José Pablo Valenzuela García (2 March 1859 – 25 December 1926) was a leading Cuban

cornetist The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopra ...

, composer and bandleader. García was born in

San Antonio de los Baños San Antonio de los Baños is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located 26 km from the city of Havana, and the Ariguanabo River runs through it. It was founded in 1802. History There are 39 schools in the town, ...

. After taking his first lessons in music under his father Lucas, he moved to Havana. There he first joined the orchestra of Manuel Espinosa, before joining '' La Flor de Cuba'', the leading band of the day. This had come under the direction of his brother Raimundo after the death of its founder, and at some stage the name was changed to ''Orquesta Valenzuela''. Raimundo died in his fifties in 1905, after which the band was under Pablo's direction. Now it was possible for Cuban bands to record their music, and the ''Orquesta Valenzuela'' was one of the earliest to take advantage of the opportunity: they recorded about 120 numbers. In 1906 there were 40 recordings on Edison cylinders; in 1909 23 numbers for Columbia Records, and 56 numbers with

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

.Arhoolie/Folklyric CD 7032 ''The Cuban danzón: before there was jazz: 1905–1929'' offers one more number on Edison cylinders, 1906, and two more on Columbia, 1909. The last recordings were in 1919; there were about 120 numbers in all, most of which were danzones. Of his compositions, some became lasting hits: ''Coco seco'', ''El congo libre'', ''La frita'', ''La niña'', ''La Patti negra'', ''María Teresa'', ''El garrotín''. The band dispersed after Pablo died, aged 67, 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.

in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenzuela, Pablo 1859 births 1926 deaths People from San Antonio de los Baños Cuban composers Male composers Cuban bandleaders Cuban cornetists Danzón composers Danzón musicians Cuban male musicians