A very short clip of our concert in Vaires-sur-Marne, filmed by flutist Emilie Laroubine (thanks, Emilie!), who came to sit in with us for a few tunes.

Çasonando will participate in Vaire-sur-Marne’s concert series “On Stage: Current Music by Local Artists.”

As always, Çasonando promises a swinging blend of Caribbean and African spices, from salsa to cumbia, rumba and changüí. Bring all your friends to dance the night away, or just kick back and listen, ¡pa’ gozarlo bien!

• Where: Centre des Arts et Loisirs, Vaires-sur-Marne (a suburb of Paris, France)
• Cover: 5 €, 3€ with Passport Jeunes Vairois or the “Culture Pass.”
• Doors open at 8pm.
• For more info, contact the Centre des Arts et Loisirs at 01.64.26.10.96

We’ve just finished the arrangement of singer Eddy Carvajal’s new tune, which includes a bridge that Eddy and I worked on together. We’ve been looking for a solid medium tempo song to include in our new demo recording (to be completed by the early spring, we hope!), and this track looks like it will make it on the list. In the meantime, this rough mix will give you an idea of what’s to come!

While the roots of Çasonando are in traditional Cuban dance music, the band also incorporates elements of the more modern timba, Senegalese soukous, Colombian cumbia, and jazz…

I met Eddy Carvajal when we both played together with Parisian son group Barrio del Este. He had just arrived in Paris from Santiago de Cuba, and was looking to get a band together. He later introduced me to Nils Wekstein, a veteran of the Parisian “world music” scene, and soon after we began rehearsing, calling ourselves Çasonando.

The name, which plays on the Spanish words sazoneando (spicing it up) and sonando (lit. making sound or playing the music known as son), makes an orthographic nod to our Parisian surroundings.

Our eclectic approach to the music has been partially motivated by a desire to differentiate ourselves from the countless other Buena-Vista-style groups that have been playing in Paris since the late ’90s. This has affected our choice of repertoire as well: we cover Cuban standards like “Chan chan,” but we’ll also play songs from other genres, approached in a basically Cuban way. Premier Gaou, the track featured here, is a good example of this. We take the basic structure of the song and mix in elements of Cuban changui and timba to create a sound that is all our own.

The group is preparing to record its first demo, so mp3s of that project will soon be up on this site, as well as on the official website. To book the band for summer or fall 2007, contact me directly by email.

Conjunto 23 (pronounced “cone-hoon-toe vain-tee-tress”) is essentially a traditional Cuban band with some special Philadelphia twists…

While their old-school sound is as swinging as the likes of Compay Segundo or Ibrahim Ferrer, their interest in jazz, soul, and the more modern sounds of Cuban timba (also read: “freaky, funky, no-holds-barred Cuban salsa”) gives Conjunto 23 a fresh, tight sound.

Founded as a quartet in 2001 by David Garlitz (tres, vocals), Jim Jordan (bass, vocals), Robin Moore (percussion, guitar, trumpet, and vocals), and Scott MacDonald (bongó, vocals), the group has performed concerts, given masterclasses, hosted dances, and performed for private functions up and down the East Coast.

–from conjunto23.com/bios

Find out all about Conjunto 23 on the official website, where you’ll find more clips from the album, photos, band bios, and up-to-date concert information. Here on DavidGarlitz.com I’ll be posting some minidisc recordings spanning the band’s career, some which will eventually make their way to the official site as well.

• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Cuban Son and Cultural Tourism
• Chapter 2: The Buena Vista Social Club Phenomenon
• Chapter 3: Genre Issues in Cuban Son
• Chapter 4: Stylistic Analysis
• Appendix A: Musical Examples
• Appendix B: Photos
• Bibliography
• Complete Thesis as one PDF File

You can listen to all of the musical examples here (refer to the bibliography for more detailed information about the recordings) :

1. «Aquella Boca,» Sexteto Habanero 1927
2. Introduction to «A La Cuata Co y Co,» Sexteto Boloña 1926
3. Introduction to «Suavecito,» Septeto Nacional 1930
4. Introduction to «Caballeros, Silencio,» Sexteto Habanero 1927
5. Introduction to «Vitico,» Isaac Oviedo 1998
6. «Alza Los Pies, Congo,» (excerpt) Sexteto Habanero 1928
7. «Mi Arere,» (excerpt) Los Muñequitos de Matanzas 1988
8. «La Gente del Bronx,» (excerpt) Arsenio Rodríguez 1951
9. «La Bola,» (excerpt) Manolín, El Médico de la Salsa 1996
10. «La Expresiva,» (excerpt) NG La Banda 1990
11. «No Se Puede Tapar El Sol,» (excerpt) NG La Banda 1990
12. «El Traguito,» Félix Godón *
13. «Harina de Maíz,» Cuarteto Rumí *
14. Guajeo in Dm, Ilià¡n Torres *
15. Introduction to «Se Quema Pueblo Nuevo,» Septeto Machín *
16. «Ven, ven, ven,» (excerpt) Septeto Machín *
17. «Me Quedé Con Juana,» (excerpt) Son Soneros *
18. «Saca La Mano, Antonio,» Son Soneros *
19. «Mozambique,» (excerpt) Pedro «Pello el Afrokan» Izquierdo ca. 1963
20. «Ahora Te Pido, Sonero,» (excerpt) Son Soneros *
21. «Lágrimas Negras,» (excerpt) Son Diamante *
22. «El Que Siembra Su Maíz,» Perlas del Son *
23. Introduction to «Sabor a Caney,» Perlas del Son *
24. «Pedro Navaja,» (excerpt) Ruben Blades 1978
25. Guajeo in Am, Daniel Cos *
26. «Si No Te Vea,» Moneda Nacional *
27. «La Raya Rumbero,» Moneda Nacional *
28. Introduction to «Aquella Boca,» Cañambú *
29. «¿Que está pasando?,» (excerpt) Cañambú *
30. Bongó solo, Manuel Alemán and Cañambú *

* Field recording, recorded with permission by the author June-August 2004

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