{"id":600,"date":"2018-06-12T14:21:57","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T18:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/?p=600"},"modified":"2022-09-01T09:11:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T13:11:56","slug":"benny-more-cuba-king-rhythm-improvisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/2018\/06\/12\/benny-more-cuba-king-rhythm-improvisation\/","title":{"rendered":"Benny Mor\u00e9: Cuba\u2019s King of Rhythm and Improvisation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Benny Mor\u00e9<\/a> revolutionized the Latin music scene with his singing and superb sense of music. His improvisations while singing, prolific songwriting, and his “Giant Band”, made him one of the greats of Latin music.<\/p>\n

Note: this blog was originally published Aug 25, 2009. I updated it in June 2018.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Bartolom\u00e9 Maximiliano Mor\u00e9 Gutierrez, was born on August 24th, 1919 in the neighborhood of \u201cPueblo Nuevo\u201d in the town of Santa Isabel de las Lajas in Cuba. He died on February of 1963. Therefore, this year we commemorate the 55th year of his passing.<\/p>\n

Benny’s Career Highlights:<\/h3>\n

Benny Mor\u00e9 was not a very educated musician, as he was self-thought. This was not unusual in those days in Cuba. For instance, the Cuban master of the Son Montuno, Arsenio Rodriguez, a contemporary of Benny Mor\u00e9, learned to play the Cuban \u201ctres\u201d guitar mostly by himself.<\/p>\n

\"Cuban<\/a>
Benny Mor\u00e9 had a great voice and sense of singing, a combination unmatched in Latin music at the time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Benny was a superb Latin music singer. He started at a very early age, by singing in bars and cafes when he was a teenager. He developed a unique style, and besides having a great ear for the various Cuban rhythms, he became a prolific songwriter as well.<\/p>\n

His professional career began after having lost in a Cuban radio show singing competition. I guess we could think of it as the very 1st version of \u201cAmerican Idol<\/em>\u201d. Resilient, he decided to compete again, getting to win that time. From there, Benny started singing and recording with various groups.<\/p>\n

His big break came when Miguel Matamoros, founder of the famous \u201cTrio Matamoros\u201d could not sing one night and had Benny substitute for him. From there, Benny Mor\u00e9 became the group’s main singer, and Miguel Matamoros stayed as the group’s leader.<\/p>\n

Benny Mor\u00e9 with Mataroros<\/h3>\n

In 1945, Benny traveled to Mexico with the \u201cTrio Matamorros\u201d and became very popular there. That was when the Trio expanded to become the Conjunto Matamoros, with Benny as lead singer.<\/p>\n

With the Conjunto Matamoros, Benny Mor\u00e9 recorded several albums. The time with them served Benny well as his name gained popularity which would serve him well in his solo career.<\/p>\n

In the video below, you can hear Benny Mor\u00e9 with the Conjunto Matamoros singing a song that was later made popular by Johnny Pacheco in his 1977 album “The Artist<\/em>“. The song is “Me La Llevo<\/em>“, although Pacheco renamed it “Esa Prieta<\/em>“.<\/p>\n