La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of this type of music. Notable singers to have sung and recorded with the band include Bienvenido Granda, Daniel Santos, Myrta Silva, Miguelito Valdés, Leo Marini, Celia Cruz, Nelson Pinedo, Vicentico Valdés, Estanislao "Laíto" Sureda, Alberto Beltrán, Carlos Argentino, and Celio González.
Early history: 1920s to 1940s
The founding of Tuna Liberal
thumb|right|Matanzas, Cuba
The group was founded on January 12, 1924 in Barrio Ojo de Agua, a neighborhood in the city of Matanzas. Culturally and demographically, this seaport is located in the most African region of Cuba. The ensemble was initially named Tuna Liberal for political reasons. One source believes Valera and Bautista Llopis were the vocalists
Personnel changed in 1926, and the name of the band was changed to Septeto Soprano, due to supposed new singer Eugenio Pérez (according to one source), though he left a few months later. A third source posits that Caíto and Rogelio joined the collective in 1926; both had recorded with pianist and bandleader Antonio María Romeu.
thumb|left|Havana in the 1920s
The group lost Domingo Medina, Julio Gobín, and Juan Bautista Llopis in their attempt at a more modern sound. intending to stay one week. It remained there for the next thirty-three years. The ensemble would eventually record for thirteen different labels.
In 1929, the band signed a contract to perform live on the airwaves of Radio Progreso, making appearances on this station for many years.
The 1930s
Son ensembles of this time added pianos to broaden their contrapuntal and harmonic vocabulary. Trumpets, sometimes as many as three, replaced cornets. The additional instruments meant sextetos and septetos evolved into conjuntos. Septeto Soprano added a piano during this decade but did not expand its brass section until the 1940s.
Septeto Soprano made only one recording during this decade. It was for RCA-Victor. while one other source states that this happened in 1935. Manteca filled the vacancy created when Jimagua left.
The collective changed its name to Estudiantina Sonora Matancera in the early 1930s. As was common with musicians of his generation throughout Latin America, he had been a member of a government-sponsored municipal band, La Banda Municipal de Matanzas (prior to embarking on a career as a professional musician), getting a firm musical education in the process. Calixto Leicea was an excellent songwriter and arranger. where nightly La Sonora drew record crowds of the best dancers.
In 1949, the ensemble recorded twenty-two songs for Ansonia Records. The conjunto made said recordings using its real name. The first recording for this label was made on November 25, 1949, the guaracha "Tocando madera", with Bienvenido Granda as sonero. Though these met with approval, the orquesta reverted to a conjunto.
About 1950, the ensemble recorded eighty tunes for Stinson Records using the name of Sonora Cubana. It already had recorded ten numbers under this name and would record two additional songs as Sonora Cubana; the record company for these twelve tunes is not named by the source. The lead vocalist on these recordings is Bienvenido Granda.
Cruz's first recording with the conjunto was made on December 15, 1950. It was for Seeco Records. "Cao cao, maní picao" was an instant success, a "bombshell". In the course of the Colombia tour, Carlos Argentino joined the band as a singer and remained till 1959.
Manteca left either in 1955
In that same year, Caíto and Lino were among the vocalists and instrumentalists gathered by Dominican-born Johnny Pacheco for a classic studio recording. Besides Caíto and Lino two other musicians associated with La Sonora played on this album. One was from the past (Patato) and one was a trumpeter who would be invited to participate in a 1981 recording session (Pedro "Puchi" Boulong).
A Time of Transition: 1966–1969
Pedro Knight retired as a trumpeter in 1967 to be Celia Cruz's full-time manager.
The latter half of the decade saw the emergence of two new musical genres, the Boogaloo and the closely related shing-a-ling. These musical styles were born in New York City of the admixture of Latin — specifically Cuban/Afro-Cuban rhythms — and rhythm and blues in its incarnation as soul music. Many New York-based groups recorded in this style to satisfy their record companies. La Sonora Matancera also recorded an album, Sonora Boogaloo, even though they were recording at this time for their own label. Soon after Sonora Matancera returned to their earlier style.
At the end of the 1960s six of the nine members of La Sonora were stalwarts of the glory years. the first of a two-album series. These two albums are considered to be among the best recordings of Cuban/Afro-Cuban music made in the 1970s. Chocolate was one of the instrumentalists assembled for this recording date, prior to his joining the cooperative.
After thirty-two years Lino Frías and La Sonora Matancera parted ways in 1976. He was also the pianist and musical director on the first album made by Armando Sánchez and his conjunto. He may have continued in this vein if not for poor health. These three albums were recorded by small, independent labels not controlled by Fania Records. Javier Vázquez followed Lino Frías as pianist Contemporary touches were added to the cooperative's instrumentation, with electronic piano, organ and electric guitar employed during this session.
Five veterans of the glory days were still active with the cooperative at the close of the 1970s. Rhythm instruments, violins and organ can be heard on several of the recorded numbers, but were possibly an electronic illusion on the part of the pianist and not the actual instruments themselves.
In 1984, the collective recorded with the singer Ismael Miranda. He was for many years sonero with Larry Harlow's orchestra.
1985 was a year of change. Bomberito left, to be replaced by Ken Fradley. Two artists constituted the coro on Saoco's first album: Yayo el Indio (a member of La Sonora) and Adalberto Santiago (a sonero who would record with La Sonora Matancera in 1993). Of the fourteen soneros on this recording, nine were veterans of the gilded age. This was the last occasion when these artists would perform with the collective. In this year Javier Vázquez left after thirteen years as pianist and thirty-two years as chief arranger.
The group's style in the 1940s was described as "white" or "mulato" in comparison to other groups in the same genre; while race in 1940s/1950s Cuba didn't necessarily mean much in terms of audience it did affect which clubs groups could play in, and access to record production and distribution. One source says that the title of this film short is "Tam Tam: la historia de la rumba" and that it was shot in 1936.