My interest in Congolese rumba of the 40s and 50s has led me to seek out early Cuban records that served as their inspiration. Here we have a very interesting early recording of a rumba made in Havana, Cuba in 1909 featuring two vocalists accompanied by a mandolin and guitar.
It starts out pretty lively – and then the whistling kicks in at 0:24 and you get hooked pretty fast after that.
Recorded in Havana, Cuba on February 8, 1909.
Released as Victor 62008.
This batwing repressing was dubbed from an original source – as noted in DAHR. You can hear the dubbing apparatus at the end of the track – the surface noise of the original comes to an abrupt halt as the stylus is lifted – then you hear a low mechanical noise as the tonearm is pulled back.
Credits
Adolfo Colombo – tenor vocals
Claudio García – baritone vocals
The flip side of this record can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/9IMXKCIKqY4