1946 Arsenio Rodríguez - Dame un cachito pa' huele
xx0x 0xxx 0xx0 xx0x 2-3 son clave
0xxx 0xxx 0x00 xxxx MIDI example
bassist: Nilo Alfonso
source: Montuneando

notes: This one strongly marks the clave -- it contains 3 of the 5 strokes of clave, plus the all-important downbeat of the 2-side.

The solo is by the amazing pianist/arranger Lilí Martínez, who played with Arsenio from 1946 to 1951 and continued on with Chappottín after Arsenio left for la Yuma. In addition to having as beautiful a tone and touch as any Cuban pianist I've ever heard, Lilí was literally decades ahead of his time in terms of rhythm and harmony. The collaboration of Arsenio and Lilí created a Lennon & McCartney-esque whole that was greater than the sum of the parts, as would later be the case with Paulito and Ceruto, Issac, Alain and Melón, Manolín and Luis Bu, Calzado and JCG, Calzado and Tirso, and so on. If I've learned one thing in my years of studying Cuban music, it's that the lifestyle in Havana creates an environment in which it's easy for several creative musicians to collaborate in a way that's very rare outside of the island, and which often results in the most extraordinary music.