“Ned Sublette is widely regarded as one of Cuban music's most knowledgeable and passionate experts. As enthralling as it is comprehensive, his book breathes life and fire into the whole history of Cuban music.” —Bonnie Raitt
“Ned, a New Yorker, has painted with a latin passion a huge fresco of Cuba and its music with exquisite and astounding details. A real page turner!” —Georges Collinet, host of Afropop Worldwide
"It was Cuba that turned beat around, and thanks to Sublette any serious music fan will now know why." —The New York Times Book Review
"Essential. . .a solid, supremely lush effort." —Publishers Weekly
"A magnificent labor of love and advocacy. . .Remarkably thorough yet genially readable." —New York Times
"If you buy only one book on Cuba in your Life . . . this is the one." —The Nation
“Sublette's book does for the field of Cuban popular music what Perez Prado's ‘Mambo Number Five’ did for the mambo—bring the tradition to world attention in a rich and most fabulous way.” —Robert Farris Thompson, author of Flash of the Spirit:African and Afro-American Art and Philosopy
“Serious, erudite, and fascinating.” —Martin Cruz Smith, author of Havana Bay and Gorky Park
"Told with humor, affection and authority, this account. . .is destined to become one of the definitive texts on the subject." —Global Rhythm Magazine
"Ned Sublette knows what he is saying and how to say it." —New West Indian Guide
This entertaining history of Cuba and its music begins with the collision of Spain and Africa and continues through the era of Miguelito Vald+s, Arsenio Rodr-guez, Benny Mor+, and P+rez Prado. It offers a behind-the-scenes examination of music from a Cuban point of view, unearthing surprising, provocative connections and making a case for Cuba as fundamental to the evolution of music in the New World. Revealed are how the music of black slaves transformed 16th-century Europe, how the claves appeared, and how Cuban music influenced ragtime, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Music lovers will follow this journey from Andaluc-a, the Congo, the Calabar, Dahomey, and Yorubaland via Cuba to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint-Domingue, New Orleans, New York, and Miami. The music is placed in a historical context that considers the complexities of the slave trade; Cuba's relationship to the United States; its revolutionary political traditions; the music of Santer-a, Palo, Abaku-, Vod+, and much more.
Ned Sublette is the cofounder of the Qbadisc record label. He has coproduced the public radio program Afropop Worldwide for seven years and traveled frequently to Cuba since 1990.
Music, History
688 pages, Cloth, 6 x 9
60 B/W Photos
Distribution Rights: WOR
$36.00 (CAN $54.00)
9781556525162 (1556525168) Pub Date: May 2004
Chicago Review Press