NG La Banda

NG La Banda
founded by José Luis Cortés

 

Members:
•    José Luis Cortés (Flute)
•    Elpidio Chapottin (Trumpet)
•    Feliciano Arango (Piano)
•    Rodolfo Argudin-Peruchin (Piano)
•    Tony Cala (Vocalist)
•    Issac Delgado (Vocalist)
•    German Velasco (Sax)
•    Giraldo Piloto (Drums)
•    Angel Sánches, Carlos Morales (Guitar)


José Luis Cortés formed NG La Banda in 1986, which has become in many ways synonymous as the “inventor” of Cuban Timba music.
NG La Banda became known as the music of the people, emanating from the “barrios”, the poorest parts of Havana, yet many intellectuals deemed it too dirty and vulgar to be a valid art form. Cortes became known as " "El Tosco" or "Rude Boy" because of his sexual lyrics and unabashed stage and street presence. “NG La Banda profoundly influenced all of the great Timba bands which followed suit. Just as the great groups and musical innovations of the 70's and 80's had funneled into NG La Banda, most of the great groups of the 90's grew directly out of it” says Kevin Moore (www.timba.com).

Discography:
1986    Abriendo el Ciclo
1987    A Través del Ciclo
1988    No te compliques
1990    En la Calle
1990    No se puede tapar el sol con un dedo
1990    Salseando
1991    En cuerpo y el alma
1992    En la Calle otra vez
1992    Échale Limón (Japanese version)
1993    Para Curaçao
1993    Cabaret Panorámico
1993    LLegó N.G., Camara
1994    La que manda
1994    La Bruja
1995    En directo desde el patio de mi casa…
1995    Nuestro hombre En La Habana
1996    De alá pa’ acá
1996    Top Secret
1996    La cachimba
1997    Best of NG La Banda
1998    Veneno
2000    Baila conmigo
2000    Afrosalsa
2001    Mi Armonia
2003    Oye Síííí
2007    Bailemos

Further information about members: Cortés, Arango, Nuñez, Oviedo, Osmany and Angel Sánchez, Nogueras, Munguía, Velazco, Averhoff and Morales, plus Raúl Santoys, Orestes "Puchungo" Roque, Luis Tellez, vocals; Hernán López-Nussa, keys; José Oriol, Calixto Oviedo Mulens and Eduardo Lavoy, percussion. In 1987, Tellez replaced by Tony Calá; López-Mussa replaced by Miguel Armas; Oriol replaced by Jorge Alfonso; Morales left; Lázaro González added on trombone. In 1988, Issac Delgado and Victor Valdés joined on vocals, replacing Santoys and Roque; Giraldo Piloto joined on percussion. Around this time Rodolfo "Peruchín" Argudín Justiz replaced Nuñez and José Miguel "El Greco" Crego joined on trumpet. In 1989, Averhoff and Munguía left, replaced by Elpido Chappotín Delgado and Rolando Pérez Pérez; Valdés left, not replaced. In 1991, Delgado and Piloto left; Mariano Mena Pérez replaced Delgado. Somewhere in here Guillermo Amores Silveiras took over on güiro and Pablo Cortés on bongos, replacing Oriol and Lavoy. Rafael "Jimmy" Jenks Jiménez, tenor sax, came and went. In the late 90s, Pérez Pérez left, replaced by Ernesto Varona; Argudin left, replaced by Emilio Morales; Crego left, replaced by Adalberto Laras; Calixto Oviedo left, replaced by Jimmy Branly; Nogueras left, replaced successively by Humberto Sosa, former Los Van Van member Raúl Cardenas and Pablo Cortés. In 1998, Yeni Valdés joined on vocals, subsequently leaving to join Los Van Van. At some point after that, Arango left to form Los Hermanos Arango.
 

by Zsuzsa Melkvi
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About the Author: Zsuzsa Melkvi is a salsa dancer and teacher, having competed in Latin-American and Standard dances from 1995-1998. She is also the founder of Baila Cuba (www.bailacuba.hu), a Dance company focused on giving exclusively pure Afro-Cuban workshops in Hungary. Zsuzsa holds a BA degree in Economics from the University of Hertfordshire.