Cuban Essence

Turn up the heat on a cold winter day with Cuban Essence, an exciting new sound out of Chicago performing Friday, Feb. 18 at Fridays at Deere-Wiman. Cuban Essence concentrates on authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms and concepts in the form of a Timba orchestra. The Cuban counterpart of Salsa, Timba incorporates several styles, including Latin Jazz, Pop, Funk and Hip Hop. They’re sure to be heating things up in no time. And boy did they ever!
-Deere-Wiman House
- Deere Wiman House Press release submitted by Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center

Turn up the heat on a cold winter day with Cuban Essence, an exciting new sound out of Chicago performing Friday, Feb. 18 at Fridays at Deere-Wiman. Cuban Essence concentrates on authentic Afro-Cuban rhythms and concepts in the form of a Timba orchestra. The Cuban counterpart of Salsa, Timba incorporates several styles, including Latin Jazz, Pop, Funk and Hip Hop. They’re sure to be heating things up in no time. And boy did they ever!
-Deere-Wiman House
- Deere Wiman House Press release submitted by Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center

Interview
A revolution has been brewing quietly in Cuba for years, Waldo Ocaña says, and it's slowly seeping its way into American culture. But it's musical, not political, "What's happening in Cuba right now is the evolution of that music in conjunction with other types of world music," Ocaña said from his Chicago office. "It's really cutting-edge." About five years ago, he founded Cuban Essence, a group of seven musicians playing a sampling of the musical styles from today's Cuba - but with the lyrics in English. "Everybody loves Latin music, but if you speak Spanish, you only get half of it," said Ocaña, who left Cuba when he was 8 years old.
"Everyone can get the full experience of the music," he added. "We're not doing the old stuff, although it's steeped in that - the rhythms, the mambo, the cha-cha, all that - but it's modern music with English lyrics." Cuba has long retained a musical style, he said, that extends just less than 500 years ago, to when Havana was founded. Slaves initially were shipped to Cuba, Ocaña said, with the rest going to New Orleans. In both cases, their culture flourished. "Latin music was born in Cuba very much the same way that jazz and blues were born in New Orleans," he said. "They're really cousins." Cuban music has not had much exposure to the rest of the world since the Castro regime began in 1959, he said, with the exception of a 1999 documentary about a band called the Buena Vista Social Club. The Cuban influence can be found in modern music, he said, in everything from the opening riffs of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" to Bo Diddley's signature song.
Cuban Essence is visiting here as an artist in residence through Quad-City Arts, including several performances for schools and other groups, culminating in a concert Saturday night at Augustana College in Rock Island. For the performances, Ocaña said, they will be joined by two dancers. He said his original music has seen changes thanks to those taking place in his home country. "The whole thing is evolving on its own," added Ocaña, the group's percussionist. "It's a lot edgier than the original stuff. ... You have to be classically trained and very versed in jazz to be able to play this stuff to begin with. It's not like strapping on a guitar with four (key) changes."
- David Burke Quad City Times
- Quad City Times

"Fantastic! We had never seen or heard anything like this here. The beauty and energy of Waldo Ocaña’s Cuban Essence was enough to take our breath away. Nearly a year later people are still talking about it"
- Susan Wahlman, Executive Director Quad City Arts.
- Quad City Arts

"Fantastic! We had never seen or heard anything like this here. The beauty and energy of Waldo Ocaña’s Cuban Essence was enough to take our breath away. Nearly a year later people are still talking about it"
- Susan Wahlman, Executive Director Quad City Arts.
- Quad City Arts