Rest In Peace Orlando "Cachaito" López ..

Αλλο ένα μέλος του θρυλικού συγκροτήματος Buena Vista Social Club έφυγε από τη ζωή.Ημουν τυχερη που τον ειδα μαζι με το γκρουπ περσι το καλοκαιρι στο Σταδιο Χανιων. Ο διάσημος μπασίστας Ορλάντο «Κασαΐτο» Λόπεζ, για πολλούς η «ψυχή» του συγκροτήματος, πέθανε χθες Δευτέρα, σε ηλικία 76 ετών, σε νοσοκομείο της Αβάνα.

Ο θάνατός του οφείλεται σε επιπλοκές που προέκυψαν έπειτα από εγχείριση προστάτη.

Ο Λόπεζ υπήρξε ιδρυτικό μέλος του συγκροτήματος. «Χάσαμε έναν σπουδαίο φίλο. Θα τον θυμάμαι ως έναν εξαίρετο μουσικό και ως έναν εξαίρετο άνθρωπο» δήλωσε ο κιθαρίστας Μανουέλ Γκαλμπάν.

Το συγκρότημα δημιουργήθηκε τη δεκαετία του '90 από τον Αμερικανό κιθαρίστα και παραγωγό Ράι Κούντερ, που βρήκε και «ένωσε» τους κορυφαίους «συνταξιούχους» Κουβανούς μουσικούς.

Εκ τότε αποτελούν ένα από τα σημαντικότερα μουσικά σχήματα της διεθνούς σκηνής.


Born in Havana in 1933, Orlando "Cachaito" López first got actively involved in music when he was only nine years old. By the age of eleven he was involved with an orchestra with his aunt. His early desire was to play the violin, but his Grandfather Pedro insisted he to took up the double bass, as there had been a long tradition of bassists in the López family - legend has it that there are over 30 bassists in its lineage; a trend that they did not want stopped.[1] He started learning the double bass on a cello, quickly moving onto a double bass when he was large enough. His musical career is said to have started when he was twelve, and at the age of 13, Cachaíto composed his first piece, a danzón called Isora Infantil. By the time he was 17 he replaced his uncle as the bassist with Arcana y sus Maravillas, a band that had been around since before Cachaito was born. He made such an impression on the group that he was asked to stay.

In the 1950s, he helped create the descarga style of music that is a mix between jazz-styled improvisation with Afro-Cuban rhythms, and by 1957 he was playing with the hugely popular Havana dance band, Orquesta Riverside. In the 1960s, he became a bassist with the National Symphony,[1] and was also a key member of Irakere, a Cuban experimental band that combined pop, classical, Cuban folk, African and jazz influences.

He was also a member of the Buena Vista Social Club (appearing in Wim Wenders' documentary "Buena Vista Social Club"[1]), a formal, upper class social club for young people to drink and dance. He was the only member to appear in all of the band's recordings. After a career spanning some 60 years, Cachaito is still touring and recording (including playing bass as part of a Cuban touring group also featuring Guajiro Mirabal, Aguajé Ramos and Manuel Galbán[1]), and many consider him to be one of the finest bassists in Cuba.

López died in a Cuban hospital on February 9, 2009, of complications from prostate surgery. He was 76.

Πηγή:wikipedia & in.gr