About Us

Caña Son ………practitioners of traditional Cuban son music.
“deep Cuban music”…………the Oregonian

Caña Son is a Cuban son band that plays traditional son music. The group focuses on popular Cuban son from the turn of the last century through the nineteen fifties. Following son music’s history out of the Eastern Provinces of Cuba to the Capital of Havana and beyond. Son is the forefather of contemporary salsa music and is said to be the most important genre of Cuban music. Caña Son covers material from favorite son giants such as Trio Matamoros, Guillermo Portabales, Celina y Reutilio (Celina Gonzalez), Ramón Veloz, Joseíto Fernández, Ignacio Piñeiro (Septeto Nacional), Compay Segundo (Los Compadres), Eliades Ochoa (Cuarteto Patria), Ñico Saquito, Arsenio Rodriguez, Felíx Chapottín, Beny Moré, La Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz, Cachao, and many others. Contemporary son revivalist such as Juan de Marcos González (Sierra Maestra, Buena Vista Social Club and Afro Cuban All-stars) Albita Rodríguez, Polo Montañez, Jesus Alemany’s Cubanísmo, etc., are all excellent examples of what this band strives for. The group follows the classic conjunto de son line up of acoustic guitar, tres guitar, upright bass, trumpet and Cuban percussion.

As the house band at the award winning Cuban restaurant and nightclub Cañita, from May 2003 to May 2004, Caña Son rapidly gained a loyal and dedicated fan base. Highlight Caña Son performances at Cañita include jam sessions with Jesus Alemany’s Cubanísmo band and the Poncho Sanchez Ensemble. Committed to the son genre the band has an impressive and rapidly increasing repertoire of popular Cuban classics and is currently working on the release of a full-length CD.