San Francisco jazz guitarist Kai Lyons has arranged a unique run of concerts that will showcase the rarely heard Cuban style of changüí, a musical tradition rooted in Guantánamo. After discovering vocalist José “El Sinsonte” Rodríguez at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Lyons traveled to Guantánamo to study the tres, the small Cuban guitar central to changüí and son.
Bay Area dates and venues
The partnership will debut on September 2 at Mr. Tipple’s in Hayes Valley, where they will be joined by Latin‑jazz maestro John Calloway on flute and piano. The rhythm section includes percussionist Einar “Tito” Leliebre Nuñez and bassist Ernesto Mazar Kindelan, a University High orchestra director who turned down a bass position with Los Van Van to stay in the Bay Area.
Following the Hayes Valley show, the group will perform at the Red Door in Emeryville on September 3, then at Meyhouse in San Ramon on September 4. A duo set is scheduled for Bird & Beckett Books and Records on September 7.
Why changüí matters
Changüí, first formalized in 1945 by composer Rafael Inciarte Brioso, blends rural fiesta music with urban instrumentation: tres, guayo, maracas, bongó del monte and the marímbula, a box‑shaped bass that once held cod fish. Lyons notes that the marímbula’s low, aquatic tone replaces a traditional bass, while the larger bongó del monte provides a distinctive percussive drive.
Rodríguez, a veteran of the Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo, retired from regular performance before the pandemic. He moved to Tampa to be near his daughter, and he and Lyons cultivated a friendship over long phone calls. Lyons helped bring Rodríguez back to the Bay Area, first with a 2025 benefit concert at The Chapel that supported solar generators for the Let Cuba Live campaign.
Local impact
Lyons says the logistics of bringing international musicians to the Bay Area are challenging, but the cultural reward is great. “One of my passions is to bring amazing Cuban musicians to the Bay Area,” he said. Rodríguez, now 72, lives temporarily in Lyons’ modest Civic Center apartment, where he continues to write poetry and perform nightly, often at venues like the Boom Boom Room.
The series offers Bay Area audiences a rare chance to hear authentic changüí, a genre that rarely travels beyond Cuba’s eastern provinces. With its polyrhythmic percussion, melodic tres lines, and dance‑oriented hooks, changüí provides a vibrant, community‑building soundtrack for local music lovers.
Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.
