Definitions for "Descarga"
Keywords:  jam, salsa, musician, jazz, cuban
A jam session in Cuban music, salsa, and Latin jazz during which musicians take turns improvising and soloing.
It means to jam. Here the musicians improvise or jam as the montuno section is being played. The percussion section may start its descarga or it may enter into a musical dialogue with the horn section or with the other members in the group. Not only limited to the percussion section in wich congas, timbales, drumset or other percussion instruments may play, but also to the piano player who may play his/her section within the montuno. The descarga is not limited to the son montuno, it is also used alot in salsa, happening usually during the middle to the end of the piece, in wich the coro or vocal section that repeats a phrase over and over above the descarga improvises. Here the singer may, off the top of his/her head talk about the issues of the day, another band member or anything else the vocalist may deem important. The descarga can happen within a formal or informal setting. [Thanks to Vicky Stone for this entry.
"Unloading" (lit.); a jam session, as well as an improvised tune.