The Night: World Music

I– Maite Hontelé.
This album is a festive tribute to Cuba. Dutch trumpeter Maite Hontelé pays this tribute by showcasing a wide variety of Cuban styles such as salsa, son cubano, cha-cha-cha, Latin jazz, changuï, and rumba. Maite does this surrounded by seven top Cuban musicians. The album is Maite Hontelé’s fifth studio album and was produced by keyboardist Juancho Valencia and vocalist and bassist Alain Pérez, and largely recorded at the legendary Egrem Studios in Havana.
Cd. Cuba linda – Maite Hontelé.
LABEL: Munich Records (2019) code: VVNL32492. VIDEO

II – Omara Portuondo.
Omara is one of Cuba’s most popular singers. Her career began as early as the 1950s, and she has sung in a variety of styles, from jazz-influenced genres and Big Band-style dance songs to traditional bolero and trova. On this album, the group Buena Vista Social Club introduces a global audience to this ‘grande dame’ of Cuban song: Omara Portuondo. With her mature, full, and warm voice, Portuondo sings about (usually lost) love in an understated and soulful manner. The songs are in varying styles and are also arranged differently. In Mariposita De Primavera, Portuondo is accompanied by a string quartet; in Canta Lo Sentimental, an electric guitar can be heard; and El Hombre Qu Yo Amé (the Spanish version of The Man I Love) features a Big Band lineup.
Cd. Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo.
LABEL: Buena Vista Social Club presents Omara Portuondo. VIDEO

III– Compay Segundo.
(1907–2003) was a Cuban musician and composer. Compay Segundo grew up in the city of Santiago de Cuba. He played the armónico, a seven-string guitar in which the G-string is doubled. He became a popular composer and musician, well known among lovers of Cuban music. He did not become truly famous until 1997 with the release of the album Buena Vista Social Club, a collaboration between the group of the same name and American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder, which won several Grammy Awards. Compay Segundo also appeared in the film of the same title by director Wim Wenders.
Cd. Duets – Compay Segundo.
LABEL: Gasa (2002) code: 0927-432282. VIDEO

IV– Cuba Havana ; vol.2.
Thanks to Ry Cooder (American guitarist and music producer) and Buena Vista Social Club, music from Cuba enjoys great popularity. To make it a little easier for lovers of Cuban music to choose from the wide range available, the album Cuba Havana; vol. 2 is a useful tool. The album is a compilation of the most current bands from Cuba, supplemented by a number of old favorites including Compay Segundo, Los Van Van, and Vieja Trova Santiaguera.
Cd. Cuba Havana ; vol.2.
LABEL: Arcade (1999) code 110723. VIDEO

V– Gloria Estefan.
The title of the album 90 Millas refers to the distance between Cuba and the southernmost point of Florida, where many Cuban refugees live. The music, composed together with her husband Emilio Estefan and the brothers Ricardo and Alberto Gaitan, is a tribute to Gloria’s native Cuba. No fewer than twenty-five guest musicians contributed to the album, all of whom have meant a great deal to traditional and Cuban or modern Latin music. When Gloria Estefan sang the song Esperando Cuando Cuba Sea Libre (Hoping for when Cuba will be free) during the album’s American premiere, many could not hold back their tears. But above all, 90 Millas invites you to dance and celebrate joyfully.
Cd. 90 Millas – Gloria Estefan.
LABEL: Burgundy (2007) code: 88697-143662. VIDEO

VI– Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina.
* Bebo Valdés (1918–2013) was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, particularly thanks to his big band arrangements and compositions of mambo, chachachá, and batanga, a genre he created in 1952. Valdés played a role in adapting the mambo to the big band format and developed a new rhythm to compete with Pérez Prado’s mambo, called batanga. Bebo Valdés was also a key figure in the burgeoning Afro-Cuban jazz scene in Havana. In 1957, he founded his own orchestra called Sabor de Cuba. ** Javier Colón is an American singer-songwriter who creates acoustic music. He describes his musical style as “acoustic soul.” In 2006, Javier Colón became an independent artist with his own label, Javier Colón Music. In 2011, he won the first season of the American talent show ‘The Voice’ on NBC, winning $100,000 and signing a record contract with Universal Republic Records.
Cd. Live at the Village Vanguard – Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina.
LABEL: Calle (2008) code: 54 88697-211112. Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina. VIDEO

VII– Piano y ritmo : Cuban jazz legends.
Cuban Jazz Legends is a masterful, organic exploration of Afro-Cuban jazz. It features an all-star lineup led by pianist Rodolfo Argudin Justiz and percussion heavyweight Tata Güines (congas). The album captures the essence of the golden age of Cuban descarga (jam sessions), combining traditional Cuban rhythms with fluid jazz improvisation. We are going to listen to three tracks from Cuban Jazz Legends: – Mulata rumbera by Alejandro Rodriguez Oliva, – Aguardiente by Tata Güines, – Decidete mi amor by Jose Antonio Mendez.
Cd. Piano y ritmo : Cuban jazz legends.
LABEL: Spectre (2013) code: 8061472. VIDEO

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