From AwardAnnals
Ry Cooder’s name has helped bring attention to this session, but it’s the veteran Cuban
son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism,
Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they’re putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn’t mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres’s
laoud solo on “El Cuarto de Tula” is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a…
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Ry Cooder’s name has helped bring attention to this session, but it’s the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they’re putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn’t mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres’s laoud solo on “El Cuarto de Tula” is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from “Stormy Weather” and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it’s called “world music.” —Rickey Wright
Related works
Buena Vista Social Club
Wim Wenders
In 1996, composer, producer, and guitar legend Ry Cooder entered Egrem Studios in Havana with the forgotten greats of Cuban music, many of them in their 60s and 70s, some of them long since retired. The resulting album,
Buena Vista Social Club, became a Grammy-winning international bestseller. When Cooder returned to Havana in 1998 to record a solo album by 72-year-old vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, filmmaker Wim Wenders was on hand to document the occasion. Wenders splits the film between portraits of the performers, who tell their stories directly to the…
