Part 3 The Growth of Vernacular Traditions Chapter 12: Latin Popular Musics America’s Musical Landscape 6th edition © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc

1

Part 3The Growth of Vernacular

Traditions

Chapter 12: Latin Popular Musics

America’s Musical Landscape 6th edition

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

2© 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions Chapter 12: Latin Popular Musics 2

Latin Popular Musics Latin American music has enriched the popular and concert music

of the United States for at least a century and a half

This music is of more significance to North American popular music today than ever before

Southwest United States Traditional Spanish dance music is played

Other parts of the country Latin American dance music has affected pop and jazz

“Latin Pop” is a category in its own right on the Billboard trade magazine popular music charts



Latin Popular Musics: Early Twentieth Century Latin popular dances took the United States by storm

First as exotic curiosities, then as fads, and finally entering mainstream American popular music

The Argentinean tango The first Latin rhythm to affect American pop A graceful, yet torrid dance, sedate in tempo, sensuous 1911: The tango was introduced to Broadway audiences 1913: Made widely popular as danced by Irene and Vernon

Castle in a musical A sophisticated fusion of European and African ingredients



Latin Popular Musics: The Tango and the Habanera Lyrical tango melodies often suggest the influence of

Argentina’s Italian population

Tango rhythm is that of the Cuban dance, the habanera… Subdivides eight eighth-notes (four beats) into 3 + 3 + 2 Habanera beat has influenced United States popular music…

In Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s piano pieces Jelly Roll Morton called it the “Spanish tinge” in ragtime W. C. Handy used habanera rhythm in the four-line verse

—”tango section”—between stanzas of “St. Louis Blues”

The habanera beat has been heard as the basic rhythm of numerous pop styles



Latin Popular Musics: Influence of Latin Performers 1930s: Several Latin dances entered American pop through

big band music Especially that of popular bandleader Xavier Cugat, born in

Spain and raised in Cuba

Several renowned Latin performers began their careers at about that time Appearing in popular stage shows and later in film musicals

Desi Arnaz and Carmen Miranda

Three Latin areas—the Caribbean, Brazil, Mexico—have influenced popular, classical, and religious music in North America



The Caribbean The slave trade bringing blacks to North America

carried many slaves to the Caribbean islands

These slaves managed better than their northern counterparts to preserve their cultural traditions

The drumming largely forbidden in the North was tolerated south of the border

African tribal religions blended better with the Christian Catholicism prevalent in Latin America than with the Protestantism characteristic of the North



The Caribbean Since 1898 Puerto Ricans arrived to settle primarily in New York

City

Cubans have come to New York City as well as to Florida

Cubans and Puerto Ricans brought African-derived musical and dance forms to the United States

Because more African slaves originally were brought to Cuba, the black Cuban population is sizable and the African influence on its culture is strong

Chicago and Los Angeles have people from Haiti, Trinidad, and other areas of the West Indies



The CaribbeanSanteria: The Way of the Saints Santeria is a religion created in the New World by slaves

brought from West Africa to the Caribbean sugar plantations

Nominally converted to Catholicism, slaves often fused their traditional beliefs and rituals with elements of their new religion

Thus, in Cuba the religious practice called Santeria evolved

In the United States Santeria has members of the Cuban, Puerto Rican, African American, and Anglo-American communities

Music is important to Santeria



Santeria: The Music Traditional rhythms of Cuban batá drums accompany rituals

Batá are double-headed, hourglass-shaped drums Believed to be shaped like the thunder ax of a god Both heads of the drums are sounded with the hands Each rhythm constitutes a musical prayer to a specific god An oral tradition rooted in ancient Africa, ensembles evolve

their own performance style and technique

Each Santeria song is associated with a particular deity Sung without harmony in call-and-response fashion

The Leader improvises phrases in an open, relaxed vocal style characteristic of African practice



The Caribbean: Bomba Bomba = African-derived Puerto

Rican couple dance; one of the first Latin dances to become popular north of the border Allowing the man great flexibility and

freedom to display dancing skills The female performs fixed steps

The song’s text—in call-and-response fashion—concerns daily events

With drums, optional maracas, guiro (see photo) and cowbell

guiro



The Caribbean: Rumba Rumba: A group of Afro-Cuban musical

and dance forms Dancing couples hold each other a

bit apart, shoulders level, moving hips

Rhythm of two or four beats per measure, divided according to clave rhythm, tapped using claves (see image), which underlies Cuban dance music (refer to figure 12.3, page 212)

claves

First two measures: Habanera rhythm; second measure sounds on beats two and three; tempo variable but never very rapid



Rumba is the style at the deepest roots of Cuban music Arrived in Cuba with African slaves

Soon African languages were replaced by Spanish Melody lines adapted scales and figures from Spanish songs This synthesis seeded all Cuban music that followed…

Including son, chachacha, conga, mambo, salsa, cabaret music, pop songs, classical Cuban compositions

Around the world rumba reached into… Rhythm and blues, disco, Spanish flamenco-pop, African

guitar-rock

Rumba continues to evolve



Rumba: Instruments Traditional instruments

add to the exotic flavor of rumba Bongos

Pairs of drums of different size

Held between the knees

Usually played with the fingers and hand, sometimes with a stick

Bongos



Rumba: Conga Drums, Timbales, Maracas The Conga drum is the largest of the Latin instruments

Often played in pairs Sound is produced by their muleskin head

Timbre varying according to whether it is struck by the heel, palm, or fingers of the hand

Timbales Pairs of metal drums mounted on a stand, struck with a stick

Maracas Pairs of gourds filled with pebbles or seeds

Shaken or rotated by handles attached to one end



The Rumba in the United States 1930s—Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians performed

rumbas in New York’s uptown Latin district, El Barrio

Xavier Cugat and other bandleaders entertained downtown ballroom crowds in a rhythmically simplified Americanized version of the rumba

Tin Pan Alley songwriters produced songs with Latin American flavor, such as… “Heat Wave,” by Irving Berlin “Begin the Beguine,” by Cole Porter

The beguine is a native West Indies dance



The Caribbean: Cu-Bop 1940s: Cuban instruments and instrumentalists were

strongly affecting jazz

Another dance, the conga, a line or chain dance

Cu-bop merges Latin rhythms with bebop

Introduced by Dizzie Gillespie in a 1947 bebop concert

From then on, Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, and other musicians flavored much of their music with Brazilian, Cuban, Latin influences



The Importance of Rhythm Rhythmic patterns are at the heart of Cuban (and African)

drumming

Over a constant pulse other pulses are layered, then varied

Creating rhythmic expectation through repetition, then subverting it

This is what a jazz soloist does

Jazz musicians adapted such techniques

Stan Kenton’s band used the Latin effect double-timing which subdivides the beat, implying a faster tempo



The Caribbean: Mambo An Afro-Cuban form of big band dance music

Tito Puente (1923-2000)—born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents—became known as the “Mambo King” for his sophisticated versions of this Latin dance Puente was a percussionist and bandleader of Afro-Cuban

music, influenced by swing and Santeria

Couples danced the mambo moving forward and back The slower, simpler chachacha, popular in the 1950s is closely

related to or even a form of the mambo



The Mambo’s Influence Merged with big band jazz

Inspired many Tin Pan Alley songs recorded by…

Perry Como, Nat “King” Cole, more

The mambo affected 1950s rhythm and blues

Introduced Latin rhythms into early rock

Bo Diddley, Ray Charles, James Brown absorbed Latin percussion sounds and rhythms into their own music



The Caribbean: Salsa Late 1970s: Salsa emerged with new status

Salsa = sauce (literal translation)—was a term for peppy sounds

Today salsa sometimes refers to all African-Latin musics

Salsa had been dance band music with instrumentation, rhythms, flavor unlike swing band sound

Timbres: Voices, trumpets; or, flutes and violins Rhythms: Complex; varied Puerto Rican, South

American elements

Salsa had been a Cuban music considered a substyle of popular music for decades



Salsa Sophisticated jazz musicians enthusiastically incorporated salsa

rhythms into their virtuosic performances

1980s and 1990s

Salsa in New York changed, acquiring a distinct African-American inflection

The match of young freestyle singers with classic salsa rhythms has proved powerful, as revealed by brisk sales of recordings by salsa artists

Marc Anthony and India (Lindabel Caballero)



Listening Example 50Ojos (“Eyes,” 1978)Composed by Willie ColónPerformed by Rubén Blades (vocal)Willie Colón (trombone)Listening guide page 214

Rhythm: Clave rhythmInstrumentation: Brass with trombone on lead lines; percussion,

including conga drum, timbales, bongos, maracas, claves, piano repeats syncopated patterns

Form: Two-partCanto (narrative) and montuno (rhythmic, more instrumental)

This performance exemplifies howsalsa musicians absorb varied influences and apply them to thisCuban style

Notice how the brass instrumentssound like those of big band jazz

Canto After a brass introduction, the first section, like the verse of aTin Pan Alley song, presents thesong’s narrative content

Montuno The second section alternates instrumental and vocalperformances, increasing intensity and rhythmic complexity



Brazil The relaxed, easy pace of Brazilian music can be

related to the sounds and inflections of the Portuguese language spoken in Brazil

Brazilian dances—gentler, slower, less intense that the exciting Cuban and Puerto Rican musics—achieved their own popularity in the United States

But never to the degree of the hot Caribbean sounds



Brazil:Samba and Bossa Nova 1949: The Afro-Brazilian samba, sometimes called the

national dance of Brazil, arrived in New York Became popular as sung and danced by the glamorous Carmen

Miranda

The word samba has religious connotations Samba has been the main dance at Rio’s Carnival, before Lent

1960s: Bossa Nova emerged as middle and upper class youth’s reaction against samba’s perceived commercialism Sometimes called jazz samba, it is derived from samba

Bossa Nova used elements of cool and progressive jazz with sophisticated Brazilian rhythms



Bossa Nova Less vibrant, more melancholy than Cuban-flavored music

Bossa nova adapted beautifully to the world of jazz Flexible rhythms, colorful instrumentation

Bossa nova met initial resistance from traditionalists They did not understand its elusive flavors, new sounds And, like bebop, bossa nova is for listening

Bossa nova is not a dance, but a rhythm--with subtle, flexible polyrhythms

Samba had exotic stars singing, dancing, flashy band Bossa nova—Soft singing, single guitar, at most a four-

man band



Bossa Nova:Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) A leading figure of the bossa nova movement

The term bossa nova first emerged in the lyrics of the song “Desafinado,” by Jobim

Bossa = slang for something particularly distinctive Nova = new “Desafinado” = off key—The lyrics say that by singing “off

key” the singer tried to attract his beloved’s attention

Early 1970s: Rhythms and melodies of bossa nova were added to much music, including but not limited to… Weather Report, with Brazilian percussionists; Brazilian singer

of jazz and Brazilian music Flora Purim; Pat Metheny



Listening Example 51Desafinado (“Off Key”)by Antônio Carlos JobimLyricist: Newton MendoncaPerformers: João Gilberto (vocalist, guitarist)and Stan Getz (jazz tenor saxophonist)Listening guide page 217

Meter: Four beats to the barTempo: Slow, relaxedForm: StrophicGilberto’s calm voice is uniquely suited for the long, sinuous, chromatic

melodic line; notice the harmonies to make the singer seem “off key.”

If you say thatI sing out of tune, love,I want you to know that thiscauses me great pain.

Only the privileged have ears as good as yours.I only possess what God gave me.

If you insist in classifying my behavior as antimusicalI myself lyingshould arguethat this is bossa nova,that this is very natural….



Mexico Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California absorbed many sounds

from nearby Mexico… Where folk music and popular music strongly reflect the songs

and dances of African slaves

Country music of the Southwest shows the Mexican influence Woody Guthrie, playing music in Texas in the 1920s sometimes

adapted Mexican topical ballads called corridos Corrido = Storytelling song, with roots in Mexico and the

southwestern and western United States

The Mexican ranchera (ranch song) “El Rancho Grande” became a standard of western swing bands



Mexico: Dances Dances traveled back and forth between Spain and Mexico

Dances acquired changes in name, instrumentation, performance style over time

These dances became popular in the Southwest

Baile = traditional Spanish social dance popular in the Southwest before and after the Civil War, and, today

Bailes are performed to celebrate engagements, weddings, joyful events



Mexico:Tejano and Norteño Music These are musical styles showing the influence of mid-

nineteenth century immigrants from Germany, Poland, and what is now the Czech Republic

Accordion in popular bands

Oom-pah-pah beat of polkas to Spanish songs and dances

Known as norteño in northern Mexico

Known as tejano in south Texas



Tejano Music 1950s: Tejanos were singing Tex-Mex rather than traditional

Spanish

1960s and 1970s: Orchestral sound infiltrated many tejano bands

1980s: Keyboards were included in the bands

1995: Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was murdered The murder of this shining young star brought tejano music to

national attention The music is now more familiar and popular as it evolves Today’s tejano groups mix salsa, meringue, techno, pop;

accordion still dominates some ensembles



Mexico: Conjunto Conjunto = An ensemble accompanying dance and song in

norteño music, north and south of the Mexico-Texas border

As Mexican Americans spread throughout the southwestern United States as well as north and east, conjunto ensembles played their traditional norteño music

The ensembles included accordion, guitar, sometimes double bass,

drums, later on sometimes saxophone

They played polkas, waltzes, European dances popular in Mexico and the United States, and by the 1950s rancheras, corridos, and traditional Mexican songs



Conjuntos: Recent Years Some modern conjunto musicians have resisted the traditional

polka songs

They have blended in other musical styles, including jazz, into performances

Besides saxophones, some have keyboards and synthesizers, creating conjuntos orquestales

Conjunto musicians have attracted enthusiastic new audiences to their música alegre (“happy music”) by…

Traveling widely Teaming up with other musicians Adding conjunto beat to other popular musics



Mexico: Mariachis Mariachis = Mexican groups of strolling

musicians playing string instruments and often led by one or more trumpets

Often perform in the southwestern United States By 1970s, folk, country, and rock rhythms and

instrumentation reflected Mexican music, including mariachis

The music is joyous, often played at weddings “Mariachi” may be derived from mariage,

French for “marriage”

Strolling mariachis entertain passersby



Latin Music Today Latin music has become a vital force in the music of the United

States

Santana, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Shakira

2000: The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences created a new Latin branch which presented the first Latin Grammy Awards that year

Latin Grammy Awards categories include

Pop, rock, tropical, regional, traditional, jazz, Brazilian, children’s, classical, production, video


Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions Summary 36

Part 3 Summary: The Rise of Popular Culture The form of Sousa’s marches—a series of melodic strains—

was also the form of ragtime, which was A written piano music combining black rhythmic effects with

European harmony and form Syncopated melodies in the right hand accompanied by a

simple duple left hand pattern

By World War I, rags were published by Tin Pan Alley Many Tin Pan Alley songs had the spirit of ragtime

The great popular songwriters wrote for Tin Pan Alley and for Broadway musicals

Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin



Part 3 Summary: The Jazz Age Black musicians combined…

Forms, harmonies, timbres of white popular musics with… Creole, Caribbean, black African rhythmic and melodic

techniques This hot new music for dancing was called jazz

Blues was An early manifestation of jazz

Blues began as black folk song style, and evolved to… A sophisticated, influential form of popular music

Boogie-woogie transferred the form and harmonic structure of blues to the piano



Part 3 Summary: The Jazz Age New Orleans nurtured the first important black combos

Soloists improvised on a given tune Combo members backed them up

In Chicago later, white Dixieland bands imitated New Orleans jazz sound

White and black teens and young adults danced to early jazz White middle-age people preferred sweet and symphonic jazz

during the turbulent Depression years Not true jazz, these genres introduced the art of the

arranger They paved the way for the 1930s swing bands



Part 3 Summary: Jazz 1930-1960 Mid-1930s

Jazz reached its peak of popularity, for about a decade Big bands played arrangements of blues and pop tunes

Harmonies more adventurous, pieces more structured than earlier jazz

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie rebelled against the commercialism and popularity of big band swing

Established bebop, a music for listening—not dancing Bebop ushered in the age of modern jazz

1940s Singers replaced big bands in popularity



Part 3 Summary: Jazz 1930-1960 Jazz musicians have formed alliances with the world of concert

music, producing… Symphonic works with jazzy flavors Jazz pieces in classical forms Third stream pieces in which jazz and classical music meet

Influential musicians in concert jazz… Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus

Additional modern jazz types include… Progressive jazz, cool jazz, free jazz, fusion



Part 3 Summary: Country Music Rooted in rural and mountain folk traditions

Jimmie Rodgers popularized hillbilly songs

The Original Carter Family brought mountain music to the city

Recordings, radio shows spread this music

Country musicians absorbed many influences as they moved to different states; soon new styles evolved. In Texas, Western swing and honky-tonk was popular. Cowboy songs from films joined the hillbilly repertoire to produce country-western music.Except for bluegrass, country music consists primarily of songs.

Roping a Maverickpainted by Olaf C. Seltzer (1877-1957)



Part 3 Summary: Latin Popular Musics Latin dances invigorated the American pop music scene beginning

in the 1930s Big bands popularized several dances from the Caribbean,

Brazil, and Mexico

The tango, bomba, rumba, and other Latin dances soon became a seemingly inherent part of the North American popular experience Brazil’s samba and bossa nova

Mexican mariachis became an inherent component of southwestern music



Image credits: Slide 10: Guiro, Royalty-Free/Corbis Slide 11: Claves, ibid Slide 13: Bongo Drums, ibid Slide 34: Strolling Mariachis © Corbis


Image credits: Slide 41: Roping a Maverick painted by

Olaf C. Seltzer


Documents

Part 3 The Growth of Vernacular Traditions Chapter 12: Latin Popular Musics America’s Musical Landscape 6th edition © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc