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PRINTER'S NO. 1582
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
273
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, SAVAL, BARTOLOTTA, BROWNE, KANE, KEARNEY,
MENSCH, MARTIN, DiSANTO AND STREET, APRIL 12, 2022
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 12, 2022
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of April 2022 as "Jazz Appreciation Month"
in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, "Jazz Appreciation Month," known as JAM, was created
in 2002 at the Smithsonian Museum to herald and celebrate the
extraordinary heritage and history of jazz in the month of
April; and
WHEREAS, JAM is intended to excite and encourage people of
all ages to participate in jazz, to study the music, attend
concerts, listen to recordings and read books about jazz; and
WHEREAS, This year JAM will be exploring the cross-
pollination of Afro-Caribbean music and jazz leading into the
formation of Latin jazz; and
WHEREAS, One of the iconic figures recognized in the Afro-
Caribbean music tradition was bassist, bandleader, composer and
cocreator of mambo, Israel "Cachao" López; and
WHEREAS, Israel López, better known as "Cachao," stands out
in the pantheon of Latino contributors to Jazz; and
WHEREAS, The Cuban double bassist and composer helped invent
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the mambo style in the late 1930s, speeding up the traditional
Cuban dance music "danzón" by inserting a swing to it; and
WHEREAS, The springy bass lines Cachao played, alongside his
brother, pianist/cellist Orestes López, became a foundation of
modern Cuban music, later influencing salsa, Latin-infused
rock'n'roll and R&B; and
WHEREAS, Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1918 into a family of
musicians, Cachao studied classical music, was playing bongos in
a children's group at eight years of age, and played upright
bass with the Havana Philharmonic at 13 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Cachao later played with dance orchestras, joining
the Orquesta Arcaño y sus Maravillas in 1937; and
WHEREAS, As members of the Maravillas, Cachao and his brother
pioneered a new form of ballroom music derived from the
Cuban "danzón"; and
WHEREAS, Cachao integrated the popular Cuban musical
tradition with the pulsating conga, resulting in the beginnings
of the soon-to-be preeminent Latin musical genre, "mambo"; and
WHEREAS, In addition to pioneering mambo, Cachao also was
instrumental in the development of "descargas," improvised late-
night jam sessions that combined Afro-Cuban rhythms, Cuban
melodies and elements of jazz; and
WHEREAS, Due to the Cuban government's strict policy on
American-influenced culture, Cachao left Cuba in 1962 for Spain
before moving to the United States in 1963; and
WHEREAS, In New York, Cachao started a career as a session
and live musician for a variety of bands during the rise
of "boogaloo," and later, "salsa"; and
WHEREAS, In the 1970s, he headlined at famous Las Vegas
hotels and ultimately settled in Miami in 1978; and
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WHEREAS, Cachao's career took a slight dip in the 1980s as he
only recorded three albums as a leader between 1970 and 1990,
but Cuban-born actor Andy Garcia rediscovered Cachao; and
WHEREAS, Garcia orchestrated the return of Cachao to the
forefront of the Latin music scene with the release of a
documentary, a tribute concert in Miami and several successful
albums; and
WHEREAS, Cachao enjoyed a major resurgence in his career, won
several Grammy Awards for his work and contributions to Cuban
music and was inducted into Billboard's Latin Music Hall of Fame
in 1994; and
WHEREAS, Cachao was a recipient of a 1995 National Heritage
Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the
highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, In 1999, Cachao was inducted into the International
Latin Music Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement
Award a year later; and
WHEREAS, In 2003, Cachao was awarded a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame; and
WHEREAS, In 2006, Cachao was honored by Union City, New
Jersey, with a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City's Celia
Cruz Park, and he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music during Berklee's Latin Culture
Celebration; and
WHEREAS, Cachao died in 2008 in Coral Gables, Florida, at the
age of 89; and
WHEREAS, Posthumously, Cachao was awarded an Honorary
Doctorate from the University of New Haven and won a Grammy for
his live album, "The Last Mambo"; and
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WHEREAS, Jazz is a vital part of our American culture and a
part of the rich and diverse musical background of this
Commonwealth; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate designate the month of April 2022
as "Jazz Appreciation Month" in Pennsylvania and recognize
Israel "Cachao" López for his contributions to the world of
jazz.
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