Tags: Cuban

Review: When it was first released a quarter of a century ago, the Buena Vista Social Club album - a concept album produced by Ry Cooder and Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, featuring veteran Cuban musicians recreating music that had been popular on the island nation in the 1940s and '50s - had a huge cultural impact. Not only did it sell like hotcakes around the World, leading to a US tour and documentary film, but it also raised interest in Cuban music, something that has sustained to this day. This 25th Anniversary edition, then, is fully justified. It boasts fully remastered vinyl and CD versions of the original album, each with bonus tracks, as well as partner discs entirely made up of previously unheard songs and alternate takes

Review: It would be fair to say that the Afro-Cuban All Stars are Cuba's most important contemporary musicians. Their leader, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, has been a pioneering figure for decades and his work with the likes of the Buena Vista Social Club has officially solidified his position as the guiding voice of Afro-Latin music. World Circuit has decided to reissue the band's debut album from 1997, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, and it's no surprise given just how iconic it remains to this day. If you're a fan of rhythmic jazz with a Caribbean twist then this is the right material for you. If you're a record collector whose into the spicier end of the jazz scale then this is unmissable. Whoever youre, you're bound to enjoy this marvelous collection of tracks.