Ignacio Piñeiro Biography

Ignacio Piñeiro is one of the founding fathers of Cuban music. The leader of Septeto Nacional, a group he founded in 1927, Piñeiro was one of the first bandleaders to add the trumpet to the traditional instrumentation of son, the Cuban dance style that evolved into mambo, salsa, and Latin jazz. According to many historians, Piñeiro was the first to mention “salsa” in a song when he recorded Echale Salsita in 1933. Although most of the musicians in the original lineup of Septeto Nacional have died, the group continues to perform their unique Latin music.