The foundation of the music style that we today call “timba” was built up in the late 80′s by NG la Banda, that was created when the flutist José Luis Cortés, aka “El Tosco”, picked out a number of artists for a project where he wanted to do a study of Cuban music and jazz. El Tosco had earlier played with and written music for Los Van Van and when he was still playing with Irakere, the group “Nueva Generación” was initiated and later turned into NG la Banda.

El Tosco wanted to do something with the taste of Los Van Van and with the musical aggressivity of Irakere to give the popular music the same artistical and esthetical value as is given to other forms of music. The result was a long row of timeless classics.

NG la Banda has had a lot of influence on the timba groups that have been created after them. Several artists who have then made solo carreer have participated in NG la Banda, among them Issac Delgado, Giraldo Piloto, the director of Klimax etc. El Tosco also has produced records for other artists, such as Manolín, to whom he gave the nickname “El Médico de la Salsa” and produced his first album. Yeni Valdés, who nowadays sings with Los Van Van, was the first female singer in both groups.

During the last years El Tosco has experimented with mixing a little more of other styles, such as pop, rap and reggaetón, into his music. Tirso Duarte has been singing with the group in periods and they now have several female singers.

Source: www.timba.com