Israel Cachao Lopez, the 1995 Hispanic Heritage Awards Honoree for the Arts, is the legendary inventor of the Cuban Mambo and master of descarga sessions. Whether playing as an anonymous sideman or being honored at Carnegie Hall, he has always brought equal passion and artistry to each performance.

Cachao came from a family of musical virtuosos. He moved with ease between the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra and Cuba’s popular music bands. In the late 1930s, Cachao and his brother Orestes, re-shaped the traditional “danzón” by speeding up and swinging the form’s third section into what they named the “mambo.” In the 1950s, he revolutionized Cuba’s music scene by creating the “descarga” jam session movement. When he moved to the United States in the early 1960s, he played in New York City’s notable Latin big bands with leaders such as Charlie Palmieri, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente. He slipped into obscurity after moving to Miami – until 1992, when Andy Garcia helped bring the maestro back into the spotlight with his documentary Como Su Rítmo No Hay Dos.

In 1995, Cachao won a Grammy Award for Master Sessions, Volume 1, a collection of descargas that emerged from the documentary production shoots. Since then, he has garnered numerous honors, including his latest Grammy Award in 2005 for ¡Ahora Sí!. Cachao’s music has been featured in film soundtracks including The Birdcage and The Lost City, which opened in 2006. He has performed on and recorded more than 25 albums in his career. Cachao received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, and in 1995, the National Endowment for the Arts bestowed him with their highest honor – the National Heritage Fellowship Award– for folk and traditional arts.

Now in his 80s, Cachao continues to play live concerts and was recently honored in a Carnegie Hall celebration and concert featuring his Mambo All-Stars. He has been top-billed at the Hollywood Bowl’s “Latin Jazz Night,” Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “¡Bajo! – The Great Tradition of the Latin Bass,” Miami’s James L. Night Center and New York’s famed Blue Note jazz club.