Manolito y su Trabuco’s orchestra has been able to produce one of the most unique sounds of the decade in Cuba thanks to the combination of a charanga and a big band, formed by several sections: two trumpets, two trombones, a flute, two pianos, cello, violin, bass, drums, conga, güiro… “I think that what gives more variety to the orchestra is that there are three solo singers of different styles, in the other hand, metals and strings, gives me the possibility to navigate through Cuban music,” said band leader Manolo Simonet.
Born in Camagüey, East of Havana, Manolo Simonet, a.k.a. Manolito, is an accomplished musician. He began playing the drums at the age of five. After graduating form the National School for the Arts, Manolito Simonet was the musical director and pianist for the charanga Orquesta Maravilla de Florida. He founded his own orchestra in February 25 of 1993. Since then, Manolito y su Trabuco has become one of the favorite dance bands in Cuba.
Many of Manolito’s compositions have been played by top Cuban bands such as Elio Revé y su Charagón and Charanga ’86, and have also been used in movie soundtracks.
The group members have all graduated from the National School for the Arts, and have toured internationally. Manolito y su Trabuco has performed in the most important European world music and jazz Festivals.
Se Rompieron los Termómetros is one of the finest releases in which the band presents twelve new songs containing different styles of Cuban and Latin American music: son montuno, merengue, guaracha, cumbia, cha cha chá, bolero and American Latin Jazz influences. Manolito Simonet said: “This is the most interesting album in the history of the band. It’s the album that has reached what we have been searching since its creation. Until now, the album I’ve liked the most was “Marcando la Distancia” (1998) now, this record opens up a new stage for the sound and the spirit of the orchestra“. It was recorded between July 2001 and February 2002 in different places such as Havana, Marseilles and Tenerife (Canary Islands), “the creation of the compositions, the arrangements… started in Cuba.” Later on they enjoyed productive moments during their stay in France, one of the countries where they have performed more times along their European tour. “In Marseilles we used the opportunity that we were fifteen days without traveling so, we were rehearsing every day and at least 70% of the record was prepared there.”
The band added new members in 2001, pianist Javier Hernández and Carlos Calunga, former Klimax vocalist.
In recent years el Trabuco has collaborated with renowned international artists such as Gilberto Santa Rosa, José Alberto el Canario, Gladys Knight (Supremes), Peter Frampton, Joan Osborne and many others.
Discography
Directo al corazón (Bembe, 1993)
Contra todos los pronósticos (1996)
Marcando La Distancia (Eurotropical, 1998)
Para que baile en Cuba (2000)
Se rompieron los termómetros (Eurotropical, 2001)
Locos por mi Habana (2004)
Hablando en serio (2007)
Control (2008)
Trabuco una vez más (2010)
Sin freno (2013)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
