"Does the Bass, the instrument, have any special place in Cuban music as compared to other Latin music??"
Considered one of the original fathers of Cuban Descarga (Jam) is Israel 'Cachao' Lopez. This legendary Cuban bass player's been actively recording since the 50's. An interesting twist to his tale was that although considered a giant amongst musicians, he was largely unknown to the public. During the 90's, actor Andy Garcia found him in S. Fl. playing weddings and quinceneras (Cuban sweet 15 parties). He arranged a project for Lopez that resulted in the '2nd coming' of Cachao; the highly recommended 'Master Sessions - Vol. I & II'. The Lopez family is musical royalty in Cuba. Israel 'Cachao' Lopez is uncle to Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez, another legendary Cuban bass player, featured prominently in The Buena Vista Social Club. Interestingly enough, he's only recorded one self-titled solo record that's a total departure from his work with the BVSC in that it features (small doses) of Electronica & Cuban Dub music. One of my favorite Latin Jazz records! ANOTHER Cuban bass dynasty in the making features Carlos Del Puerto, the original bassist for the legendary Irakere (the band founded by, amongst others, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, & Chucho Valdes), and his son; Carlitos Del Puerto, one of the busiest bassist/musicians currently on the Cuban scene! I could go on about how the bass-playing in Cuban/Latin music's not only melodic but has a unique percussive aspect that I find especially delightful but I've gone on for a bit too long already!;) I'll return you to yr regularly scheduled programming now.
Considered one of the original fathers of Cuban Descarga (Jam) is Israel 'Cachao' Lopez. This legendary Cuban bass player's been actively recording since the 50's. An interesting twist to his tale was that although considered a giant amongst musicians, he was largely unknown to the public. During the 90's, actor Andy Garcia found him in S. Fl. playing weddings and quinceneras (Cuban sweet 15 parties). He arranged a project for Lopez that resulted in the '2nd coming' of Cachao; the highly recommended 'Master Sessions - Vol. I & II'. The Lopez family is musical royalty in Cuba. Israel 'Cachao' Lopez is uncle to Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez, another legendary Cuban bass player, featured prominently in The Buena Vista Social Club. Interestingly enough, he's only recorded one self-titled solo record that's a total departure from his work with the BVSC in that it features (small doses) of Electronica & Cuban Dub music. One of my favorite Latin Jazz records! ANOTHER Cuban bass dynasty in the making features Carlos Del Puerto, the original bassist for the legendary Irakere (the band founded by, amongst others, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, & Chucho Valdes), and his son; Carlitos Del Puerto, one of the busiest bassist/musicians currently on the Cuban scene! I could go on about how the bass-playing in Cuban/Latin music's not only melodic but has a unique percussive aspect that I find especially delightful but I've gone on for a bit too long already!;) I'll return you to yr regularly scheduled programming now.