La Raya Rumbero, Moneda Nacional, Recorded by the author with permission on July 1st, 2004, in Havana, Cuba.

Grupo Moneda Nacional won the 2004 Festival Nacional de Septetos, in Havana. I met the tresero, Daniel Cos, at the tres competition the day before I made this recording, and we talked about his approach to the instrument.

Unlike some of the young cats who are trying to “timba-fy” their sound with a lot of off-the-wall tumbaos, Cos plays it straight down the pike, with a heavy right hand that locks in tight with the sound of the rhythm section.

Cos’ solo here on “Raya Rumbero” just about blew my mind. I think it’s still one of my favorite solos on this instrument. When I met up with the group later on, back on their home turf in Santiago, Cos told me does out that outside harmony stuff purely by ear - no jazz training, never set foot in a conservatory, nothing. Of course, this is not unusual in his scene, but none of those guys on Buena Vista are getting down like Daniel - he’s got his own thing going.