Bolero Filin Part 3 – Frank Emilio

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I was surprised by how little mention Frank Emilio gets for his significant contributions to Latin music.

He was not only one of the “forefathers” of the “bolero-filin“, but he also influenced the development of Afro-Cuban jazz in Cuba, besides some other contributions to the Cuban “son”.

Considered in Cuba one of the most talented musicians of his time, Francisco Emilio Flynn was born in Havana, Cuba in 1921. Blind from birth (some argue he went completely blind around the age of 9), he learned to play piano by imitating renowned pianist Antonio Maria Romeu through a daily radio show.

Frank Emilio Early Musical Career

When Frank Emilio was 12 years old, he won a contest for amateur artists. This subsequently led him to his 1st professional gig, still playing in shorts.

Because he liked and was good at improvising with the piano on Cuban “son“, he would occasionally perform with various groups. These included the Sonora Matancera, Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, and other “son” groups. This was despite the fact that at that time not many Cuban “son” groups had a piano in their format. Keep in mind it was Arsenio Rodriguez, another extraordinary blind Cuban musician, that introduced this concept in the 1940s.

Getting into the “Bolero-filin”

Frank Emilio with his Afro Cuban Jazz Combo
Frank Emilio with his Afro Cuban Jazz Combo featuring Tata Guines and Guillermo Barretto

In 1946 Emilio became a founding member of the Loquibambia Swing band with friend Jose Antonio Mendez. Loquibambia featured a young Omara Portuondo as singer.

It was with this group that Frank cemented his roots in the “Bolero-filin” movement. However, despite the success of Loquibambia, it is said that Frank Emilio remained poor. He had to sell cigars to make ends meet.

Frank Emilio: Afro-Cuban Jazz Influencer

A few years later, in 1951, Frank Emilio started a new band called “Los Modernistas“. It featured the great Cuban percussionist Guillermo Barretto. From there, he went on to have an illustrious career, directing the “Grupo Cubano de Musica Moderna” (Cuban Group of Modern Music). In 1958 the group became the 1st to work on jazz and add Afro-Cuban elements to it.

Here is a Frank Emilio performing “Blues in Cha (descarga)” in 1959 with his “Grupo Cubano de Musica Moderna”. Tell me if you think it sounds so different from today’s Latin Jazz!

In order to have 1st hand access to the best jazz, Frank Emilio founded in the 1950s the Club Cubano de Jazz. It had the purpose of collecting money to bring some of the best jazz musicians from the United States to visit Cuba.

After “Los Modernistas” Flynn worked on other projects with musicians like Tata Guines, Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, and Carlos Emilio Morales. These great Cuban musicians who performed with the Buena Vista Social Club, Afro-Cuban All-Stars, and Irakere got some of their jazz influence from Frank Emilio.

Frank Emilio Flynn’s Legacy

Frank Emilio Flynn died in 2001 (80 years old) while at the piano in his home in Cuba. Even though he was very well known in Cuba, Frank Emilio was not very popular in the United States. He eventually got some recognition in the US when in the 1990’s he recorded a few great jazz and Latin jazz albums.

I honestly didn’t know much about this great Cuban pianist until I dived into this research on the “filin”. This is despite the fact that he received numerous awards during his career. He is considered one of the best Cuban pianists of all time. Additionally, he had a great influence on some of the Latin jazz music we enjoy today! I’m glad that through this research I learned more about this big influencer in Latin music.

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