Afro-Cuban All Stars

After gaining international fame for reviving the classic sound of Cuban son, tres master Juan de Marcos turned the Afro-Cuban All Stars into a sensational showcase for Cuba’s most prodigious young musicians. While long revered in Latin America and Europe as a founding member of Cuba’s great son revival band Sierra Maestra, de Marcos first gained notice in the US as founder, bandleader, musical director and co-producer of the Buena Vista Social Club. It was de Marcos –with the helping hand of his assistant Gliceria Abreu, who assembled Ibrahim Ferrer, Manuel Licea (Puntillita), Pio Leyva, Raul Planas, Eliades Ochoa, Ruben Gonzalez and the rest of the crew for Nick Gold (World Circuit Records), when he came to Havana to produce a couple of albums with illustrious old timers. But de Marcos is just as interested in promoting Cuba’s brilliant young musicians as in highlighting Cuba’s senior talent. The Afro-Cuban All Stars not only features a rotating, multi-generational cast; the group draws on both classic Cuban styles (like son or danzón), and contemporary dance rhythms like timba. “What I’m trying to do is create a bridge between contemporary and traditional Cuban music,” de Marcos says. “I’m trying to mix both things so people can realize that Cuban music didn’t stop in time, that it developed in this long period when Cuban music disappeared from the market.”