Los Heroes

Estrellas de Areito

album cover

A Jam Session for the Ages

A decade before the Buena Vista Social Club put a spotlight on the precious jewels among Cuba's underemployed older musicians, the state-run label undertook an ambitious cultural experiment: In 1979, it gathered musicians from several generations to jam together, in the spirit of the Cachao Descargas of the 1950s. Participants in the weeklong sessions included future Buena Vista pianist Rubén González and members of the jazz-fusion band Irakere. Arrangements were generated on the fly, solos were extended, and the vocalists traded places constantly to rain catcalls on each other. The five (!) records that resulted didn't connect with a Cuban audience—some believed they were too modern—and were shelved, lost among the many undervalued treasures at Havana's Egrem Studios.

Although they sometimes wander a bit, the Estrellas sessions—in the two-disc form now available—catch musicians working together to extend the heritage of Cuban dance music. Disc one offers spirited modernizations of the timeless Cuban son root—guaguancó, guajira, charanga, among others. These exist on multiple layers. The percussionists observe every spec of the tradition, playing the way dance bands did in the '50s. On top of that, the soloists interject all sorts of modern dissonances, exploring at a breezy, conversational pace. Although disc two goes a bit more show-biz, there's plenty of substance beneath the eruptions, and a fire—the by-product of the collision between heritage and irreverent musicianly hipness—that could only have happened in Cuba.

Genre: World, Cuba
Released: 1999, Nonesuch
Key Tracks: "Llora timbero," "Yo si como candela," "Guajira guantanemera."
Next Stop: Cachao y Su Orquesta: Cuban Jam Session, Vol. 2
After That: Various Artists: Havana Jam
Book Pages: 262–263