Cuban pianist Daniel Amat calls for a return to musical roots

For Cuban pianist and producer Daniel Amat, returning to musical roots is not an exercise in nostalgia. It is the only way to preserve authentic artistic creation.

Amat made the case during “Roots in Dialogue: Folklore, Jazz and Afro-Latin American Traditions from Jaén,” a musical gathering organized by the International University of Andalusia as part of its summer courses in southern Spain. He argued that, amid digital consumption and market-driven music, studying tradition offers a “safeguard” against passing fashions.

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The humanity transmitted from the beginnings of music, whether in blues, Cuban music or Brazilian music, will never be lost despite impositions or trends.

“The humanity transmitted from the beginnings of music, whether in blues, Cuban music or Brazilian music, will never be lost despite impositions or trends,” Amat said. He explained that the piano became his ideal instrument for combining academic rigor with jazz improvisation and Afro-Cuban rhythmic drive.

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The piano is a magnificent vehicle for composing, arranging and giving an outlet to all your musical concerns.

Amat began studying trumpet and percussion before discovering that the keyboard could unite rhythm and harmony. In Cuba, he said, the piano is a relatively young instrument that has undergone many transformations because of the country’s rhythmic richness. The trumpet felt “limited” to him because it produced only one sound at a time, while the piano offered what he called “glory” by allowing him to carry percussion into the instrument.

“The piano is a magnificent vehicle for composing, arranging and giving an outlet to all your musical concerns,” he said. He also emphasized the historic and cultural ties between Andalusian and Caribbean music. “We have many Andalusian roots in Cuban music. In this course, we are precisely looking for the common starting points between Andalusian music and global music. When we go back to the beginnings, we find one another, which is very satisfying.”

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We have many Andalusian roots in Cuban music. In this course, we are precisely looking for the common starting points between Andalusian music and global music. When we go back to the beginnings, we find one another, which is very satisfying.

As the music industry becomes increasingly shaped by algorithms and social media’s immediacy, Amat urged listeners to reconnect with family memory and emotional inheritance. “Connecting with roots means connecting with the soundtrack we all carry inside us,” he said. “When you explain to young people where things come from, they identify with them.”

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Connecting with roots means connecting with the soundtrack we all carry inside us. When you explain to young people where things come from, they identify with them.