The Real Mambo King

"I love Andy Garcia as if he were a son," Cachao says about the actor/director who produced and directed the 1993 documentary Cachao ... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos (There Is Nothing Like His Rhythm). In the film Garcia, who met the musician in San Francisco in the early Nineties, traces Cachao's career from his years as a bongo-playing child prodigy to his invention of mambo and the descarga.

Garcia also produced and played percussion on the 2004 album Ahora Sí! (Now Yes!), which earned a Grammy the same year. The CD, which pays homage to traditional Cuban rhythms like son, guaguancó, danzón, and mambo, was recorded in just three days and features six songs spontaneously composed by Cachao. "Working with Andy is easy because there's a true connection between him and I," he says.

Although the witty and quick-thinking bassist says Garcia has bigger things to worry about "than playing music with an old man," he admits nothing would make him happier than to have Garcia surprise him with an appearance at his performance Saturday night. "It would be a big surprise and one hell of a birthday gift, but I know he's busy," says Cachao, whose birthday was September 14. "Regardless, he's with me wherever I play my music."