Guitarist Ry Cooder [b. 1947-] has done wonders for the historical guitar canon in rock and roll. The man has not only been greatly respected and admired for his own playing, but he is also something of a musicologist, a cultural explorer in search of like-minded six-string players around the world. Witness his prior musical excursions with 1993's A Meeting by the River with Indian guitarist V.M. Bhatt and 1994’s Talking Timbuktu, with African guitarist Ali Farka Toure.

Call him a guitarist’s Margaret Mead.

With Buena Vista Social Club, Cooder went to Cuba and brought back the vibrancy of authentic Cuban jazz and allowed for a bit of cold war diplomacy with a musical exchange between remaining pre-Castro Cuban jazz legends and the rest of the west. The music crossed borders and ideology.

Cuban Surf Guitar?
Now, Cooder has gone back to Cuba and returned with Mambo Sinuendo, just released on Nonesuch Records, an album recorded with Cuban electric guitarist Manuel Galban [b. 1930?]. The result is a breathtaking journey through the electric guitar language of the 1950s and 1960s with a welcome air of innocence to it. It’s just two guitarists talking together in a forgotten language. It’s a terrific mix of styles and cultures coming together as one great guitar record without being singularly about the guitar. The tunes are stellar.

Tracks:
Drume Negrita
Monte Adentro
Los Twangueros (Galban/Cooder)
Patricia
Caballo Viejo
Mambo Sinuendo (Galban/Cooder/Cooder)
Bodas De Oro
Échale Salsita
La Luna en Tu Mirada
Secret Love
Bolero Sonámbulo (Galban/Cooder)
Maria La O
Total: 50:25

Musicians: Manuel Galbán: guitar/Ry Cooder; guitar, steel guitar, tres, piano, organ, bass/Jim Keltner: drums/Joachim Cooder: drums/Miguel “Angá” Díaz: congas/Orlando “Cachaíto” López: bass/Juliette & Carla Commagere: vocals, Herb Alpert: trumpet, and others.

Album Background
According to the liner notes on the Nonesuch site (www.nonesuch.com) Mambo Sinuendo is Cooder’s attempt to recapture the late 1950s guitar sound whereby the music was heavily influenced by the sounds of mambo, a Cuban dance still popular today. At that time there were many mambo-jazz albums available and the music remained a Cuban possession long after the Bay of Pigs. Manuel Galban is the Cuban guitarist that pioneered a harder edge within this genre in his time spent with Los Zafiros, a legendary vocal group in Cuba during the 1950s/60s. Galban also professes an affinity for Duane Eddy and was a likely and worthy choice for Cooder to collaborate with.

Cooder is quoted on the Nonesuch site as stating [in reference to the tone of the album]: "Galbán and I felt that there was a sound that had not been explored—a Cuban electric-guitar band that could reinterpret the atmosphere of the 1950s with beauty, agility, and simplicity…”

Cooder and Galban decided on a dual guitar attack, supplemented with bass and the power of two drum sets and percussion. According to Cooder, the banded needed to ”swing like a big band and penetrate the mysteries of the classic tunes.”

Hang Ten Fidel?
Mambo Sinuendo succeeds with an infectious sound, a mix of jazz, mambo, R&B, Hawaiian rhythms, and some serious surf guitar undertones.

The album jells very quickly with Drume Negrita. From the opening leads of Galban and Cooder, these guys are clearly in touch with other and having a blast.

The band swings with a vengeance throughout Mambo Sinuendo and the tunes take the listener on a real journey through the guitar sound of the time. The drumwork of Jim Keltner and Joachim Cooder is integral to the shifting rhythms that the music hangs on, while the bass playing of Orlando “Cachaíto” López is equally impressive.

You can seriously "escape" with Mambo Sinuendo. Note, however, that the twang is the thing here and if you’re not a fan of instrumental music after hearing this one, you need an operation.

Best Tracks
There is not a weak track here. The album shifts moods and tempo with ease, though most of it is at a "simmer" setting throughout. There’s a lot of Cooder’s beautiful languid tone here (Secret Love in particular) coupled with Galban’s twangy, sharp, and exacting leads.

The strongest and most enjoyable tracks for me were Monte Adrento, Los Twangueros, Mambo Sinuendo, La Luna En Tu Mirada , Secret Love, and Bolero Sonámbulo (which features Galban on piano).

A number of reviewers are referring to this as the best album of Cooder’s career. He sounds totally relaxed and free within this genre and clearly has an affinity to this music and the musicians he regards as equals. It’s simply one of the best albums of 2003. Five stars if ever there was one.

Put politics aside and put this on. Mambo Sinuendo goes well with Batidos (fruit shakes) and Mojitos (national drink of Cuba, a mix of fresh mint, syrup, lime juice, rum and club soda). Cervezas’ all around. It’s a perfect soundtrack for a summer barbecue with a Cuban flavor. Say it again, "cervezas’ all around."

Cat Rating Scale
A surprising two paws up from Freddie and Chester. Tired of winter, they were ready for a blast of summer music.

Sources
www.nonesuch.com, www.ryland-cooder.com, www.bbc.co.uk/music, and www.allmusic.com
A fine article on Cooder and the album can be found at
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20030123/RVCOOD/Arts/thearts/thearts_temp/5/5/19/

Participants in the write-off include—
Aerocat/atchesonate/cletta1201/echo-denver/emptywishes/fmhypo/gmann6900/Psychovant/sleestakk speeddemon531/superbboy/thevoid99/unprofound/vanwarp. You can link to the reviews from the pages of either JennJoy or Officer (hosts).



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends