora , orconga drum , as well as a composer. He was important in the first generation ofAfro-Cuban jazz .cite web
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/world/americas/07guines.html?ex=1360040400&en=1db3158299f9baef&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
title=Tata Güines, 77, Cuban Master of the Congas, Is Dead - New York Times
publisher=www.nytimes.com
accessdate=2008-02-24
last=
first=]Güines was born in
Güines , a poor town east ofHavana inMatanzas province ofCuba . He made his first drums out of milk cartons and sausages. He became famous for playing theconga , a tall, narrow drum of Congolese brought to Cuba by African slaves from theCongo . By the 1950s he was working with such top Cuban musician asArsenio Rodriguez ,Chano Pozo ,Bebo Valdes andIsrael Lopez . [ [http://www.france24.com/en/20080205-cuban-king-congas-dies-77-music-cuba&navi=CULTURE "Cuban 'king of congas' dies at 77"] ,France 24 , February 5, 2008] In the late 1950s he formed a band with the pianistFrank Emilio Flynn , forming a new band, "Quinteto Instrumental de Musica Moderna", later known as "Los Amigos".Güines moved to
New York City in 1957, playing there with great jazz players such asDizzy Gillespie ,Maynard Ferguson , andMiles Davis atBirdland . As a percussionist, he performed withJosephine Baker andFrank Sinatra . He returned to Cuba in 1959 afterFidel Castro came to power in theCuban revolution which he helped fund by contributions from his earnings as a musician. [cite web
url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/02/12/tata_guines_percussionist_called_king_of_the_congas/
title=Tata Güines; percussionist called 'King of the Congas' - The Boston Globe
publisher=www.boston.com
accessdate=2008-02-24
last=
first=]For a while instrumentalists fell out of favor with the Cuban public and his popularity diminished. He again became popular in 1979 with his work in the
Estrellas de Areito sessions, recording for Egrem, the Cuban state record company, which revived the olddescarga style. By the 1990s, he was considered an old master and frequently toured. He recorded with the youngconguero Miguel Díaz , his greatest stylistic progeny, on the 1995 record, "Pasaporte", which won the Egrem album of the year award, the equivalent of a Grammy in Cuba. Again in 2004 he played the congas on the Latin Grammy-winning "Lagrimas Negras" ("Black Tears") with pianistBebo Valdes and Spanish Flamenco singerDiego El Cigala . He worked with other young bands and recorded “Chamalongo,” with the Canadian saxophonistJane Bunnett , and played on the title track ofBebo Valdés andDiego el Cigala ’s popular 2003 album, "Lágrimas Negras".Tata Güines was known as the "King of the
Conga s". [cite web
url=http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN0455466020080204
title=Cuban king of congas Tata Güines dead | Entertainment | Music | Reuters
publisher=reuters.com
accessdate=2008-02-24
last=
first=] He had a musical career that lasted six decades that helped popularizeAfro-Cuban rhythms.References
External links
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tata-guines-cuban-king-of-the-congas-779765.html The Indepedent: Tata Güines: Cuban 'King of the Congas']
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