Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López

1933 – 2009

“It’s like a sparsely furnished Havana flat with warm breezes blowing through the open windows, but it’s been done up with some modern fittings kindly brought by friends from overseas,” said one of the reviews of Cachaito, Cuba’s most famous bass player’s innovative solo album. In short it was, “a breath of fresh air”.

Best known as the heart-beat of the Buena Vista Social Club, bass player Orlando ‘Cachaito’ (little Cachao) López is the one musician who has played on every album in World Circuit’s Buena Vista Social Club series.  He was featured in the Wim Wender’s documentary and was a constant member of the late Rubén González’s and Ibrahim Ferrer’s world-wide touring groups.  But this was only part of his story. Cachaito was considered to be one of the finest bass players in Cuba, if not the world.

Born in Havana in 1933, Cachaito grew up in an extraordinary musical environment. Every family member played an instrument, most at the top of their profession (legend has it that the extended family can count over 30 bass players in its lineage). He was the son of pianist Orestes ‘Macho’ López and nephew of legendary bass player Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez, the brothers who were at the forefront of the developments in Cuban music from the ‘30s to the ‘50s. They are credited with variously creating the mambo, tumbao and descarga. “When I was young, I watched them working together so closely they seemed to be two heads working as one. People would come up to the windows of the house and listen in”.

Cachaito began studying bass as a child, and quickly learnt not to play too many notes but to focus on being the rock of the band and a constant for the dancers. By the time he was 17, he’d taken over from his uncle as bass player in Antonio Arcaño’s legendary charanga band. He played with many of the leading groups and at descargas (jam sessions) lasting until the early morning in clubs all over Havana.   

In March 1996, Juan de Marcos González brought Cachaito to EGREM studios to record on the first Afro Cuban All Stars project A Toda Cuba Le Gusta. Cachaito then went on to record on the now legendary Buena Vista Social Club and all the subsequent albums in the series. Explaining his role Cachaito said: ”On the one hand the bass line gives everything cohesion and makes it all work; on the other you respond to the inspiration of whoever has the melody which depends very much on their personal style.

It was this collaborative nature and innate flexibility that made his solo album Cachaito (2001) such a success. The music on this album was created by an especially assembled group of musicians, with Cachaito and conga player Miguel ‘Angá’ Díaz at its core. Completing the formidable rhythm section were Amadito Valdés on timbales, Carlos González on bongos and Vigilio Valdes on maracas. Individually, these musicians were acknowledged masters of their instruments. Together, they locked-in to form one of the great rhythm sections.

Cachaito was a departure from the other albums in the Buena Vista series. While it remains essentially Cuban, it incorporates a variety of influences that stretch from dub reggae to jazz and DJ culture. Guests include Aswad’s Bigga Morrison on Hammond organ, Manuel Galbán on electric guitar, funk legend Pee Wee Ellis on saxophone, Hugh Masekela on trumpet, Ibrahim Ferrer on vocals, plus full string and saxophone sections. Rolling Stone said

“Cachaito carries Cuban music through a time warp”. 

There was a tour around Europe, USA and Japan in 2001 and Cachaito won the Americas category at the inaugural BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2002.

Echu Mingua, the santería-inspired ‘solo’ album by Angá Díaz in 2005, was a continuation of the innovative work began on Cachaito’s own album. When Cachaito died in 2009, he was delighted that his daughter and grand daughter were playing bass and continuing the family tradition. “As a bassist I think of myself as a colchón – a pillow – always there supporting everything that is happening, always there for the soloists to fall back on,” he said.