Orestes López Valdés (August 28, 1908 – January 26, 1991), nicknamed Macho, was a Cuban multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. As a

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

ist he was a founding member of the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, and later a member of the

National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba is the main institution dedicated to the performance of classical music in Cuba History Heir to the tradition of excellency established by its ancestor, the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symp ...

. A long-time member of the charanga

Arcaño y sus Maravillas Arcaño y sus Maravillas was a Cuban charanga founded in 1937 by flautist Antonio Arcaño. Until its dissolution in 1958, it was one of the most popular and prolific danzón orchestras in Cuba, particularly due to the development of the danzó ...

, where he played cello and piano, he is considered the co-creator of the

mambo Mambo most often refers to: * Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

, together with his brother

Israel "Cachao" López 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). T ...

, and one of the most prolific

danzón Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring se ...

composers of the 20th century.

Biography

Early life and career

Orestes López was born in

Old Havana Old Havana ( es, link=no, La Habana Vieja) is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of ...

on August 28, 1908, into a family of musicians. As a pre-teenager he studied piano, cello, violin and the five-key ebony flute. In 1924, at age 15, he became double bassist for the newly-founded Havana Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Pedro Sanjuán. A few years later, he was playing bass for Miguel "El Moro" Vázquez's charanga. According to his brother Cachao, in 1926 he was a member of Grupo Apolo, the first septeto to include a trumpet.

Arcaño y sus Maravillas

In the 1930s he was the musical director of three dance orchestras: López- Barroso, Orquesta de Orestes López and La Unión, before joining

Antonio Arcaño Antonio Arcaño Betancourt (Atarés, Havana 29 December 1911 – 1994) was a Cuban flautist, bandleader and founder of Arcaño y sus Maravillas, one of Cuba's most successful charangas. He retired from playing in 1945, but continued as director ...

y sus Maravillas in 1937 as a founding member. López, a multi-instrumentalist, composed and orchestrated danzones, most notably "Camina Juan Pescao", "El truco de Regatillo", "Los tres bailadores" and "Mambo", which launched a new style of danzón, the so-called

danzón-mambo The danzón-mambo (also known as ''danzón de nuevo ritmo'') is a subgenre of Cuban dance music that marked the transition from the classical danzόn to the mambo and the cha-cha-chá. It was also in the context of the danzón-mambo that the Cub ...

. Subsequently, the syncopated bass in the tune gave rise on the one hand to the dance genre known as mambo popularized by

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

, and on the other hand to the cha-cha-chá, created by

Enrique Jorrín Enrique Jorrín ( Candelaria, Pinar del Río, December 25, 1926 - Havana, December 12, 1987) was a Cuban charanga violinist, composer and music director. He is considered the inventor of the '' cha-cha-chá'', a popular style of ballroom music de ...

. In the late 1930s, the danzón had three movements: the introduction, el paseo (the walk in a circle), and la comparsa (the main theme, in which dancers faced each other and danced). López's danzón-mambo, also called ''danzón de nuevo ritmo'', changed the third movement when he substituted a

montuno Montuno has several meanings pertaining to Cuban music and its derivatives. Literally, ''montuno'' means 'comes from the mountain', and so ''son montuno'' may refer to the older type of son played in the mountainous rural areas of Oriente. Anot ...

(based on the syncopated beat of the son-playing '' treseros'' from Oriente). López's montuno of two to four beats took on a special syncopated character and was given the generic name of

. Although the Maravillas disbanded in 1958, López remained active in the popular music scene, playing piano in several of Cachao's

descarga A descarga (literally ''discharge'' in Spanish) is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it wa ...

albums recorded between 1957 and 1960, including the successful ''

Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature ''Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature'' is the debut album by Cuban double bassist Cachao, released in 1957 by Panart. The album is composed of descargas, improvised jam sessions with Cuban themes. It was the fourth installment in Panart's ''Cuban Jam S ...

''.

Later years and death

His younger brother Cachao emigrated to Spain in 1961 and then to the USA in 1963, and achieved considerable success, but Orestes remained in Cuba. He died in Havana on January 26, 1991. In 2000, Orestes was posthumously inducted into the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the a ...

, joining his brother, who had been inducted a year earlier. Orestes was survived by his son,

Orlando "Cachaíto" López Candelario Orlando López Vergara (February 2, 1933 – February 9, 2009), better known as Cachaíto, was a Cuban bassist and composer, who gained international fame after his involvement in the Buena Vista Social Club recordings. He was nick ...

(1933–2009) who was also a double bassist. He gained fame as the ever-present performer for the

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the gr ...

.www.pbs.org
/ref> López was posthumously inducted into the

Compositions

Many of his compositions were named after the clubs were Arcaño y sus Maravillas would play their daily shows. He and his brother would continuously compose new tunes for every concert.Entrevista con Israel López "Cachao"
/ref> *"Arcaño" *"Arriba la invasión" *"Avance Juvenil de Ciego de Ávila" *"Caballeros, coman vianda" *"Camina Juan Pescao" *"Carraguao se botó" (also known as "Lágrima") *"Catorce de septiembre" *"Chifla" *"Club Social de Marianao" *"El moro eléctrico" *"El que más goza" *"El Progreso de Tinguaro" *"El truco de Regatillo" *"En el cabildo" *"Esto es crema" *"Flores de mayo" *"Hágase socio" *"Las ninfas" *"Llegaron los millonarios" *"Los Jóvenes de La Defensa" *"Los tres bailadores" *"Los tres chiflados" *"

Mambo Mambo most often refers to: * Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

" *"Nace una estrella" *"Nobles y sencillos" *"Pasarán los años" *"Rapsodia en azul" *" Redención" *"Rosa que no se marchita" *"Silvio al bate" *"Sociedad Antonio Maceo de Camagüey" *"Soy matancero"

References

External links

Orestes "Macho" López
''AllMusic''.
Orestes López
''Rate Your Music''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Orestes Cuban composers Male composers Cuban pianists Cuban bassists Cuban cellists Danzón composers Danzón musicians Cuban charanga musicians Mambo musicians Multi-instrumentalists 1908 births 1991 deaths People from Havana 20th-century composers 20th-century pianists Cuban male musicians 20th-century cellists