Trio Matamoros - Los Exitos Originales (Ansonia)

Here’s another one of those fortunate finds. You know the kind. Those conveniently forgotten platters tucked away amongst stacks of dross in the bargain used bins of a local record shop, procurable for the pittance of a single dollar bill. The cover, a high contrast photo of what looks like a historic Havana plaza lifted from an old 50s postcard, caught my eye along with the Ansonia label and the typed assurance of: “Long Playing High Fidelity”. Trio Matamoros, led by one Miguel M. whose surname serves as band moniker and whose composerly skill yields 11 of the 14 tunes was formed in Santiago de Cuba on May 8, 1925. This album comes from almost a quarter century and countless gigs later. Some quick Googling reveals Miguel’s cachet as one of the most talented Cuban son and bolero composers of the 20th century, second only to Ernesto Lecuona in the estimation of many. Here he occupies the first guitar chair and handles lead vocals with Rafael Cueto on second guitar and Ciro Rodriguez lending colorful accents with clave and maracas. A string bassist and a conga player are also present on most cuts, though openly solving the mystery of their identities would no doubt have weakened the trio mystique. Songs like the percolating “Mientes” and “Oye Mi Conga” mix lilting guitar chords, sturdy hand percussion beats and distinctive folk-informed vocal harmonies in an insouciant mien that recalls the colloquial appeal of a rural cantina combo. A sultry “Guajira Ven A Gozar” amplifies the heat with a syncopated son rhythm and more filigree fretwork as voices recount a tale of amorous woe in rondo fashion. Over the holiday I burned this disc to my portable Muvo player and listened to it on long jogs in the desert. It proved an optimal soundtrack supplement to the cloudless cyan skies and red-rock topography of the Western Tucson foothills- sunburns be damned. Now that the wave of the Buena Vista Social Club craze has largely broken on the reef of consumer capriciousness, the time seems opportune for a Matamoros renaissance. I’m just happy to have found my own taste in the most unexpected of places.