Undivided Attention – Tata Güines on video

As we continue our discussion of Latin Jazz musicians on the West and East coasts of the United States, it’s important to remember that artists indulge this art form around the world – especially in Cuba. Listening to Latin Jazz musicians from Cuba, you’ll often hear a different vitality and connection with the genre; in many cases I’ve found this connection much more powerful. Unfortunately, most of us in the United States miss the first hand performances and our focus naturally moves towards the musicians we can experience. Being aware of the history surrounding Latin Jazz in Cuba and the island’s cultural ties to the music, I must admit that even my attention stays mostly focused upon musicians from the United States. The average American music listener has no investment in Cuba’s modern Latin Jazz scene; their attention stays firmly planted in the United States and they overlook decades of Cuban Latin Jazz and musicians.

With Tata Güines’ passing on Monday, I think about the extreme opposite amounts of attention paid to his death in a country separated politically from Cuba. Musicians actively involved in the Latin music scene have reacted with strong feelings about Güines’ influence and have reminisced about his legacy of performances. For them, the political barriers have not distracted their attention from Cuba’s influential musicians like Güines; in fact, it draws them into his legacy more closely. For the general public, the name Tata Güines remains a mystery. Despite the fact that the man played upon countless recordings and served as a role model for a generation of percussionists, his importance will be lost to these people. This seems sad – a country that has consumed Cuban music extensively overlooks one of its innovators.

I find myself uncomfortably in the middle of these two extremes, looking at my divided attention with frustration and regret. I’ve listened to Güines on a number of recordings, and I’ve spent a great deal of time focusing upon his conga approach. I was lucky enough to come into contact with Güines as a result of listening to other influential musicians that he joined – Cachao, Estrellas de Arieto, Maraca, and more. I built a respect for his musicianship and fostered an understanding of his place in history, yet he never gained my undivided attention. After soaking in the reality of Güines’ death, I realized that there are probably a multitude of his important recordings that I’ve never heard. I’ve never heard Güines perform live; unfortunately that’s something that I no longer have the chance to correct. Güines played phenomenal material on record; I’m sure that his live performance were a much more intense experience.

In reality, we only have so much attention that we can focus throughout the day. Things like family and work require an abundance of our energy during the day, and our leftover attention can only go so far. I think that our focus could be placed upon more influential people though – the people that have changed our world for the better. Important trendsetters like Güines deserve worldwide attention; their legacy needs to be understood and remembered. We need to honor his memory and learn from his work – he deserves the attention.

I’ve got a few ways below to focus your attention upon Tata Güines-

Check out these pictures from Tata Güines’ funeral in Cuba. Fortunately, no one’s attention was divided there – Güines was honored by the masses.

The first video below shows Güines playing on the descarga “Gandinga, Mondongo y Sandunga” with Miguel Angá and a cast of top notch Latin Jazz musicians – Orlando “Maraca” Valle on flute, Cesar Lopez on sax, Carlitos Puerto on bass, Calixto Oviedo on timbales, and Giraldo Piloto on drums.

The next two videos are from the outstanding Cuban music website Timba.com. They both feature Güines performing with Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini.

Enjoy!

Gandinga, Mondongo y Sandunga