Frogtoon Music

Buena Vista Social Club (Album) by Buena Vista Social Club

Artist Biography For Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club Is An Ensemble Of Cuban Musicians Established In 1996 To Revive The Music Of Pre-Revolutionary Cuba. The Project Was Organized By World Circuit Executive Nick Gold Produced By American Guitarist Ry Cooder And Directed By Juan De Marcos González. They Named The Group After The Homonymous Members' Club In The Buenavista Quarter Of Havana A Popular Music Venue In The 1940s. To Showcase The Popular Styles Of The Time Such As Son Bolero And Danzón They Recruited A Dozen Veteran Musicians Many Of Whom Had Been Retired For Years. The Group's Eponymous Album Was Recorded In March 1996 And Released In September 1997 Quickly Becoming An International Success Which Prompted The Ensemble To Perform With A Full Line-Up In Amsterdam And New York In 1998. German Director Wim Wenders Captured The Performance On Film For A Documentary—also Called Buena Vista Social Club—that Included Interviews With The Musicians Conducted In Havana. Wenders' Film Was Released In June 1999 To Critical Acclaim Receiving An Academy Award Nomination For Best Documentary Feature And Winning Numerous Accolades Including Best Documentary At The European Film Awards. The Success Of Both The Album And Film Sparked A Revival Of Interest In Traditional Cuban Music And Latin American Music In General. Some Of The Cuban Performers Later Released Well-Received Solo Albums And Recorded Collaborations With Stars From Different Musical Genres. The "Buena Vista Social Club" Name Became An Umbrella Term To Describe These Performances And Releases And Has Been Likened To A Brand Label That Encapsulates Cuba's "musical Golden Age" Between The 1930s And 1950s. The New Success Was Fleeting For The Most Recognizable Artists In The Ensemble Compay Segundo Rubén González And Ibrahim Ferrer Who Died At The Ages Of Ninety-Five Eighty-Four And Seventy-Eight Respectively Compay Segundo And González In 2003 Then Ferrer In 2005. Several Surviving Members Of The Buena Vista Social Club Such As Veteran Singer Omara Portuondo Trumpeter Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal Laúd Player Barbarito Torres And Trombonist And Conductor Jesús "Aguaje" Ramos Currently Tour Worldwide To Popular Acclaim With New Members Such As Singer Carlos Calunga And Pianist Rolando Luna As Part Of A 13-Member Band Called Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club.

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Buena Vista Social Club

This Album Is Named After A Members-Only Club That Was Opened In Havana In Pre-Castro Times A Period Of Unbelievable Musical Activity In Cuba. While Bandleader Desi Arnaz Became A Huge Hit In The States Several Equally Talented Musicians Never Saw Success Outside Their Native Country And Have Had Nothing But Their Music To Sustain Them During The Castro Reign. Ry Cooder Went To Cuba To Record A Musical Documentary Of These Performers. Many Of The Musicians On This Album Have Been Playing For More Than A Half Century And They Sing And Play With An Obvious Love For The Material. Cooder Could Have Recorded These Songs Without Paying The Musicians A Cent One Can Imagine Them Jumping Up And Grabbing For Their Instruments At The Slightest Opportunity Just To Play. Most Of The Songs Are A Real Treasure Traversing A Lot Of Ground In Cuba's Musical History. There's The Opening Tune "Chan Chan " A Composition By 89-Year-Old Compay Segundo Who Was A Bandleader In The '50s The Cover Of The Early-'50s Tune "De Camino A La Verada " Sung By The 72-Year-Old Composer Ibrahim Ferrer Who Interrupted His Daily Walk Through Havana Just Long Enough To Record Or The Amazing Piano Playing On "Pablo Nuevo" By 77-Year-Old Rubén González Who Has A Unique Style That Blends Jazz Mambo And A Certain Amount Of Playfulness. All Of These Songs Were Recorded Live -- Some Of Them In The Musicians' Small Apartments -- And The Sound Is Incredibly Deep And Rich Something That Would Have Been Lost In Digital Recording And Overdubbing. Cooder Brought Just The Right Amount Of Reverence To This Material And It Shows In His Production Playing And Detailed Liner Notes. If You Get One Album Of Cuban Music This Should Be The One.