Bass Player: Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez Valdes

Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions).^[2] 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.

The tune transcribed from the Cachao ‘Master Sessions Vol One’ CD is called ‘El Son No Ha Muerto” which translates as ‘The Son Has Not Died’. It is a simple part in terms of reading the dots but finding the spirit in Latin music is always a little tougher than it looks, especially to those of us unfamiliar with the clave concept. This one in, we believe, a Son clave.