To best illustrate Cachao’s accompaniment, we’ve transcribed both Cachao’s bass line (bottom) and D’Rivera’s clarinet melody, arranged for bass (top). To begin, start with Cachao’s arco upright part at the bottom of the staff. With the exception of the final two bars, Cachao plays most of the tune with quick bow strokes—if you’re playing this on electric bass (or pizzicato), pay attention to rhythmic duration, and play most notes staccato.

Using the first four bars of the form as a rhythmic springboard, Cachao plays contrapuntally opposite D’Rivera, filling Paquito’s melodic gaps with fills that outline the harmony and build anticipation for the groove that begins at bar 5. What follows is Cachao’s crash-course in Cuban musical history, as he slyly references the island’s characteristic rhythmic patterns. At bar 9 he changes the swing slightly, playing what’s known as a habanera rhythm. At bar 15, he references the cinquillo rhythm (see sidebar) that often provides a danza’s syncopated swing.

The tune’s B melody begins at bar 17, where Cachao continues to branch out in his rhythmic accompaniment, following staccato bits with tenuto bars at 20–21. At bar 23, he rips through an especially syncopated riff before digging into long bowed notes (bars 24–26) that emphasize the harmonic tension within the melody. The A melody returns at bar 33. In bars 37–39, he again explores the cinquillo rhythm before switching up with a new rhythmic permutation of that section’s internal repeat (bar 41). At the B section’s return, Cachao’s playing turns staid and stately, with a majestic rest at bar 51. For the ritardando that closes the piece, Cachao plays off Paquito’s triumphant closing arpeggio with a pizzicato turnaround of his own, closing with a resounding return to the tonic, Bb.

Once you’ve played through Cachao’s part a few times, it’s time to tackle the clarinet melody, transcribed here for bass. The first step requires a change in rhythmic consciousness: Whereas Cachao’s part is best played steady, the melody requires a more rubato state of mind. For tips on phrasing, we turn to Paquito: “The way I play it actually has very little to do with the original. The original composition is not really Cuban-oriented—it sounds more Spanish. But I grew up listening to my father play it. I fell in love with it, and I decided to play it in more of a Cuban style.” So what exactly does that mean? “When you are a kid, you learn to speak by listening to your parents,” Paquito continues. “The only way to learn this is to listen to people who know the style.”

While the finer points of style and phrasing take years to get a handle on, start by thinking about the more technical considerations for getting the melody under your fingers. First, get ready to stretch—some of the passages involve jumps of five frets or more. Also note that the transcription adapts some of Paquito’s clarinet ornamentation and articulation; once you’ve gotten a handle on the basic melodic contour, try adding some of your own melodic embellishments.

The clarinet melody is loaded with arpeggios that are great for both mind and body—after getting your fingers around all those jumps, consider going through and identifying all the chord changes implied in the melody. For example, see how the arpeggio in bar 1 outlines an F9 chord, while the arpeggio in bar 2 implies a Bb.

To celebrate the life of one the bass’s most cherished players, grab an instrument and play to the memory of Cachao. “It’s very sad that Cachao isn’t here anymore,” says D’Rivera, “But he lived a long and happy life. He made so many people happy. We remember him not only as a great contrabass player, but also as a very funny man with a fantastic heart.”

Ernesto Lecuona & The Cuban Danza

“Al Fin Te Ví” is a danza by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona (1895–1963), whose other works include “Malagueña” and “Andalucia (The Breeze and I).” Rooted in the classical musical traditions brought to the Caribbean by European colonists, the Cuban danza (short for contradanza) is a dance melody in 2/4 time often characterized by the syncopated cinquillo rhythm (see bass, bar 15). Musicologists believe the rhythm came to the island in the late 18th century via African slaves coming from Haiti into the Eastern port of Santiago de Cuba. Lecuona and Ignacio Cervantes (1847–1905) are Cuba’s most famous composers of danzas. Danzas are typically made up of two 16-bar sections, A and B, with the A section made up of two eight-bar phrases. B-section melodies often employ longer held notes for a more rubato feel. The form is ABAB.

Paquito D’Rivera On Conversations With Cachao

Paquito D’Rivera may have nine Grammy awards to his name, but some of the clarinet maestro’s proudest musical moments have come playing alongside fellow Cuban-American Israel “Cachao” López. After working with his friend and mentor on Cachao’s two Master Sessions releases, D’Rivera paid homage to the beloved bassist in 2007 by writing a contrabass concerto in his honor, Conversations With Cachao.

“For years I had the idea to write a contrabass concerto because I love the instrument,” says D’Rivera. “Plus, there’s so little literature for it. It’s difficult to write for, because it gets buried very easily. When I finally wrote the concerto last year—while I was Composer-in-Residence for Caramoor Music Festival—I used a small orchestra so the bass could be heard. The introductory theme comes from a bass line of Cachao’s. It was written with so much love, and dedicated to a person who deserved it.

“Edgar Meyer was supposed to play the premiere, but ultimately he was unable to. Instead, we found another fantastic bass player, John Feeney. The European premiere was with Renaud Garcia-Fons, who played that bass like it was a violin!

“Cachao had a fantastic sense of humor,” laughs Paquito, recalling the concerto’s debut. “He couldn’t make the rehearsal, so he came directly to the premiere. When he heard the entire orchestra play that bass line, you could hear him laughing through the entire hall!”

A print score for Conversations With Cachao is forthcoming from Boosey & Hawkes. For more Paquito, pick up his autobiography, My Sax Life [Northwestern University Press, 2005], and his latest record, Funk Tango [Paquito Records, 2007], which won this year’s Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album.

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