There is nothing written in English that compares to the scope and depth of this book on Cuban music. (Leymarie's Cuban Fire comes close in volume of information, but it lacks the cogent overview and insight that Sublette masterfully weaves into the details.) This is a history of Cuban music written by a musician (!) who understands the importance of credible research when defining context and cultural antecedents. Furthermore, he uses his perspective as an outsider--he is a North American--to our advantage. Coupled with his examinations of the complexity of a Cuban identity and aesthetic, our North American culture also becomes more transparent.
This is particularly true when it comes to dissecting the story that most conventional Western Hemisphere histories neglect-the profound cultural influence of West Africa. As Sublette notes, "the drum...what an African would call a drum-is conspicuously missing from European music before the sixteenth century." Was it the creolized cultures of the New World that finally gave Europeans license to return to the dance floor after centuries of Church proscription? Sublette presents a convincing case for this, while simultaneously providing an explanation for those among us who are rhythmically challenged...
Readers also benefit from the full spectrum Sublette's perspective--that of a musician who migrates comfortably between the music of the concert hall and the dance hall. "Dancing," he writes, "is an intense listening state. Dancing can be complex and it can be spiritual. African music is almost always music for dancing; and so is Cuban music, which is African music's grown-up child." No armchair scholar talks like that.
Furthermore, his writing is not of that academic ilk that is afraid to offer opinions, or reveal passions. (For starters, he states that he likes Cuban music because he "has good taste.") Nor does he shy away from connecting the dots or hazarding wide-reaching theories. He is the first author I have come across to point out that the geographical origins of the African slaves-those coming to North America from the Senegambia, those to the Caribbean from the coastal areas-largely explains the differences in the musical styles (melismatic vs. polyrhythmic) between these two regions of the Western Hemisphere. Shouldn't this information be part of our cultural literacy?
The subject of this book is huge and Sublette is certainly up to the task. (Did I mention the extensive index?) I have also found, thanks to this text, that I am listening to Cuban musicians (eg. Chano Pozo, Miguelito Valdes, Arsenio Rodriguez) with new ears. That's quite a gift. Chevere que chevere!
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![“Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo (English Edition)”，作者：[Ned Sublette]](https://images-cn.ssl-images-amazon.cn/images/I/51JNtMxn7xL._SY346_.jpg)
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