| Name | Los Papines |
| Lineup |
Ricardo 'Papin' Abreu - percussion & vocals Luis Abreu - percussion & vocals Jesus Abreu - percussion & vocals Luisito -Sobrino- Abreu- percussion & vocals Juliet -Sobrina Papina- percussion, piano & vocals |
| Genre | Rumba - Latin jazz - Afro Cuban |
| Origin | Cuba |
| Booking | Contact Eli Silvrants at Jazzconexion |
| Press Material | Downloadcenter |
Touring: Contact Jazzconexion
When the legendary Chano Pozo was shakin’ up the bars
in the Marianao area with his music and other drummers were lavishing fame to
Los Pocitos neighborhood, regarding it as the cradle of the top drummers, the
Abreu brothers were emerging to the scene in that section of Havana.
They learned playing on little tin cans, later on little candle boxes, large
wooden cod boxes and tablespoons and then finally on tumbas, tumbadoras, tres
golpes, quintos and claves. The youthful brothers Ricardo,
Luis, Alfredo and Jesús
began their careers accompanying orchestras, working in cabarets, and conducting
fellow percussionists in shows in nightclubs such as Tropicana and the Parisien.
In the 1950’s, Ricardo formed his own group: "Papin y sus
Rumberos", with two of his brothers and in 1962 created the vocal
and percussion quartet ‘Los Papines’ playing rumba as their fundamental
musical expression (Guanguanco, Columbia, Yambú, Jiribilla). They also
included in their repertoire other rhythms such as the Conga, the Son and the
captivating Bolero.
They received vocal performance lessons from Luis Carbonell,
the so called ‘watercolorist of the West Indian Poetry'.
Few Latin American musicians have conquered the world, but the five continents
have been unable to resist the moving call of their ‘skin to skin’
drum beats and songs performed in their own inimitable way.
Los Papines performed and recorded with the world’s top Latin performers
such as: Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, Oscar
d’Leon, Giovanni Hidalgo, Manny Oquendo,
Andy González, Omara Portuondo, Rubén
Gonzalez, Cachaito López and Arturo
Sandoval, to mention just a few.
Their major contribution has been in placing the name of their homeland on top. Their most recent award has been the Grammy Latino of 2001 with ‘La Rumba soy yo’.
At the close of 2001, the quartet suffered the loss of Alfredo, the third of the brothers, who was a genuine exponent of Cuban percussion and acknowledged as such throughout the world for more than 4 decades.
Los Papines’greatest virtue is their respect for family tradition, presently exemplified by the inclusion of the new generation, Luis Abreu Chantres, a young and talented percussionist and performer. The feminine note –for the first time in the history of the group- is the presence of enchanting percussionist and vocalist Yuliet Abreu Fernández (Jesús daughter), undeniably a descendant of master musicians.
In 2008 los Papines celebrated their 45th anniversary with numerous concerts throughout Havana.
Los Papines are officially considered to be national cultural heritage of Cuba.