Bass Player: Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez

a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the manbo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). Throughout his career he also performed and recorded in a variety of music styles ranging from classical music to salsa. An exile in the United States since the 1960s, he only achieved international fame following a career revival in the 1990s.

Born into a family of musicians in Havana, Cachao and his older brother, Orestes, were the driving force behind one of Cuba’s most prolific charangas, Arcano y sus Maravillas. As members of the Maravillas, Cachao and Orestes pioneered a new form of ballroom music derived from the danzon, the danzon-manbo, which subsequently developed into an international genre, mambo. In the 1950s, Cachao became famous for popularizing improvised jam sessions known as descargas. He emigrated to Spain in 1962, and moved to the United States in 1963, starting a career as a session and live musician for a variety of bands in New York during the rise of boogaloo and, later, salsa.

In the 1970s, Cachao fell into obscurity after moving to Las Vegas and later Miami, releasing albums sporadically as a leader. In the 1990s, he was re-discovered by actor Andy Garcia, who brought him back to the forefront of the Latin music scene with the release of a documentary and several albums. Before his death in 2008, Cachao had earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and several Grammy awards. He is ranked number 24 on Bass Player magazine’s list of “The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time”.

The transcription is Cacaho’s bass part on the tune ‘Al Fin Te VI’ (I Finally Saw You), the opening track from the Master Sessions Vol. 1 album released by Garcia in 1994. A clarinet/bass duet featuring the bass player alongside clarinettist Paquito d’Rivera, this is a relatively simple little chart to read. The 1:24 tune is played arco (with a bow) on the recording but you can play the chart pizzicato or even on electric bass. A nice little introduction to Latin bass playing. (The clarinet