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Tiempo Libre

Grand Rapids Herald-Review

Timba music in the tundra: Tiempo Libre comes to Rapids

Grand Rapids Herald-Review

Friday, February 11, 2011

by Nathan Bergstedt

Hot, hot, hot!

This seems to be a typical word used to describe Cuban music. But that makes sense. The island of Cuba is in a tropical zone. So apparently when the people of this island nation were inspired to make music, they must have figured that if you can't beat the heat, join it.

And this is no different for the latest generation of musicians out of Cuba, specifically Tiempo Libre, with their fast paced, dance-inducing timba music. And this three-time Grammy nominated group is going to be sharing this cultural delicacy at the Reif Center on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m.

Based out of Miami, the seven members of Tiempo Libre all grew up in Cuba, where they were classically educated in music at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) in Havana. While still in his native country, Tiempo Libre pianist and musical director Jorge Gomez established himself as a talented arranger and performer. Due to the restrictive nature of the Communist government, and especially during the Special Period of the early 1990s that was marred by an economic depression, Gomez and his fellow musicians sought diligently to expand their musical inspirations but were stifled.

"They told us that we could not ever leave the country for good and they warned us about the ‘dangerous' life in the United States," said Gomez. "But that didn't matter. We all had dreams and we all knew that, one day, we would risk everything to get there."

Despite the lack of artistic and cultural freedoms in Cuba, Gomez looks to his heritage for the greatest sum of his musical inspirations. A hub of commerce and trade for many centuries, the music tradition of Cuba has influences from Europe, Africa, the United States, as well as numerous Caribbean flavors. The salsa music traditions helped beget timba, which is a high-energy mix of Latin Jazz and the seductive rhythms of son. It's this musical lineage that is part of what keeps a Cuban-pride in Gomez and his compatriots.
"Being a Cuban isn't always being a citizen of the country. It's being a citizen of the whole culture. It's all about the food, the music, the rhythms," said Gomez.

Gomez left Cuba with his mother in 1995 for Guatemala to visit family, but never returned. The government seized their house and belongings, making them exiles. In 2000, he made it to the United States, and began to make a life in Miami. According to Gomez, Miami is like a "second-Havana" because of the Cuban population there. And with that central location of immigrants, he was able to easily find his boyhood friends and fellow musicians and they were again able to once again play music together.
Only once has he returned to Cuba since his departure 16 years ago. About five years ago, he went to visit friends. Of the experience, he said it was "weird, very weird."

"So many things changed for good and many things changed for bad," said Gomez. "I felt like a tourist in my own country."
During their younger days, it was illegal in Cuba to listen to American music. Though the government tried to block the radio signals that came across the sea from Miami, Gomez and his friends made make-shift radio antennas out of aluminum foil and metal clothes hangers to pick up the signals. It was risky to do so, but their thirst for those forbidden sounds was unquenchable otherwise. Late at night, they would gather on roof tops with their ‘secret radios.' Their next album, which will be their second album with Sony Masterworks, will be a dedication to the musicians they picked up during those days, and will be appropriately titled "My Secret Radio."

Their latest album (their first with Sony Masterworks) is a dedication to their formal education. "Bach in Havana" is an album that takes the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and gives it a timba twist. Amongst many classical composers the members of Tiempo Libre studied in their younger days, Bach was picked out for his great melodies and tempos that Gomez said lended them to a Cuban flair. In some ways, the album is a dedication to the double lives each of them lived; studying classical music by day at the ENA, and meeting at night to play Latin Jazz and the rumba.

The diverse background of influences to their music certainly makes Tiempo Libre a unique musical force not just in their given genre of music, but across the board. As a group who is just as comfortable in the concert hall as in a jazz club as in an outdoor music festival, Tiempo Libre has made a mark for itself all around the world for the accessibility to their music. Whether they're playing at the base of the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, a concert hall in Spain, or a night club at their home in Miami, they've become known for pulling people out of their seats to dance.

"All places are different. For example, in Asia, they went to the concert to learn about the Cuban music. In Europe, they went to dance to the Cuban music because they already know how it is," said Gomez. "And in the United States, it's like an experiment. Some people want to dance, and some people want to learn. But for sure, everybody's gonna be full of energy and enjoyment. They're gonna have a good time with the Cuban music."

The primary goal of Tiempo Libre is to share the culture of Cuba with the rest of the world. By integrating the sounds with other genres of music, such as Bach or with pop stars from the United States, these musicians are working towards integrating their culture with people in different countries all over Earth. They want to show the beauty of Cuba, as well as the many other enjoyable aspects. They want people to feel the music and to get up and dance.

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