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So Little Free Time

By Doreen Hemlock |
2008-06-24
| Vista Magazine

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Tiempo Libre band (FOTO: ImpreMedia)

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Timba group Tiempo Libre is busier than ever, with concerts, a theatre revue and a new album.

They started out jamming in their free time, hence the name “Tiempo Libre.” But the Cuban musicians who make up Miami’s premiere timba band have few hours to spare these days, busy with projects from a theatre revue to symphony productions, even joining Irish flute virtuoso James Galway on a jazz fusion album soon to be released.

Bandleader Jorge Gómez is bursting with ideas and enthusiasm, as he sits down with VISTA for a late night dinner. He’s just finished a presentation about the original stage musical, “Miami Libre,” set to debut this summer and inspired in the immigrant experience of the band members, all classically-trained artists like Gómez.

The wiry pianist speaks in quick, percussive Spanish dotted with poetry, much as timba music combines jazz and Cuban son, often with funk, hip-hop and other rhythms. He’s thrilled by his journey so far, from Havana to Miami and onto the world stage, with two Grammy nominated albums and band tours in the States and Asia.

We focus first on the high-energy musical to be staged cabaret-style at Miami’s top concert hall, and Gómez glides passionately from personal to universal.

“This show deals basically with the life of Cubans outside the island. How you still feel Cuban and transmit all your childhood influences: creativity, musicality, the culture, dance, harmony and exuberance – which you never lose, even if you live in Alaska or Hong Kong, because you’re always Cuban,” he says. “But the concept is broader. It’s really about everyone who has left behind something important, not material things but love for someone, youth, places, the tree next to your house that shaded you.”

“As an immigrant, you try to find refuge. But in the United States or anywhere, it’s hard to find things like what you’ve lost. So, what keeps you alive is what you still have: your dreams. Those don’t change,” he said. “And that’s what the show is about: It doesn’t matter where you’re from, how you got here, what you left, you always have hope that tomorrow will be better. We say that with our music, dance and culture, from Cuba.”

Yet adapting has not been easy. Elizabeth Sobol, who runs IMG Artists and manages Tiempo Libre, has struggled with the band. “They came to Miami, thinking their music would touch the hearts of the Cuban community. But they found few opportunities to play. And booking them across the United States, I had people tell me they didn’t want a timba band from Miami but ‘real Cubans’,” Sobol says.

In addition, timba music was little known outside Cuba, where it blossomed in the 1980s through such bands as Irakere, NG La Banda and Los Van-Van and kept crowds dancing until dawn. “When I got to the United States in 2001, I wanted to play timba, because that was what my generation played and listened to,” says Gómez, 37. “But friends told me, ‘You’re crazy. Here you have to play salsa, merengue and bachata, because that’s what people know and ask for. Trying to play timba, you’ll starve.’ But I said there’s got to be someone who takes the risk to make a change.”

Sobol gave the band their first big break, booking them in 2002 as the opening act for salsa legend Celia Cruz at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago after only hearing their demo tape. Audiences raved. Their first release, “Timbiando,” earned them a contract with the Shanachie label. Two more releases scored Grammy attention for tropical Latin music in 2006 ad 2007: “Arroz con Mango/Rice with Mango” and “Lo Que Esperabas/What You’ve Been Waiting for.”

More recently, Ireland’s legendary flutist James Galway came a’ calling. He had learned of Tiempo Libre and enjoyed them on his iPod. Galway wanted to innovate the Claude Bolling Jazz Suites, made famous by flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and sought out the young Cubans to add a sophisticated, contemporary vibe. He also features an Afro-Cuban version of Bach’s “Badinerie” arranged by Gómez on his upcoming release, “O’Reilly Street,” named for the Havana street honoring the Irish general in Cuba’s independence war.

Gomez, the son of classical pianists and graduate of Cuba’s National Art School, savored the chance. “Technically speaking, Galway has the best sound I’ve ever heard on the flute. No one else can make you fall in love through the flute like him, so you moan and say, ‘Oh, my God,’” he says. “We were simply representing Cuban music in a new project. But it was done with such love, professionalism, humility and eloquence that all I can say is those moments were among the best in our lives.”

But, despite the name, free time remains elusive. Besides rehearsing its revue, Tiempo Libre is busy on a new release mixing Bach with Afro-Cuban rhythms likely called, “Bach Batá.” And it hopes to take its musical on tour, maybe to London’s West End or Broadway.

Tiempo Libre
Music: Timba, a high-energy, danceable blend of jazz, Cuban son and more.
Members: Seven classically trained Cuban musicians, living in Miami.
Projects: Musical revue, “Miami Libre” to run July 25 to Aug. 17 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and maybe tour thereafter. Collaboration with Irish flautist James Galway, “O’Reilly Street,” to be released Sept. 16.
Information: www.tiempolibremusic.com.

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