Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban son with salsa, American
Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass drum, which is not used in salsa bands. Timba and salsa use the same tempo range and they both use the standard conga marcha. Almost all timba bands have a trap drummer. Timbas also often break the basic tenets of arranging the music in-clave. Timba is considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, with rhythm and "swing" taking precedence over melody and lyricism. Associated with timba is a radically sexual and provocative dance style known as despelote (literally meaning chaos or frenzy). It is a dynamic evolution of salsa, full of improvisation and Afro Cuban heritage, based on son, Rumba and mambo, taking inspiration from Latin jazz, and is highly percussive with complex sections. Timba is more flexible and innovative than salsa, and includes a more diverse range of styles. Timba incorporates heavy percussion and rhythms which originally came from the barrios of Cuba.
Etymology
{ { Blockquote|The word timba is part of a large family of mb and ng words that made their way into Spanish from African languages. Among the hundreds of other examples are tumba, rumba, marimba, kalimba, mambo, conga, and bongo.—Moore (2010: v. 5: 11).}}
Before it became the newest Cuban music and dance craze, timba was a word with several different uses yet no particular definition, mostly heard within the Afro-Cuban genre of rumba. A timbero was a complimentary term for a musician, and timba often referred to the collection of drums in a folklore ensemble. Since the 1990s, timba has referred to Cuba's intense and slightly more aggressive music and dance form.
History
As opposed to salsa, whose roots are strictly from son and the Cuban conjunto bands of the 1940s and 1950s, timba represents a synthesis of many folkloric (rumba, guaguancó, batá drumming and the sacred songs of santería.), and popular sources (even taking inspiration from non Afro-Cuban musical genres such as rock, jazz, funk, and Puerto Rican folk). According to Vincenzo Perna, author of Timba: The Sound of the Cuban Crisis, timba needs to be spoken of because of its musical, cultural, social, and political reasons; its sheer popularity in Cuba, its novelty and originality as a musical style, the skill of its practitioners, its relationship with both local traditions and the culture of the black Diaspora, its meanings, and the way its style brings to light the tension points within society. In addition to timbales, timba drummers make use of the drum set, further distinguishing the sound from that of mainland salsa. The use of synthesised keyboard is also common. Timba songs tend to sound more innovative, experimental and frequently more virtuosic than salsa pieces; horn parts are usually fast, at times even bebop influenced, and stretch to the extreme ranges of all instruments. Bass and percussion patterns are similarly unconventional. Improvisation is commonplace.
Precursors
The main precursors of timba are three bands: Los Van Van, Irakere (both in the 1970s) and NG La Banda (1988), though many other bands (e.g. Son 14, Orquesta Original de Manzanillo, Ritmo Oriental, Orquesta Revé) were influential in setting new standards.
Orquesta Revé
Elio Revé Matos was a Cuban musician and songwriter, a noted percussionist, born 23 June 1930 in Guantánamo. In 1956, he formed Elio Revé y su Charangón aka Orquesta Revé. Revé's Charanga included Trombones and Batá drum and he became known as the Father of Changüí for his contribution to that musical genre. In the 1970s, directed by timbalero Revé, Orquesta Revé saw innovations in timbales playing.