Luis Martínez Griñán (19 August 1915 – 26 August 1990), better known as Lilí Martínez, was a Cuban pianist, arranger and composer specializing in the

son montuno Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to de ...

style. He played in the Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez and Conjunto Chappottín. Together with Rubén González and

Peruchín Pedro Nolasco Jústiz Rodríguez, better known as Peruchín (January 31, 1913 – December 24, 1977), was a Cuban pianist specializing in jazz-influenced Cuban popular music. He was an important figure in the 1950s descarga (jam session) scene ...

, he is said to have "forged the style of modem Cuban piano playing in the 1940s".

Life and career

Martínez was born to a Cuban mother and a Spanish father in

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

on 18 August 1915. He started playing music in local bands at age 17. In 1937 he formed his own band, Los Champions de Lilí Martínez, which worked for the CMKS radio. In 1943 he founded La Rareza del 43. He joined

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...

's conjunto in 1945 after the departure of Rubén González. In 1950, after Rodríguez decided to continue his career in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the members of his conjunto that remained in Havana formed Conjunto Chappottín, with Félix Chappottín as leader and trumpeter, Lilí Martínez as pianist and arranger, and Miguelito Cuní as lead vocalist. Martínez left Conjunto Chappotín in 1958. He then worked as an arranger for Luis Griñán (no relation), whose two albums are often miscredited to Martínez, who never recorded an LP as a leader. In 1960, he married Coralia Camiño. In the early 1960s, he played with the ''conjunto''

Estrellas de Chocolate Estrellas de Chocolate is a Cuban son conjunto founded by '' conguero'' Félix "Chocolate" Alfonso in 1959. Its original lineup featured Niño Rivera (tres), Agustín Cabrera (vocals, guitar), David Palomares (piano), Armando Albertini "El Gorila" ...

founded by Félix "Chocolate" Alfonso. He then directed a band called Los Diablos Rojos in

Holguín Holguín (, ) is a municipality-city in Cuba. After Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey, it is the List of cities in Cuba, fourth largest city in Cuba. History Before Christopher Columbus, Columbus, the Taino people settled in huts made fro ...

before officially retiring in 1967. In 1983, he gave an improvised concert together with Chucho Valdés and Frank Fernández at the ICAIC. The three pianists played together to a pre-recorded backing track featuring

Niño Rivera Andrés Echevarría Callava (April 18, 1919 – January 27, 1996), better known as Niño Rivera, was a renowned Cuban tres player, songwriter and arranger. Early in his career he played with the Sexteto Boloña and Sexteto Bolero, before formin ...

on tres, Orlando "Cachaíto" López on bass and Enrique Pla on drums; this performance is the only film documenting Martínez's playing. He died on 26 August 1990 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

in 1995.

Style

Martínez's compositions and arrangements are firmly established in the ''son oriental'' traditions from the region where he grew up. In particular, he frequently incorporated patterns from nengón, a precursor to the son, in his compositions, influenced by '' tresero''

Chito Latamblé Reyes Latamblet Veranes (June 27, 1916 – March 6, 1993), better known as Chito Latamblé, was a Cuban tres player who specialized in the changüí genre of eastern Cuba. He is considered one of the most influential ''treseros'', as well as a ke ...

who played with him for years. Other traditional genres that influenced his music are

changüí ''Changüí'' is a style of Cuban music which originated in the early 19th century in the eastern region of Guantánamo Province, specifically Baracoa. It arose in the sugar cane refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves. ''C ...

, kiribá and regina. Despite being rooted in

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

traditions, Martínez's compositions also incorporated classical and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

influences, giving rise a very innovative approach. He was one of the first Cuban pianists to master solo improvisations based on

guajeo A guajeo (Anglicized pronunciation: ''wa-hey-yo'') is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term ''guajeo'' for ostinato patterns played specifically by ...

s, also known as

tumbao In music of Afro-Cuban origin, tumbao is the basic rhythm played on the bass. In North America, the basic conga drum pattern used in popular music is also called ''tumbao''. In the contemporary form of Cuban popular dance music known as timba, pian ...

Legacy

Martínez is widely considered one of the most influential pianists from Cuba, despite attaining little fame outside the country. He has been called "the greatest ''sonero'' pianist" by Chucho Valdés, and also cited as an influence by salsa pianists such as Papo Lucca, Larry Harlow and

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

. In 1994,

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 ...

and Radio Progreso announcer Eduardo Rosillo approached retired pianist Rubén González with the idea of recording new versions of ten songs composed by Martínez.Rosillo, Eduardo (1999). Sleeve notes from ''Son inconcluso'' (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: EGREM. The resulting album, ''Son inconcluso'', featured a full band including bassist Orlando "Cachaíto" López and ''tresero'' Arturo "Alambre Dulce" Harvey (ex- Conjunto Chappottín), among others, and was released in 1999 by

EGREM EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in Centro Habana, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 ...

. In 2002, Manolito Simonet, the leader of the popular

timba Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban '' son'' with '' salsa'', American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass d ...

group Manolito y su Trabuco, organized a series of recordings to honour the work of Lilí Martínez. Among the artists that recorded Martínez's compositions as part of the project were Pedro Lugo "El Nene", Mayito Rivera,

Issac Delgado Issac Delgado (born Isaac Felipe Delgado-Ramirez on April 11, 1962 in Marianao, Habana, Cuba) is one of the founders of the band NG La Banda and is a popular salsa and timba performer. Early life and family His father, Luis Delgado, was a ta ...

and Paulito FG. The resulting album, titled ''Esto sí se llama querer'', was released through Cuban label Unicornio in 2002, receiving favourable reviews.

Discography

;With Conjunto Chappottín *1957: Alto Songo (Panart) *1957: Chappottín (Puchito) *1958: Chappottín y sus Estrellas (Puchito) *1958: Musicalidad en sepia (Maype) ;With Miguelito Cuní *1958: ''Sones del ayer'' (Gema)

Notes

References

External links

Lilí Martínez: Credits
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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Lilí Martínez: Credits
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online encyclopedia of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also features comm ...

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Lilí Martínez: Credits
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Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Lili 1915 births 1990 deaths Cuban pianists Cuban composers Cuban bandleaders Son cubano musicians 20th-century Cuban composers 20th-century pianists People from Guantánamo