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  Ibrahim Ferrer - Ay, Candela (Escondida ESC 6513-2, 2005)
Ruben Gonzalez - Momentos (Escondida ESC 6514-2, 2005)
Omara Portuondo - Sentimiento (Escondida ESC 6516-2, 2005)
Compay Segundo - El Compadre Again (Escondida ESC 6515-2, 2005)
My own passion for Cuban music predates the
Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon,
though what BVSC did to raise the profile of classic Cuban sounds was (and is)
remarkable. I mention this because the artists covered in the first four
installments of Escondida's new Cuban Essentials series-
Ibrahim Ferrer,
Rubén
González,
Omara
Portuondo and
Compay
Segundo -all enjoyed late-in-life career resurgences thanks to their Buena
Vista participation. So since these folks need no introduction to Cuban music
devotees, let me simply state that the material collected on these discs (mainly
well-aged tunes from the '60s, '70s and '80s) is exceptional.
Ferrer's is the standout, by turns a rousing and heartfelt example of his
vibrant singing. Portuondo's is full of her trademark strong-and-fragile vocals [read a full review of Sentimiento
here],
Segundo's showcases his excellence as an ageless country troubadour (including
the great "Chan Chan," naturally) and the González album places his amazingly
agile piano playing in both traditional and jazzier settings.
 With González, Segundo and Ferrer now deceased (Ferrer only recently so),
these initial entries in the soon-to-be 10 volume series take on a bittersweet
quality that reinforces the depth and breadth of the music all the more. Sure,
you can take the cynical stance (as I often do) and say that vintage Cuban music
is already saturating the market to the point of overkill. If so, think of these
four (and presumably what is to come) as a way of cutting through the crap and
getting your hands on the good stuff.
[Buy
Ay, Candela,
Momentos ,
Sentimiento, and
El Compadre Again].
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