"As a bass player, I think of myself as a colchon (a pillow) – always there, supporting everything that is happening, always there for the soloists to fall back on,"
"I never stopped playing, because it's important to keep my fingers supple,"
"I remember once I was playing with the orchestra and I had to appear on the country music TV programme 'Palmas y Cañas (Palms and Sugar Cane). So as soon as the orchestra was finished I jumped in a taxi with my bass in my D.J. and before I knew it I was playing on the set. The orchestra had a visiting conductor from abroad and as chance would have it, he happened to see the programme and the next day at rehearsal he said to me, Was that you I saw playing yesterday evening on the TV? and I said Yes. And he was astounded, and kept asking me, How can you play such different styles? And I told him, I always have!"
"When I played with Orchestra Riverside I had to follow the style of the pianist. Cuban music is very syncopated and he played wild, unexpected, dissonant chords which we call moña. In a sense music making is all listening and watching."
" It's a matter of not leading or going ahead and yet responding immediately to all changes however small. On the one hand the bass line gives everything cohesion and makes it all work, so you maintain the bass line like a time line; on the other you respond to the inspiration of whoever has the melody which depends very much on their personal style. With Rubén I can see it from the way his hands move and sometimes he gives me a look or a move of the head. When he is really moving he likes a lot of bass so you get this bass-piano dynamic. With Omara there's lots of fílin: she gives me a phrase, I respond and she gets inspired against that. She plays a lot with rhythm, one minute she moves slightly behind then in front, moving around my line. With Ibrahim it is different again."
Cuban bassist Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez died Monday, February 9, 2009 in a Havana hospital.
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