timba

The tradition & historical record

Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban son with salsa, American FunkoPop/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass drum, which is not used in salsa bands. Timba and salsa use the same tempo range and they both use the standard conga marcha. Almost all timba bands have a trap drummer. Timbas also often break the basic tenets of arranging the music in-clave. Timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Associated with timba is a radically sexual and provocative dance style known as despelote (literally meaning chaos or frenzy). It is a dynamic evolution of salsa, full of improvisation and Afro Cuban heritage, based on son, Rumba and mambo, taking inspiration from Latin jazz, and is highly percussive with complex sections. Timba is more flexible than salsa and includes a more diverse range of styles. Timba incorporates heavy percussion and rhythms which originally came from the barrios of Cuba. ¹

The word timba is part of a large family of mb and ng words that made their way into Spanish from African languages. Among the hundreds of other examples are tumba, rumba, marimba, kalimba, mambo, conga, and bongo. — Moore (2010: v. 5: 11). Before it became the newest Cuban music and dance craze, timba was a word with several different uses yet no particular definition, mostly heard within the Afro-Cuban genre of rumba. A timbero was a complimentary term for a musician, and timba often referred to the collection of drums in a folklore ensemble. Since the 1990s, timba has referred to Cuba's intense and slightly more aggressive music and dance form. ¹

At least as far back as 1943, the word timba was used in lyrics and song titles such as Casino de la Playa's "Timba Timbero" and Pérez Prado's "Timba Timba". It's also the name of a neighborhood in Havana. It came into use as a music genre name, first as timba brava, around 1988. Many, most famously NG La Banda's leader José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés, claim credit for being the first to use it to describe the new musical phenomenon—Moore (2010: v. 5: 11). ¹

As opposed to salsa, whose roots are strictly from son and the Cuban conjunto bands of the 1940s and 1950s, timba represents a synthesis of many folkloric (rumba, guaguancó, batá drumming and the sacred songs of santería.), and popular sources (even taking inspiration from non Afro-Cuban musical genres such as rock, jazz, funk, and Puerto Rican folk). According to Vincenzo Perna, author of Timba: The Sound of the Cuban Crisis, timba needs to be spoken of because of its musical, cultural, social, and political reasons; its sheer popularity in Cuba, its novelty and originality as a musical style, the skill of its practitioners, its relationship with both local traditions and the culture of the black Diaspora, its meanings, and the way its style brings to light the tension points within society. In addition to timbales, timba drummers make use of the drum set, further distinguishing the sound from that of mainland salsa. The use of synthesised keyboard is also common. Timba songs tend to sound more innovative, experimental and frequently more virtuosic than salsa pieces; horn parts are usually fast, at times even bebop influenced, and stretch to the extreme ranges of all instruments. Bass and percussion patterns are similarly unconventional. Improvisation is commonplace. ¹

The main precursors of timba are three bands: Los Van Van, Irakere (both in the 1970s) and NG La Banda (1988), though many other bands (e.g. Son 14, Orquesta Original de Manzanillo, Ritmo Oriental, Orquesta Revé) were influential in setting new standards. ¹

Elio Revé Matos was a Cuban musician and songwriter, a noted percussionist, born 23 June 1930 in Guantánamo. In 1956, he formed Elio Revé y su Charangón aka Orquesta Revé. Revé's Charanga included Trombones and Batá drum and he became known as the Father of Changüí for his contribution to that musical genre. In the 1970s, directed by timbalero Revé, Orquesta Revé saw innovations in timbales playing. ¹

Elio Revé Sr. was an incomparable talent scout. He may also have been a difficult man to work for, if the number of musicians who have left his band is any indication! The incredible legacy of famous Revé spinoff bands began shortly after his group relocated from Guantanamo to Havana in 1956. In 1958, most of the members left to form Ritmo Oriental. In 1965, his young pianist Chucho Valdés left to pursue a jazz career, which resulted in the formation of Irakere. In 1968, bassist, Juan Formell, Pupy Pedroso and others left to form Los Van Van. In the late 70s, Armando Gola, German Velazco and Pepe Maza left to form Orquesta 440. Singer Félix Baloy left after 1982 and enjoyed a long career with Adalberto Álvarez and as a solo artist. Arranger Ignacio Herrera also left after 1982. We are not sure what happened to Herrera, but based on his stunning arrangements on the 1982 album, he certainly had the potential to create a brilliant spinoff band of his own. Another "missing-in-action" Revé alumnus who might well extended to this list was Tony García, the pianist and musical director of the early 1990s and the arranger of Revé famous "Mi salsa tiene sandunga" which became the theme song of Cuba television's most important music show, Mi Salsa. ¹

It was Herrera's departure that led Revé to focus his talent scouting spotlight on another composer and arranger Juan Carlos Alfonso. ¹

Grandes Èxitos EGREM CD 0325 (Son 14). This CD is an excellent compilation of the best songs of Son 14 during the years in which Adalberto Álvarez led the band (1979–1983) Adalberto Álvarez, born in Havana and raised in Camagüey, had already had some success writing songs for Rumbavana when Rodulfo Vaillant, one of the most recorded composers of the era, invited him come to Santiago as the musical director and pianist of a new group called Son 14. The group got off to a roaring start in 1979 with Adalberto's first massive hit, "A Bayamo en coche." Alvarez left after three classic albums (plus a fourth featuring Omara Portuondo singing songs from the other three) but Son 14 has stayed together, recording sporadically, under the leadership of Eduardo "Tiburón" Morales, the original singer of "A Bayamo en coche." ¹

Adalberto Álvarez was among the first to popularize the use of "gospel" chord progressions using major triads built on II, III and VI. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, more and more elements of the pop music harmonic palette became acceptable in Latin music and by the 1990s, anything that produced a hook became fair game, resulting in an explosion of brilliant songwriting while North American salsa continued to be constrained by the formulaic limitations of the genre.—Moore (2010: v. 4: 22) ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Timba”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

timba is music genre, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 16 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²