Beny Moré was a Cuban singer, songwriter, and bandleader whose inimitable directing style and capacity to fuse diverse styles made him a legend. His musical legacy reached far beyond the islandnation. With his synthesis of Afro-Cuban and guajiro sounds, as well as his introduction of big band arrangements, the “Barbarian of Rhythm,” as he was widely known, forever changed the direction of Cuban music. His outstanding voice had great versatility, and audiences idolised him.
Maximiliano Bartolomé Moré Gutierréz was born on August 24, 1919, in Santa Isabel de las Lajas, Cuba. One of 20 children, Moré grew up amid Afro-Cuban musical and religious traditions, attending parties and sneaking into the musically rich ceremonies of Lucumi and Congo neighbours. When the family moved to Vertientes, he played guarachas (popular folk songs), son (the main dance and song form of Cuba with its themes of love and romance, and the root of the Latin dance music known as salsa), and boleros (Spanish dances and songs), with local groups in his spare time. He also played guaguanco—a type of rumba music with its own dance, as well as rumba, and cha-cha-cha.
Moving to Havana in 1940, Moré lived by playing on local radio and in tourist cafés, and parks. In 1945, he joined the Conjunto Matamoros, and toured New York, where he performed with artists such as Reutillo Dominguez and Celina GONZALEZ, Central and South America, and Puerto Rico.
Moré’s big break came in 1948, while he was performing in Mexico. There he met bandleader Perez PRADO, with whom he recorded several mambos. While Prado was impressed by Moré’s voice, Moré was impressed by Prado’s big band sound.
Before returning to Cuba, Moré also sang with the orchestra of Arturo Nuñez, and the band of Rafael de Paz, with whom he recorded the song “Yiri Yiri Bon.”
Once back in Havana in 1953, he put together an orchestra of his own, complete with trumpets, saxophones, a piano, percussion, and a trombone. He later added Moré trombones, giving them a prominence previously unknown in Afro-Cuban music.
Moré became a master singer and arranger, despite never learning to read music. But his talent really showed through in his capacity as bandleader. Moré had the ability to fuse with his ensemble. His baton, hat, hands, hips, and mouth all worked in unison to extract a sound that was unmistakably his. Apart from his regular performances at the popular Ali Bar cabaret, Moré sang on radio and recorded with RCA-Victor Cubana. In lean times he wrote advertising jingles, but when he eventually earned a healthy income, he squandered it. From 1953, his schedule was filled with nonstop gigs and three hours of sleep daily. This gruelling pace continued until the day he died on February 19, 1963.
Even though Moré stayed in Cuba after the 1959 revolution, he became a symbol of synthesis whose popularity transcended the ideological divide. His capacity to mix diverse Cuban styles and incorporate non-traditional instruments created a new direction in Cuban music.
Brett Allan King
SEE ALSO:
CARIBBEAN; CUBA; LATIN AMERICA; MEXICO; SALSA.
Ayala, Cristóbal Diaz. The Roots of Salsa: The History of Cuban Music (New York: Excelsior Music, 1995); Manuel, Peter, ed. Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991).
Beny Moré de Verdad; El Bárbaro del Ritmo; Magia Antillana; Sonero Mayor, That Cuban Cha-Cha-Cha; The Most from Beny Moré; The Very Best of Beny Moré.