While most solos serve as personal statements, reflecting the improviser’s voice, some rare solos transcend into a part of the jazz vocabulary. Many Charlie Parker solos became melodies for his compositions; he sometimes reharmonized the chords, but the melodic content remained the same. Parker’s melodic sensibility was simply that strong - he consistently created memorable melodies that begged to be repeated. Pieces of classic jazz solos like Miles Davis’ trumpet improvisation on “Freddie Freeloader” or John Coltrane’s romp through “Giant Steps” arise as quotes in younger musician’s statements. Each of these improvisations not only spoke volumes about the performers, but they communicated a common sound that resonated with generations of jazz musicians. Quotable improvisations exist as important moments in jazz history, mostly due to the fact that thousands more solos simply sit on records without being recalled.

Cachao’s “Descarga Cubana” bass solo exists in Latin Jazz history as a milestone - a solo that transformed into a common piece of vocabulary. This descarga consisted of bass, timbales, congas, guiro, and coro; Cachao worked as the only harmonic instrument, but he thrived against the rhythmic setting. His iconic bass line serves as the song’s foundation, repeating with minor variations while the percussionists improvise. While the lack of piano, guitar, or tres afforded Cachao some harmonic freedom, he choose to stay firmly with the song’s one chord structure. Cachao establishes a drum-like nature in his improvisation, emphasizing the percussive sound of Latin bass. The phrases and ideas captured on this recording sparked ideas for a legion of bass players, but also influenced other Latin Jazz instrumentalists.

Some Points of Interest:
*Cachao’s Use of Quarter Note Triplets to Build Tension
Cachao intersperses quarter note triplets regularly into his phrases, creating a “stretched time” sensation. He places groupings of quarter note triplets across the bar line as well. In measures 14 - 15, he places the first triplet on beat 3 of measure 14 and then beat 1 of measure 15. So he plays 6 quarter notes across the bar line, further obscuring the time. He repeats this idea in measures 18 - 19.

*Cachao’s Use of 3 Against 2 Polyrhythms
Cachao builds tension by playing repeated patterns that emphasizes groupings of three quarter notes against a four beat measure. The pattern starts in measure 10 on beat 3 - a quarter note followed by a quarter note rest, an eighth note rest and then an eighth note. He repeats this pattern 4 times, creating an idea that stretches through 4 measures. He reinforces the pattern by utilizing extreme register shifts.

Listen to the original recording on Cuban Jam Session, Volume 2 while you learn this solo; internalizing the intensity of Cachao’s swing serves as an additional, and important, lesson. Read the transcription, but take this study one step further - memorize it and incorporate individual licks into your own Latin Jazz improvisations. The ideas in this solo will take your own playing into a more authentic realm. This solo is a necessity for bass players, but other instrumentalists should learn it as well - there’s some serious history there!

Transposed Parts:
Descarga Cubana, Cachao Solo (C)
Descarga Cubana, Cachao Solo (Bb)
Descarga Cubana, Cachao Solo (Eb)

For More Info About Cachao:
Remembering A Legend: Israel “Cachao” López (1918 - 2008)
Essential Cachao Recordings: Part 1, Cachao In Cuba

———-
Click here to have these posts delivered via email. Or, click here to subscribe to the full text RSS feed and never miss another post!

Stumble it!