Buena Vista Social Club presents Ibrahim Ferrer 1999
Jazz/bossa/Cuba | APE | 301 Mb
Amazon.com's Best of 1999
Picking up where Buena Vista Social Club left off, BVSC Presents Ibrahim Ferrer soothes with the hushed romanticism of Cuba's yesteryear while boasting the talents of one of its greatest singers, Ibrahim Ferrer. Again there's an all-star lineup of musicians led by pianist Rubén González and singer Omara Portuondo creating music at the renowned Egrem studios, whose live room brings the slow lucidity and intense vigor of the Cuban classics to life..
When the Buena Vista Social Club album was released to great acclaim in 1997, it revived the careers of quite a few incredibly talented aging Cuban musicians. Like Ibrahim Ferrer, most of those musicians (who had been legendary in the '40s through the '70s) hadn't been performing professionally in decades. With the success of the Buena Vista Social Club, everything changed; they toured the globe, and plans for follow-up albums followed. Ibrahim Ferrer's was the second of what became a line of Buena Vista releases, all hoping to cash in on the success of the first. Ferrer's album is pleasant, the kind of album you could put on during brunch on a sunny morning. The album features many classic Cuban compositions. Original arrangers, musicians, and bandleaders were involved whenever possible. One standout is "Mami Me Gusto," a rolling upbeat tune by the legendary Cuban composer/bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez. On that tune Ferrer is lively and loose, and he is joined by Rodriguez's original pianist, the masterful Ruben Gonzales. The rest of the album is nice, but rarely as inspired or joyous as the original Buena Vista release. This is a much more romantic sounding album and on the right tunes, like "Aquellos Ojos Verdes," they really hit the mark; Ferrer shines and Gonzales sends glistening piano lines cascading down the keys. At age 63-plus, Ferrer was long overdue for a debut album, and as a result the disc communicates a feel of easy satisfaction. If you're looking for classy cocktail party music that will hold the attention of music fans, and won't bother the uninterested, look no further.
It should never cease to amaze how spry and dramatically potent a force is the Buena Vista Social Club. The group--really a gaggle of aging Cuban maestros brought together for stunning all-star performances--keeps its footing in Cuban dance music at the same time as it revels in the lax tempo of layered hand percussion and traditional rhythms. Ibrahim Ferrer stepped to the international fore as the vocalist on the eponymous BVSC CD in 1997 and here furthers his already-obvious command of everything from sultry, horn-swaying ballads to gritty son tunes like "Mamí Me Gustá." Ferrer's tattered vocal inflections shape the more rollicking tunes so their texture is palpable, especially when belted in antiphonal give-and-takes with the rest of the huge band he totes along here. A 15-member-strong string section steps forward on the bolero tracks, which send off a smoldering passion that's startling in light of the BVSC's heightened, horn-charged charts. But the rich string passages color songs in wide brush strokes, which is to say that they heighten the passion to no end. Ferrer's debut might come in his twilight years, but it's a majorly luminous event.
Track List:
1 Bruca Manigua (4:43)
2 Herido de Sombras (4:11)
3 Marieta (5:55)
4 Guateque Campesino (5:09)
5 Mami Me Gusto (5:04)
6 Nuestra Ultima Cita (3:56)
7 Cienfuegos Tiene Su Guaguancó (5:22)
8 Silencio (4:38)
9 Aquellos Ojos Verdes (4:54)
10 Que Bueno Baila Usted (4:39)
11 Como Fué
Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo
Jazz/Cuba | Nonesuch Records 2000 | Lossless WMA | 242Mb + 3% recovery rec.
Recorded at Egrem Studios, Havana, Cuba in December 1999 and January 2000. Includes liner notes by Omara Portuondo.
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB PRESENTS was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album. The album was also nominated for the 2001 Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.
As the only female member of the world-famous social club, Omara Portuondo has finally been awarded her laurels by World Circuit in no uncertain style. Accompanied by another roundup of the usual suspects (Eliades Ochoa and Compay Segundo, amongst others), she serves up a sumptuous selection of interpretations, plucking her vocal lines from out of the ether over a full band like she's picking grapes.
Her expert vocalise is superbly complemented by stunning arrangements from Demetrio Muniz, including sweet string quartet habaneras, brass flashes and prowling saxes. Omara's interpretative powers are more than a match, patiently chiselling away until she arrives at the heart of each lyric; her duet with Ibrahim Ferrer on "No Me Llores" turns Arsenio Rodriguez' well-known son montuno into a kitchen-sink drama, alternately pleading, reproachful and forgiving. Producers Nick Gold and Jerry Boys have opted for the kind of dry acoustic that conjures up both the ambience and spacing (minus the staccato chatter and chinking glasses) that you'd have found in the club itself back in the '50s. From the broken spirit of "Veinte Anos" to the last tickle of Ruben Gonzalez' ivories, it's a journey that encompasses more variety than the entire outputs of other artists.
Track List:
1. La Sitiera
2. He Perdido Contigo
3. Donde Estabas Tu
4. Mariposita De Primavera
5. Canta Lo Sentimental
6. Ella Y Yo
7. No Me Vayas A Enganar
8. No Me Llores Mas
9. Viente Anos
10. El Hombre Que Me Ame :: The Man I Love
11. Siempre En Mi Corazon :: Always In My Heart
Compay Segundo - Las Flores de la vida
Jazz/Cuba | Nonesuch Records 2001 | Lossless APE | 330Mb
At 93, the man who came to international fame with Buena Vista Social Club is making some of the most celebratory music of his career. Simply more glorious music from someone who's finally receiving his international due. LAS FLORES DE LA VIDA was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.
1. La Negra Tomasa
2. Ataidi "Las Flores De La Vida"
3. Oui Parle Francais
4. Juramento
5. Enamorada
6. Amor De Loca Juventud
7. Te Apartas De Mi
8. Te Doy La Vida
9. El Beso Discreto
10. Longina
11. Desvelo De Amor
12. Cazabe Y Macho
13. Guantanamera
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