Timba

Improvisation of the traditional charanga of the 1940s.

History

Like salsa, the roots of timba go back to the son montuno. However, timba music is clearly distinct, having incorporated several different styles and genres, including classical music, nueva trova, latin jazz, disco, funk and hip hop. The main precursors of timba are three bands: Los Van Van, Irakere, and NG La Banda, though were many other bands that were influential in setting new standards.

Los Van Van developed what came to be known as the ‘songo’ genre, making countless innovations to traditional son, both in style and orchestration. In Latin music, genres are commonly attributed to rhythms (though of course not every rhythm is a genre), and whether or not timba is a genre of its own is debatable. Songo, however, can be considered to be a genre and is in all likelihood the only genre in the world played by only one orchestra, Los Van Van. The songo rhythm was created by percussionist José Luís Quintana ("Changuito”), at the behest of Van Van bandleader Juan Formell. Since the band’s creation in 1969, Los Van Van has been the most popular band in Cuba, and are themselves considered to be one of the major timba bands.

Irakere is known largely as a Latin Jazz band outside Cuba, yet much of their music can be considered to be popular dance music. Like Los Van Van, Irakere experimented with many different styles, mixing Afro-Cuban rhythms with son and jazz. While bandleader Chucho Valdes is revered as one of the great jazz musicians of Cuba, both jazz and timba prodigies came out of the orchestra, including flutist José Luis Cortés ("El Tosco”), who assembled a group of highly talented musicians to form NG La Banda in the mid-1980s. NG experimented with different styles, including Latin jazz, for several years, before recording what is considered to be the first timba album, "En La Calle", in 1989.

Though NG La Banda had huge successes in the early 1990s, and is credited with being the first timba band, the band’s fortunes have been mixed, partly because they remain highly experimental. What came to be known as the "timba explosion” started not with NG La Banda, but with the debut album of La Charanga Habanera, "Me Sube La Fiebre”, in 1992. This album included all the elements of what is now known as timba, and the band dominated the scene until the break-up of the original band in 1998 (they have since reformed). Since then a large number of bands have sprung up in Cuba and internationally, many of the best known being headed or staffed by former members of the above-mentioned bands.

Other than in Cuba, a new generation of Timba bands now flourishes in Miami, Florida, where a large concentration of Cuban-Americans reside. Miami has become the new Timba center outside the island largely by the contributions of former members of the aforementioned bands who decided to stay in the U.S. in search of new opportunities.

Stylistic Aspects

Oscar D'Leon Though quite similar to salsa on the surface of things, timba has certain qualities of its own which distinguish it from salsa, similar to the way American R&B is distinguished from soul. In general, timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Very little "traditional" salsa existed (or exists) in Cuba, the most influential foreign 'salsero' being Venezuelan Oscar d'León, who is one of the few salsa artists to have performed in Cuba. Timba musicians thus rightly claim a different musical heritage from salsa musicians.

At its most basic, timba is more flexible and innovative than salsa, and includes a more diverse range of styles, all of which could be defined as timba. The limits of what is timba and what is not are in fact quite fluid, as many consider timba to be any kind of popular Cuban dance music.

More specifically, timba differs from salsa in orchestration and arrangement. Many timba artists readily concede that they have been more influenced by funk or soul than by salsa. Thus, bands like La Charanga Habanera or Bamboleo often have horns or other instruments playing short parts of tunes by Earth, Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang or other US funk bands. In terms of instrumentation, the most important innovation has been the permanent incorporation of a kick drum and a synthesiser.

Many timba bands have otherwise kept the traditional charanga ensemble of the 1940s, which includes double bass, conga, cowbell, clave, piano, violins, flute and in timba an expanded horn section that (in addition to the traditional trumpets and trombones) may include saxophones. However, many innovations were made in the style of playing and the arrangements, especially on the bass (with elements of funk and R&B), the piano (with elements of baroque music such as Bach), the horns (complex arrangements known as "champolas"), and the use of the clave (where 3-2 son clave is the standard in salsa music, timba often leans more towards 2-3 rumba clave).

Also different from salsa is the frequent shift from major to minor keys (and vice versa), the highly complex rhythmic arrangements (often based on santeria or abakuá rhythms), the shifts in speed and the large number of orchestrated breaks, or "bloques".

The Status of Timba

While timba has gone past its peak in recent years, it has found a niche among a meaningful number of fans and has been influential amongst Cuban-American and European salsa musicians. Major groups are still actively recording and performing, and major labels — especially in Europe — continue to take an interest in timba. ~ Wikipedia