Cuba's greatest trecero presents phonogram Memories

Havana, July 4 (RHC)-- Cuban musician Pancho Amat, considered Cuba's greatest trecero, presented this Tuesday in Havana his phonogram "Memorias", winner of the Cubadisco award in the Sonera Tradition category, in the patrimonial area.

Endorsed by the Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales de Cuba -Egrem-, the work was also nominated in other categories such as Record Note and Design.

The presentation of the plaque was made by musicologist Élsida González, who said that Amat is an expert of the son, "not only because he plays the tres, but also because he drank from the teachings and sap of his predecessors".

Pancho knows and researches about son, the specialist emphasized.

Each of his albums contributes a little bit more, and in his wide musical knowledge "we all trovamos el son and dream of trova", as the musicologist said when she recalled the moment of the release of the previous CD "El Swing del Son" (2019).

González pointed out that in this production, Amat broadens the spectrum and unravels a very diverse work, which shows lines of communication between unusual genres.

For example, this one has a son here, a little bit of Bolivian music there, and so it goes in the direction of everything that is possible, achievable, in addition, by Pancho's creativity, the academic pointed out.

Before giving way to the trecero, González introduced some of the guests attending the meeting, who were participants in this undertaking, so arduous, as is always the recording of an album.

The maestro narrated part of the process to arrive at these "Memories", now converted into an award-winning phonogram. He recounted his musical experiences and the improvised scenes to reach different chords.

He also talked about the learning of his group Cabildo del Son with instruments apparently unknown to them, such as the quena (a wind instrument similar to the flute), widely used in Peru.

One of the anecdotes, the maestro said, was when it occurred to me to prepare a song for this album with a Puerto Rican feel, and that was another little gift for the public. We came out of that recording playing the tres in the style of the Puerto Rican cuatro," said Amat.

It was quite an adventure, and when one sets out to do artistic work, what one does is always related to the other, he pointed out.

"Memorias" represents something new in traditional music, elevating the tres as a concert instrument by linking concepts of classical music, jazz and troubadour airs.