Carlos Barbería began his career in Havana, Cuba in the 1950s playing night clubs such as Monmatre and Tropicana. An early album titled "Carlos Barbería and his Orquesta "Kubavana" featured singer Yvette De La Fuente who performed with the band during the mid-1950s in Havana. "
Bésame Mucho
"Bésame Mucho" (; "Kiss Me A Lot") is a bolero song written in 1932 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. One of the most important songs in the history of Latin music, it became one the most popular pop standards of the 20th century as ...
", Consuelo Velazquez' classic bolero, sung and recorded internationally by many artists and which was later recorded by the Beatles and the 2008 recording by Luis Miguel of another old classic "La Gloria Eres Tu" by Jose Antonio Mendez, were two of the songs on the album. During the 1950s Barberia also directed a smaller ensemble or combo, which featured Regino Tellechea and also Ivette de la Fuente as singers. His jazz band in Havana also featured famous sonero/bolerista singers like
Raúl Planas
Enrique Raúl Planas Fernández (September 18, 1920 – February 28, 2001) was a popular Cuban singer and songwriter. He performed and recorded with many bands and musicians, including
Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana, Sonora Matancera, C ...
, Juan Antonio Jo "El Fantasmita" and sometimes Rudy Calzado and Carlos Embale.
In his day Barberia was very talented and a great host. In Havana he met the famous Ava Gardner. That same night the actress invited him out; she loved the way he conducted his orchestra, the way he would wear the "habanera", a typical Cuban shirt. Barberia with his band and combo steadily recorded for various Cuban labels. He was featured in Cuba's foremost TV and radio stations as well as featured in Havana's top night clubs and theatres.
During the 1970s and 1980s Barbería led a Cuban big band, Orquesta Kubavana, in New York. Artists who performed with him included
Paquito D'Rivera
Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...
, Willy 'El Baby' Rodríguez (who also sang with
Sonora Matancera
La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon o ...
), and Meñique (who also sang with
Charlie Palmieri
Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards".
Early years
Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from P ...
as well as a featured performance by Yvette De La Fuente.
''Chevere'', the 1975 "Discolando" label release from Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana, Rodolfo Manzano, Leonardo Rubino, and Miguel Menedez on trumpets, Al Cobb on trombone, Vicente Prado, Roberto Perez,
Howard Johnson (jazz musician), Howard Johnson, and Max Lucas on saxes, Elio "Pepsi-Cola" Martinez on piano, Bobby Rodríguez on bass, Sammy Leon on congas, Julio Perez on bongos and timbales, and the voices of Juan Coronel and Tito Contrera
In 1980, Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana recorded the Lp ''Rarezas del Siglo'', later re-edited on CD format, featuring Rolando 'Ruso' Aguilo, Ike Acometa, E. Suarez 'Jaruco,' Jesús Silva, and Mario Bonafede on trumpets,
Marco Katz
Marco Katz (born March 16, 1952, in New York City, USA) serves as an editor for a series that brings together music and literature at Palgrave Macmillan. He plays trombone and arranges and composes music for band, brass quintet and other musica ...
on trombone, Vicente Prado, Mitchel Endick, and Maxwell Lucas on saxes, Elio "Pepsi Cola" Martínez on piano, Cucho Martínez on bass, Rolando Diaz on conga, Marcelino Valdés on bongos and timbales, and the vocalists Tito Contreras, Meñique, and Willy "El Baby" Rodrígue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barberia Y Su Orquesta Kubavana, Carlos
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Cuban musicians