Strings & Bass Musicians – Artists

Guitarists, tres players, bassists, and violinists — the string players who wove the harmonic and rhythmic fabric of Cuban music from the earliest son sextetos to modern timba.

The tres cubano carried Son out of rural Oriente. The bass — from marímbula to upright to electric — laid the tumbao that dancers feel in their feet. The violin gave the charanga its elegant top voice. These are the string players whose work is woven into every style on this site.

• Alain Pérez — Bassist, singer, composer (1977)
  Bassist and vocalist who worked with Irakere and Isaac Delgado — Alain Pérez is one of the most versatile Cuban bass players of his generation, equally capable in…
• Arsenio Rodríguez — Musician, composer, bandleader (1911–1970)
  Arsenio Rodríguez, father of the modern conjunto: he added conga, a second trumpet and piano montuno to the septeto, reshaping the son.
• Compay Segundo — Guitarist, singer (1907–2003)
  A master of the traditional Cuban son and trova styles — Compay Segundo spent decades in near-retirement before the Buena Vista Social Club recordings brought his…
• David Calzado — Musician, bandleader (1958)
  Founder of Charanga Habanera — David Calzado led one of the most provocative and popular timba bands of the 1990s, pushing the genre's energy and street credibility…
• Elio Revé — Musician, bandleader (1930–1997)
  The musician who brought changüí from Guantánamo into Cuban popular music — Elio Revé's Orquesta Revé was a proving ground for several important timba musicians…
• Enrique Jorrín — Violinist, composer (1926–1987)
  Creator of the cha-cha-chá — Enrique Jorrín developed the genre in the early 1950s as a slower, more accessible version of the mambo that Cuban social dancers could…
• Felipe Cabrera — Bassist
  Felipe Cabrera, one of Cuba's leading contemporary bassists: Cuban bass traditions with a jazz feel, in timba, son and Latin jazz.
• Israel "Cachao" López — Bassist, composer (1918–2008)
  One of the most important figures in Cuban music — Israel "Cachao" López co-created the mambo, invented the Cuban descarga (jam session), and defined what the bass…
• Joel Domínguez — Bassist
  One of the defining bass voices of 1990s timba — Joel Domínguez worked with Paulito FG, Issac Delgado and Manolín, developing bass tumbaos that became foundational…
• Juan Formell — Bassist, composer, bandleader (1942–2014)
  Founder of Los Van Van and the principal architect of songo — Juan Formell created the most influential Cuban popular dance band of the second half of the 20th century…
• Ninón Mondéjar — Musician, bandleader (1918–1993)
  Director of Orquesta América — Ninón Mondéjar led the ensemble whose performances at the Silver Star club in Havana were the original proving ground for Enrique…
• Niño Rivera — Tres player, composer (1919–1996)
  One of the greatest tres players in Cuban music — Niño Rivera was a virtuoso of the instrument who elevated it from a traditional son accompaniment role to that…
• Orestes López — Cellist, composer (1908–1991)
  Co-creator of the mambo — Orestes López, working as composer and cellist in Arcaño y sus Maravillas, developed the rhythmic innovations in the 1940s that became…
• Pancho Amat — Tres player (1950)
  Pancho Amat, today's leading tres master: he widened what the tres can express while keeping it rooted in the Afro-Cuban son tradition.
• Ry Cooder — Guitarist, producer (1947)
  The American guitarist and producer who assembled the Buena Vista Social Club — Ry Cooder's 1996 trip to Havana resulted in one of the most celebrated world music…