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Buena Vista Social Club

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble of mainly Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. Nick Gold of the label World Circuit organised the project, the American guitarist Ry Cooder produced it and Juan de Marcos González led it. The name comes from a private club in the Havana district of Buenavista, which was a popular music hall in the 1940s. To bring out the styles of that time, such as son, bolero and danzón, a dozen experienced musicians were brought together, some of whom had not performed for years.

Music and breakthrough

The album Buena Vista Social Club was recorded in March 1996 and released in September 1997. It quickly became an international success, with Chan Chan among its tracks. In 1998 the ensemble performed with a full line-up in Amsterdam and New York. The German director Wim Wenders recorded this in a documentary with interviews from Havana. The film was released in 1999, was nominated for an Oscar and won the award for best documentary at the European Film Awards. In 2017 came Buena Vista Social Club: Adios.

Influence

The success brought new interest in traditional Cuban and Latin American music. Some of the musicians went on to make solo albums and worked with stars from other genres. The name became a kind of brand for the golden musical era of Cuba between the 1930s and the 1950s. The best-known members, Compay Segundo, Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer, died between 2003 and 2005. Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo and Barbarito Torres are still touring.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Chan Chan. Notice the relaxed tempo, the acoustic guitar and the low, calm singing voice that tells the story without hurry.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: ArtistsSon