In tandem with his multi-instrumentalist brother Orestes, bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez introduced to Cuban music the African rhythms that transformed the island’s traditional danzon into what is now known as the mambo — he also pioneered the descarga, the late-night jam sessions that revolutionized the sound and scope of Afro-Cuban pop and jazz. Cachao was born in Havana, September 14, 1918. He was just a decade after Orestes. He joined a local children’s group at eight years old that included Roberto Faz (aka Bola de Nieve), a singer who was a key figure in Cuban music history. Within a year, he teamed up with Ignacio Villa (aka Bola de Nieve), to perform in his local movie theater supporting silent film presentations. Cachao was a teenager and played contrabass with Orquesta Filarmonica de la Habana. He also supported guest conductors Herbert von Karajan and Igor Stravinsky. He then joined Orestes in Orquesta Arcano y Sus Maravillas, in 1937. The orchestra had begun to shift away from its French roots and adopt a rhythmic approach that fuses the popular danzon style of percussion with African-inspired rhythms. By Cachao’s time, more than 3,000 danzones were composed by the Lopez brothers. Mambo had become synonymous with Cuban music by the time Cachao left the Orquesta Arcano y Sus Maravillas, in 1949. He played in many musical revues and orchestras over the next decade, including an extended period with Jose Fajardo, his bandleader. Over time, Cachao started organizing descargas (“i.e. “discharges”), informal after-hours jam sessions that allowed the musicians to experiment with a wide range of styles and instrument configurations. Cachao’s jazz-inspired, improvisational approach was so successful that he began recording them in 1957. He released to international acclaim Pan Art LP Descargas En Miniature. Tata Guines, conguero legend, was also included on the album. However, the 1959 Cuban Revolution saw Havana lose its status as the center of music and nightlife. In 1962, Cachao left Cuba with the Ernesto Duarte Orchestra to tour Spain. He never returned to Cuba and began an exile that would last the rest of his life. Cachao settled in New York City and began playing for Tito Rodriguez and then Eddie Palmieri. He spent most of the 1970s in Las Vegas and headlined revues at Tropicana, Sahara and MGM before moving to Miami in 1978. Cachao lived in relative anonymity during the 1980s, playing weddings and quinceaneras to make ends meet while Latin music struggled for commercial success. Cachao’s fortunes changed in 1989 when he met Andy Garcia, a Cuban-born actor and ardent fan of the bassist. Garcia organized a tribute concert in Miami during the summer 1992. He also funded the documentary Cachao: Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos. Emilio Estefan, Jr., co-produced Cachao’s 1994 comeback album, Master Sessions, Vol. 1 won a Grammy Award as Best Tropical Latin Performance. Cachao’s international popularity grew and he experienced a creative revival that culminated in Mambo Mass, which was a bold liturgical work that incorporated elements of Afro-Cuban music and opera. It premiered at Los Angeles’ St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 2000. He also released the LP Cuba Linda that year and toured the world with a 15-member orchestra, which at times featured Garcia playing bongos. For 2003’s El Arte del Sabor (with fellow Cuban maestros Patato Valdes and Bebo), Cachao won a second Grammy. Another Grammy was awarded for 2005’s solo album!Ahora si! Cachao received two Jazz at Lincoln Center honors in 2006 with the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. Later that year, he led a mambo all-star group at a JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. Cachao, 89, died of kidney failure at Coral Gables hospital. Allmusic
