Frank Emilio Flynn

Francisco Emilio Flynn Rodríguez (April 13, 1921 – August 23, 2001), better known as Frank Emilio Flynn, was a renowned Cuban pianist. Despite being blind, he was a skilled and versatile pianist who mastered many forms of Cuban music, from danzas and danzones to filin, descarga and Afro-Cuban jazz. He was the founder and director of several ensembles, including Loquibambia and Los Modernistas (1951), both co-founded with José Antonio Méndez, as well as the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna (1958), which later became Los Amigos.

Biography

Early life and career Francisco Emilio Flynn Rodríguez was born in Havana on April 13, 1921, to a Cuban mother and an American father. His eyes were damaged during birth by the doctor's forceps. As a result, he was unable to distinguish shapes as a child, and by his late teens he was totally blind. From a young age he was known as Frank Emilio instead of Francisco Emilio due to his father. His mother died when he was 5 years old and his father returned to the US, so Flynn was raised by his aunt and uncle. In 1934, when he was only 13 years old, Flynn won an amateur music contest and shortly after began to play danzones by Antonio María Romeu. In 1938, Flynn interrupted his career to complete his studies at a school run by Cuba's National Association for the Blind. In 1946 he founded the Loquibambia ensemble together with guitarist and composer José Antonio Méndez, and they started to work for the Mil Diez radio station. One these jazz combos was the Grupo Cubano de Música Moderna, later known as Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna, with Flynn on piano and direction, Tata Güines on congas, Gustavo Tamayo on güiro, Walfredo de los Reyes on drums (replaced by Guillermo Barreto in 1959), and Orlando "Papito" Hernández on bass (replaced in 1965 by Orlando "Cachaíto" López). This jazz quintet often took part in improvised jam sessions known as descargas. During the 1960s, the band would record several albums and EPs for EGREM. Flynn's solo career continued to thrive with albums such as Danzas cubanas and Música de Cervantes, also recorded for EGREM. He also recorded music for Pianoforte, an EGREM album also featuring pianists Peruchín and Adolfo Guzmán.

Final years and death

Frank Emilio is a pianist who has influenced every subsequent generation, and those to come, because he's kept up to date. You can't talk about Frank Emilio in the past because he's still very much present. — Chucho Valdés, 1998 Tribute to Ernesto Lecuona (1997) and A Tiempo de Danzón (1998) for Milan/RCA Records, and Ancestral Reflections (1999) for Blue Note. In December 1997 Flynn took part in the Jazz Plaza Festival in Havana. In February 1998 he made his American debut, with Los Amigos, in a Jazz at Lincoln Center gig. Flynn died August 23, 2001, in Havana. Emiliano Salvador, the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and Irakere. Flynn developed novel writing techniques for blind musicians and served as president of Cuba's National Association for the Blind between 1978 and 1981.