And he's right, with Buena Vista Social Club at the helm at the Lighthouse in Poole we were in for a good night.

Trombonist Jesús Aguaje' Ramos is among the Buena Vista Social Club stalwarts, who in a 12-piece band direct from Havana, have returned to the UK this year after the sell-out success of last year's tour.

Many things have changed for the collective since they burst into the limelight 11 years ago, with the biggest selling world music album of all time, their Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club.

Then headed in the studio by 89-year-old singer-guitarist Compay Segundo, pianist Rubén González, 77, and singer Ibrahim Ferrer, 70, the band has endured the loss of these three musical leviathans.

Longest-standing player now is Cuban bassist Orlando Cachaíto' López, the heartbeat' of the band and unique in that he has played on every tune released under the Buena Vista banner.

Then there is Manuel Guajiro' Mirabal, who played trumpet on eight of the album's 14 tracks, and guitarist Manuel Galbán, a post-album discovery.

The two-hour set comprised a musical excursion into son montunos, danzón, cha cha cha, boleros and Cuban jazz with some classics, such as Santana's Oye Como Va and an audience-interactive Guantanamera thrown in.

The band are as comfortable in front of an audience as if they were jamming in their living rooms, from the trio of old boys on the brass to the slinky female percussionist who gives the band some va-va-voom.

So infectious is their enjoyment that, somewhere along the way, huge fans of the album like myself barely notice they have not played Chan Chan.

Yet the set winds up with a crescendo of old friends from 1997, the wonderful El Cuarto de Tula, and, in the encore, a heartrending version of Dos Gardenias.

10:39am Wednesday 7th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment