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'Lost and Found' by Buena Vista Social Club Musician Biographies

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'Lost and Found' by Buena Vista Social Club Musician Biographies ‘Lost and Found’ by Buena Vista Social Club Musician Biographies Angá Díaz, congas (born Pinar del Rio 1961, died 2006) With his explosive soloing and inventive five conga patterns, Cuban musician Miguel ‘Angá’ Díaz was one of the world’s great congueros. Anga’s musical journey has led to him perform with the foremost experimental band in Cuba, Irakere, sojourns with innovative US jazz musicians Steve Coleman & Roy Hargrove, then back to his roots with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, Rubén González, and opening doors with the great Cuban bassist Cachaíto López on his ground-breaking album ‘Cachaíto’ and subsequent tour – Anga developed upon the basis of that album on his debut release ‘Echu Mingua’ – a unique and experimental take on classics of Cuban and Jazz repertoire, original African, DJ, contemporary Argentine, and improvised music. Angá unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 2006. Ibrahim Ferrer, vocals (Born Santiago de Cuba, Cuba 1927, died 2005) Born at a social club dance, Ibrahim Ferrer always believed it was his destiny to be a singer. Yet although he was the lead vocalist for bandleader Pacho Alonso in the 1950s, sang for the legendary Beny Moré and was lead singer with Los Bocucos, for much of his life his career was a story of disappointment. As a master vocalist in both son and bolero styles, he deserved to have been far better recognised than he was. At the time of the Buena Vista sessions, he was living in retirement, augmenting his pension by shining shoes. Invited to the Buena Vista sessions by Juan de Marcos González when a bolero singer was needed, he swiftly became a pivotal figure in the project. He toured extensively with his own band and that of Rubén González. His first solo album, “Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer”, was released in 1999. It was followed in 2003 by “Buenos Hermanos” (like its predecessor produced by Ry Cooder), which won him a Grammy. (He was denied entry into the U.S.A. to collect the award). He died in 2005 just after completing a European tour and his final album, “Mi Sueño” (My Dream), appeared posthumously the following year. Juan de Marcos González, band leader, backing vocals (Born Havana, Cuba 1954) One of the driving forces behind the Buena Vista Social Club, Juan de Marcos González comes from a younger generation than most of its veteran stars, but it's fair to say that the project could not have happened without him. From a famous musical family (his father sang with the legendary band leader Arsenio Rodríguez), his mission to keep alive the heritage of traditional Cuban music dates back to 1976, when as a young man of 22 he established the band Sierra Maestra. They went on to record 14 albums making their international debut with “Dundunbanza” on World Circuit in 1994. In 1996 he realised a long held ambition to record his Afro Cuban All Stars which included such musicians as Rubén González, Guajiro Mirabal and Pio Leyva. The day after completing that album he worked with Ry Cooder and Nick Gold to assemble the Buena Vista family of musicians. He has recorded further albums with The Afro Cuban All Stars and led them on extensive tours. He was band leader for Buena Vista Social Club’s only concert appearances at Amsterdam’s Carre and New York’s Carnegie Hall theatres. He currently lives in Mexico City where he produces records and runs his own record label DM Ahora. Rubén González, piano (Born Santa Clara, Cuba 1919, died 2003) Ry Cooder famously likened Rubén González’s piano playing to "a cross between Thelonius Monk and Felix the Cat" and his renaissance in his 80s when he became an international star was one of the great elements in the Buena Vista Social Club story. Over a long career dating back to the 1940s he played with many of the great Cuban bandleaders including Arsenio Rodríguez (in one of the maestro’s first great conjuntos) and Enrique Jorrín (creator of the cha-cha-cha and was one of a trio of virtuoso pianists (with Luis 'Lili' Martínez and Peruchín) who helped lay the foundation of World Circuit Records | 1st Floor, Shoreditch Stables, 138 Kingsland Road. London E2 8DY Tel +44 207 749 3222 | [email protected] | www.worldcircuit.co.uK the modern Cuban piano style. He travelled extensively in Latin America in the 1940’s and 1950’s and was a major soloist in Havana’s all-star Estrellas de Areito project. By the time Buena Vista Social Club was recorded in 1996, he had long retired but he re-emerged not only to grace those sessions but also to record two wonderfully elegant solo albums “Introducing” and “Chanchullo”, and to tour the world's most prestigious concert stages. He died in 2003, at the age of 84. Orlando 'Cachaíto' López, bass (Born Havana, Cuba 1933, died 2009) The heartbeat of the Buena Vista Social Club with his fluid, virtuoso bass playing, Orlando 'Cachaíto' López hailed from a family of influential Cuban bass players: his uncle, Israel (a.k.a. Cachao) together with his father Orestes (a.k.a. Macho) created the mambo while members of Arcano’s group in the 1940’s. His uncle Cachao also played a crucial role in the development of the improvisational Afro-Cuban jazz style known as descarga of which Cachaíto was a master. An amazingly versatile musician, Cachaíto played classical music with Cuba's Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Cuban jazz and pop with Irakeke, doo wop with Los Zafiros and descarga with Los Amigos . His warm presence can be heard on all but one of the 14 tracks on the original Buena Vista Social Club studio album and he has since been a fixture on virtually all of the associated tours and recording sessions. His own experimental World Circuit album “Cachaíto” (2001) is regarded by many critics as one of the finest releases in the Buena Vista series. Cachaíto was the bedrock of Ibrahim Ferrer’s and Rubén González’s bands and in his last years he kept the groove in the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club. He died in Havana in 2009, at the age of 76. Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal, trumpet (Born Melena del Sur, Cuba 1933) A professional trumpet player for almost 60 years, Mirabal joined the Cuban jazz band 'Swing Casino' in 1953. Three years later he formed the 'Conjunto Rumbavana' and in 1960 he joined the Orquesta Riverside, whose singer Tito Gomez gave him his nickname 'Guajiro'. He also played with a variety of other top bands, including Orquesta del ICRT the official orchestra of Cuban state radio and television. In 1996 he became a key member of the extended Buena Vista Social Club family, playing on all three albums recorded over that extraordinary fortnight in Havana. His vibrant trumpet playing has since been heard on many of World Circuit's Cuban releases and his own 2004 album, Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel Guajiro Mirabal, found him paying tribute to the music of Cuban legend Arsenio Rodriguez. In 2008 he's still touring to popular acclaim as one of the stars of the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club show. Eliades Ochoa, guitar and vocals (Born Songo la Maya, Cuba 1946) Hailing from the countryside near Santiago in the east of Cuba, Eliades Ochoa's roots are in guajira (Cuban country music) and his trademark cowboy hat and penchant for wearing black have led some to dub him 'Cuba's Johnny Cash'. He began playing the guitar when he was six, making a living playing in the cafes and brothels around Santiago. Such was his local reputation that in 1978 he joined Cuarteto Patria, becoming the leader of the legendary group that has been keeping the tradition of Cuban folk music alive since 1940. Not long before he was recruited for the Buena Vista album he had been working with Compay Segundo reviving the master’s career and recording the first version of Chan Chan with him. His contribution to the Buena Vista Social Club sessions included his distinctive guitar playing and his lead vocals on El Cuarto de Tula and his own guajira showcase on El Carretero. Away from the Buena Vista connection, he recorded the 1998 album CubAfrica with Manu Dibango and several solo releases, including 1999's Sublime Ilusión, and Estoy Como Nunca in 2002. He continues to tour regularly. He currently lives in Havana where he is preparing a new album. Omara Portuondo, vocals (Born Havana, Cuba 1930) Buena Vista Social Club's leading lady Omara Portuondo began her career not as a singer but as a dancer at the fabled Tropicana cabaret in Havana. In 1952 she and her older sister, Haydee teamed up with Elena Burke and Moraima Secada to form the vocal group Cuarteto D'Aida, backed by the pianist Aida Diestro. The group toured America, performed with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana and recorded an album for RCA Victor before the revolution put an end to such possibilities, although she continued to sing with the group until 1967 when she launched a solo career. She achieved great success in Cuba as a leading voice in the ‘feelin’ style. When a female voice was required for the Buena Vista sessions in 1996, she was the perfect choice, collaborating World Circuit Records | 1st Floor, Shoreditch Stables, 138 Kingsland Road. London E2 8DY Tel +44 207 749 3222 | [email protected] | www.worldcircuit.co.uK memorably with Compay Segundo on Veinte Años. Subsequently her duet with Ibrahim Ferrer on Silencio became a highlight of Wim Wenders’s documentary and the Buena Vista live shows.
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