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March 23, 2008 1:13 PM

At 89 years old, Cachao led an amazing life, stretching from the 1930's into the 21st century:

Cuban-born jazz musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez, credited with inventing the mambo, has died in Miami at the age of 89.
The bassist and composer left Cuba for the US in the early 1960s and continued to perform until his final months.

The mambo emerged from his improvisational work with his late brother, multi-instrumentalist Orestes Lopez, in the late 1930s. Lopez, a classically-trained bassist who began performing with Havana's symphony orchestra as a teenager, was a prolific composer of songs and pieces of music based on the Cuban music style of son.

He and his brother basically invented the "Mambo":

In a 2004 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he said the origins of mambo "happened in 1937." "My brother and I were trying to add something new to our music and came up with a section that we called danzon mambo," he said. "It made an impact and stirred up people. At that time our music needed that type of enrichment."
The new genre enjoyed popularity in the 1950s and, since then, has been a jazz staple.

A great example of his music can be found on his "Havana Sessions" CD, recording from his famous band in the '50's and '60's. His most recent recordings are fabulous, too: "Master Sessions" and "Ahora Si."

Rest in Peace, Cachao...we will miss you...