Septeto Nacional - Biography
By J Poet
The Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, AKA Septeto Nacional is one of the most important Cuban conjuntos in history. Founded in 1927 by Ignacio Piñeiro, an excellent sonero, singer and composer, the band has continued playing music in various incarnations ever since. They are credited with bringing the son, a folkloric style of Cuban music, into the mainstream making it the foundation of Cuban dance music, salsa and Latin jazz. Their song “Echale Salsita” was the first to refer to Cuban-style music as salsa.
Ignacio Piñeiro was born in 1888 and grew up in Havana, singing in church choirs and playing drums in the neighborhood bands of Pueblo Nuevo, the city’s black ghetto. His first group was a choir, Los Roncos; he composed most of their songs. In 1926, Maria Teresa Vera hired him to play bass with her Sexteto Occidente. The band traveled to New York and met executives from Columbia records. They were looking for a band to compete with RCA’s popular Sexteto Habanero. It was a changing point in Piñeiro’s life.
In 1927, back in Cuba, he put together the Septeto Nacional and signed with Columbia. The band played all over the island and on the national radio station CMCJ transforming son from a popular folkloric form to a high artistic expression marked by Piñeiro’s brilliant melodies, poetic lyrics and syncopated rhythms. They were an immediate success. Some of their earliest recordings are found on Clásicos del Son (1995 Egrem Cuba), Imperdonable (2000 Sonodisc France), Cuba 1928-1930 (Yoyo and Septeto Nacional 1928 -1930 (2004 Tumbao Cuban Classics.)
For the next two years, the Sexteto Habanero and Piñeiro’s Septeto Nacional fought for the position of the country’s #1 band, with Septeto Nacional slowly pulling ahead. In 1929 Septeto Nacional played at the Ibero-American Fair in Seville, Spain representing son at the Cuban Pavilion. In 1933 they headlined the Century of Progress World Exposition in Chicago, where were awarded a gold medal. They also recorded “Echale Salsita”, one of their biggest hits, the first song to refer to Cuban-style music as salsa.
In 1932 George Gershwin came to Cuba and met Piñeiro; they became friends. Gershwin borrowed part of “Echale Salsita” for his own “Cuban Overture” and loved "No jueges con los Santos", another big Septeto hit. Despite their success, the musicians in Septeto Nacional were making little money. Piñeiro left the band and Lázaro Herrera stepped in, but they broke up in 1937.
In 1940, sonero Miguelito Valdés brought together several musicians who played in various incarnations of the Septeto for a recording session. The reunion was short lived, but in 1954 there was another reunion. They struggled until 1959, but after The Revolution the line up recruited original members corinetist Lázaro Herrera and singer Bienvenido León. With younger members joining in, they recreated the classic sounds of the 30s and started writing their own tunes as well.
Since the ‘60s members have come and gone, but the classic Septeto Nacional sound still remains vital. Today’s musicians still play the old songs in the traditional style, but with a passion that makes them sound forever new. Piñeiro’s “Coco mai mai” still gets crowds moving to pay tribute to the man and the band that helped put Cuban music on the international map. The band still maintains an ambitious international schedule with a winning blend of son montano, merengue, bolero, rumba, and cha cha cha. Piñeiro died in 1968. Recent titles by the band include Más Cuba Libres (1999 Network Germany) which features guest pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and singing legend Pio Leyva, Soneros De Cuba (2000 Real Rhythm) and 50 Aniversario (2003 Edenways France). The band’s Poetas del Son (2003 Le Chant Du Monde France) was nominated for a Best Traditional Latin Album Grammy in 2004.
