Buena Vista Social Club presents (2008 Tour)
— At last year's Buena Vista Social Club gig, only the cheap seats were left on sale. This time I was better prepared.”
Last year, we managed to get tickets for the Buena Vista Social Club presents date at Sheffield City Hall but we were in the cheap seats. Having long since learned that the band was due to return this year, I was better prepared and booked early!
As far as it was possible to tell, the thirteen band members were unchanged this time around.
Starting with the veterans: supercool Manuel Galbán on guitar, the dextrous Barbarito Torres on laoud, cuddly virtuoso Guajiro Mirabal on trumpet, Amadito Valdes in cracking form on percussion, Orlando ‘Cachaito’ Lopez looking a little less frail this year on double bass and Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos running the show on trombone.
Don Guajiro played alongside Luis Alemañy on trumpet and Javier Zalba on saxophone and flute; Amadito was joined by Filiberto Sanchez and Angel Terry. The younger generation was represented by singers Idania Valdes and Carlos Calunga, whilst Ronaldo Luna proved a brilliant pianist in several solos including a special “duet” with Cachaito.
This year, the set included notably fewer of the “old favourites” and the concert was better for it. The crowd was still treated to Cuarto de Tula and Dos Gardenias but newer additions such as Isora Club were tightly executed with a nice touch of jazz swing in the mix.
Word is that the band’s ungainly moniker of “Buena Vista Social Club presents…” will be replaced later this year with “Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club”, which may mean that some studio recordings are in the offing. With the introduction of a considerably wider repertoire and such dependably sharp performances as these, I certainly hope so!
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