Urubamba (band)

Urubamba was a music group consisting of musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, founded in 1956 by Jorge Milchberg. Urubamba, at the time known as "Los Incas" introduced Paul Simon to Andean music in the mid sixties, and then toured and recorded with Simon ("El Condor Pasa").

Urubamba featured the Argentines Jorge Milchberg, charango, Uña Ramos and Jorge Cumbo on the quena flute and the Uruguayan Emilio Arteaga playing guitar and bombo. Juan Dalera replaces Uña Ramos in the second Simon's world tour.

Milchberg's style stayed close to the folklore of the altiplanos (highlands) of Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile, but two albums, Un Pedazo del Infinito and Urubamba are remarkable due to their esoteric, almost meditative moods. Milchberg's later recordings, on the French Buda label, feature him as a soloist on charango ("Charango") or in the group that reverted to the original name of "Los Incas" ("Los Incas en Concert" and "El Ultimo") with his son, Olivier Milchberg, accompanied by cello, guitar, pan pipes (zampoñas), and drum (bombo). On "El Ultimo" -- recorded forty-six years after the group's founding -- the personnel consisted of Jorge and Olivier Milchberg with Lupe Vega (voice), Juan Dalera (flute), Moises Arnaiz (guitar), Jorge Trasante (percussion), and Rob Yaffe (cello).

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