Eliseo Grenet Sánchez (12 June 1893 in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

– 4 December 1950) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

pianist and a leading composer/arranger of the day. He composed music for stage shows and films, and some famous Cuban dance music.Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana. vol 2, p175 Eliseo was one of three musical brothers, all composers, the others being Emilio (Neno','' 1901–1941) and Ernesto (1908–1981). Emilio went on composing even after having a leg bitten off by a

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in 1930;Sublette, Ned 2004. ''Cuba and its music: from the first drums to the mambo''. Chicago. p406 Ernesto was a drummer who became leader of the Tropicana's orchestra.

Life & work

Eliseo studied music under Mercedes Valenzuela and Leandro Simón Guergué, the father of Moisés Simons. In 1905 he played piano in the silent film theatre ''La Caricatura'', and in 1909 directed the orchestra of the ''Politeama Habanero'' theatre, which mostly showed

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...

s. Later he joined the company of Regino López at the ''Teatro Cubano''. In 1925 Grenet founded a jazz band which played in the cabaret ''Montmatre'' and the ''Jockey Club''. The line-up included Grenet (piano); Manolo Castro ( alto sax); José Ramón Betancourt (

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

); Pedro Mercado (

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

); Jorge Bolet (piano sub); Enrique Santiesteban (percussion and singer). In 1927 came the premiere of the zarzuela ''La Niña Rita, o La Habana de 1830'' at the ''Teatro Regina'', with music by Grenet and

Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (; August 7, 1896 – November 29, 1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist, many of whose works have become standards of the Latin, jazz and classical repertoires. His over 600 compositions include songs and zarzuelas as ...

. In this zarzuela, Grenet's number, the tango-congo ''Ay, Mamá Inéz'', became a huge hit, and remains popular today and is often heard at wedding receptions. Its origins lie in a comparsa number of 1868, and in its new guise became one of the signature numbers for the vedette

Rita Montaner Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...

. In 1930 he set a number of

Nicolas Guillén Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

's poems ''Motivos del son'' to music. Grenet left Cuba in 1932 after falling foul of some of

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major polit ...

's henchmen, for the lyric of his ''Lamento cubano'', which had the line: :''Ay Cuba hermosa, primorosa, por qué sufres hoy tantos quebrantos?'' (Beautiful Cuba, why do you suffer such troubles isruptiontoday?) He returned after Machado was forced out of office. Whilst abroad in Spain he directed the orchestra for the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

''La virgen morena'', in

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. Next, in

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, he directed the same work. In Paris, too, he played piano at La Cueva, the nightclub he partly owned, in the resident band of

Julio Cueva Julio Cueva (Trinidad, Cuba, 12 April 1897 – Havana, 25 December 1975) was a Cuban trumpeter, composer and band leader. He was an important figure in the spread of Cuban popular music in the 1930s. Life and career Cueva played cornet in the lo ...

. There he joined his brother Ernesto, who played percussion. It was here that playing ''La comparsa de los congos'', that he realized the potential of this carnival rhythm. It has been said that he introduced the

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

to America, and this may or may not be true. The Lecuona Cuban Boys, a touring band, were writing and playing congas at the same time. In 1936 he founded the night-club ''El Yumurí'', on Broadway and 52nd St,

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. This which featured a local Puerto Rican group led by Pedro Flores, and a cabaret. In 1938 Grenet presented the review ''La Conga'' in his club, and later put on a spectacular at the ''Teatro Hispano'' in New York, with the leading Cuban singer

Panchito Riset Francisco Hilario Riser Rincón (1910–1988), better known as Panchito Riset, was a Cuban singer, highly regarded for his interpretation of boleros in the pre-war period. He was born in the Atarés district of Havana. He learnt to sing and pl ...

(Havana, 21 October 1911–New York, 8 August 1988).Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana. vol 4, p27 for Riset.

Summary of main compositions

Grenet wrote, arranged and sometimes directed music for a number of musical stage shows and films, and recorded for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and Brunswick Records. Overall, his style and influence was part of the

afrocubanismo Afrocubanismo was an artistic and social movement in black-themed Cuban culture with origins in the 1920s, as in works by the cultural anthropologist Fernando Ortiz. The Afrocubanismo movement focused on establishing the legitimacy of black identi ...

movement between the two world wars.

Film music

He wrote film music for ''La Princesa Tam-tam'', starring

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

(Paris); ''Escándalo de estrellas'', ''Conga bar'' and ''Estampas coloniales'' featuring

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

, (

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); ''Milonga de arrabal'', (

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); ''Noches cubanas'', (New York); and ''Susana tiene un secreto'', (

Lyric theatre

Music for the following zarzuelas and other musical theatre: ''La toma de Veracruz'', premiered in 1914 in the Teatro Alhambra (Havana), ''Bohemia'', ''Como las golondrinas'', ''El mendigo'', ''El santo del hacendado'', ''El submarino cubano'', ''El tabaquero'' (libretto: Arquimedes Pous), ''La camagüeyana'' (premiered in Barcelona 1935), ''La virgen morena'', ''Mi peregrina maldita'', ''La Niña Rita, o La Habana en 1830'', music co-authored with Ernesto Lecuona.

Recorded pieces

Grenet wrote, amongst many other numbers, ''Las perlas de tu boca'', ''El sitierito'', ''Lamento esclavo'', ''Tabaco verde'', ''La comparsa de los congos'', ''La mora'', ''México'', ''La princesa tam-tam'', ''Papá Montero'', ''Rica pulpa'', ''Mi vida es cantar'', ''Lamento cubano'', ''Negro bembón'', ''Tu no sabe inglé'', ''Sóngoro cosongo'', ''Ay! Mamá Inés'' (aka "Mama Inez") .

References

External links

Eliseo Grenet recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grenet, Eliseo 1893 births 1950 deaths Cuban pianists Cuban composers Male composers Cuban bandleaders 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century composers 20th-century pianists People from Havana Cuban male musicians