Michael Colquhoun

Charanga

Salsa is a popular Hispanic-American urban dance music with deep African and Cuban roots. Charanga is a style of Salsa which was popular from the 1920's through the 1970's. What made Charanga unique was that along with the usual percussion section (congas, bongos/cowbell, timbales, maracas/guiro and clave) there was a string section and a flute lead. When the music was cocinando (or 'cooking'), the percussion, piano, bass and strings would play a powerfully swinging, polyrhythmic patter over which the Charanga flutist was free to improvise complex and intricate riffs. These days, while Salsa is popular as ever, the Charanga as a separate entity is rare. The flute, however, continues to be an important solo instrument. This piece is a cubist portrait of Charanga, and is dedicated to all the great Latin Charanga flutists.