Introduction: Another history of American music told by taiko drums
Text: mmr｜Theme: Centered around Sabu Martinez and Arsenio Rodríguez Tracing the turning points of Latin music history longitudinally
In the 1950s, a rhythm exchanged at the back door of a jazz club shook the very fabric of American music. It was the moment when Cuban song, African ritual music, and Harlem jazz met. Sabu Martinez’s congas roared like flames, and Arsenio Rodríguez’s tres sounded like it defied theory. In this article, we will discuss the “structure of Afro-Cuban music” that the two men built from their respective sides. Delve into the three layers of culture, society, and music theory.
Chapter 1: The birth of Afro-Cuban - From the black earth and the Caribbean Sea
At the end of the 19th century, Cuba was coming to the end of its history as a Spanish colony. However, behind the hustle and bustle of the War of Independence, another revolution was underway - that of music. Yoruba and Congolese ritual rhythms intersect with Spanish melodies, creating songs such as “son,” “rumba,” and “abakua.” This created a multi-layered rhythmic structure.
- **Religious elements: ** Ritual rhythms such as Santería’s
bata drum'' and Congolesemakuta’’ have become urban music. - Social factors: After the abolition of slavery, an Afro-American community was formed in Havana, and the professionalization of black musicians progressed.
- Technical elements: The standardization of the tres (three-string guitar) and congas made the later montuno structure possible.
It is against this background that a blind revolutionary named Arsenio Rodríguez (1911–1970) appears.
Chapter 2: Arsenio Rodríguez - The Structuralist Who Reconstructed Son
“El Ciego Maravilloso (The Miraculous Blind Player)”
Born in Havana, Arsenio lost his eyesight in an accident as a child. In exchange for this sense, he gained the supernatural ability to hear the “inner structure of rhythm.”
His innovations:
-
- Extended son with combination of trumpet and tresses.
-
- Montuno (repetitive part) is brought to the fore as the basis of rhythm.
-
- Convert call and response to jazz interplay.
-
- Clarification of the “tumbao” concept by strengthening the baseline.
This led to his band becoming a pioneer as an “Afro-Cuban ensemble.” It also influenced later Tito Puente, Machito, and Thelonious Monk.
“If jazz seeks reason, Son awakens memory.” — Arsenio Rodriguez
Chapter 3: Sabu Martinez - Beat Poet with Fire
“The heartbeat struck by the Saint of Harlem”
Sabu Martinez (real name Louis Martinez) was born in the Bronx, New York in 1929. He rose to prominence in Tito Puente’s orchestra. His style combined the intensity of his black roots with the intelligence of jazz improvisation.
Representative works:
- Palo Congo (Blue Note, 1957)
- Sabu’s Jazz Espagnole (1960)
- Afro Temple (1973)
Features:
- A fusion of triplets and polyrhythms.
- Translated Bata drum phrase to conga.
- Pioneering use of recording technology (creating sound images at microphone distance).
His sound is connected to later Afro-spiritual jazz (Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane).
“Drums are screams. I just turn those screams into songs.” — Sabu Martinez
Chapter 4: Crossroads - Between the Bronx and Havana
When Arsenio moved to the United States in 1950 and started working in Harlem, Sabu had been doing sessions in the same city. Although their point of contact is not direct co-starring, They were deeply intersected within the Bronx-Harlem Afro-diaspora culture.
| Era | Arsenio Rodríguez | Sabu Martinez |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s | Completes Son expansion in Cuba | Joins Tito Puente Orchestra |
| 1950s | Rebuilding Afro-Cuban in Harlem | Leader debut with Palo Congo |
| 1960s | Late recording in New York | Expanding the fusion of jazz and Afro |
| 1970s | Posthumously reevaluated | Emigrated to Europe, deepened spirituality at Afro Temple |
During this period, New York’s Latin jazz “Afro Cuban” → “Afro Jazz” → “Spiritual Afro” Sabu and Arsenio were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Chapter 5: Music Theoretical Connections - The Intersection of Clave and Polyrhythm
The clave (2–3 or 3–2 pattern) is the DNA of Afro-Cuban music. Arsenio embedded it in the melodic structure, and Sabu made it the axis of the improvisational structure.
It is noteworthy that this structural idea also influenced later electronic music (e.g. Four Tet, Floating Points). The idea that rhythm “generates melody” is an extension of their heritage.
Chapter 6: Anthropological Perspective - Drums as a Diaspora Memory Device
Afro-Caribbean music is inherited through memory, not records. Both Sabu and Arsenio treated drums and tresses as “speaking bodies.” Its physicality went beyond music and was also a device for reproducing identity.
- Arsenio: Music as Black Cuban Self-Definition.
- Sabu: Symbol of the re-Africanization of American black culture.
“Taiko will never forget the mother’s words” — From an Afro-Cuban proverb
Chapter 7: Heritage and Regeneration – Connections to the Modern Age
modern musician– For example, Miguel Zenón, Daymé Arocena, Makaya McCraven, etc. Translating the genes of Sabu and Arsenio into modern sound design.
In particular, Makaya McCraven’s “organic beat collage” It can be said that this is a continuation of Sabu’s ``hand-editing’’ feeling.
In addition, Arsenio’s “tumbao structure” is It is also the prototype of “rhythmic symmetry” in hip-hop loop construction.
Chapter 8: Conclusion - Listening to the “roots” of Afro-Cuban
Sabu Martinez and Arsenio Rodriguez―― The two started from different islands and ended up on the same heartbeat. Their sound is not Latin music or jazz. It is “memory of fundamental rhythm”, It also resonates with contemporary electronic music and hip-hop.
The drum speaks.Torres responds. At the end of this dialogue, we stand at the origin of the question, “What is music?”
Chronology: Sabu Martinez × Arsenio Rodríguez
Reference discography
| Artist | Album | Label / Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabu Martinez | Palo Congo | Blue Note, 1957 | Afro-Cuban jazz monument |
| Sabu Martinez | Afro Temple | Philips, 1973 | The pinnacle of spiritual Afro |
| Arsenio Rodríguez | Bruca Maniguá | RCA Victor, 1947 | Representative works of the early Song Revolution period |
| Arsenio Rodríguez | Viva Arsenio! | Tico, 1960 | Culmination after moving to the United States |
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