Ibrahim Ferrer

One of the true legends of Cuban music, Compay Segundo has been part of the musical history of his country for over 70 years. His music sums up everthing that Cuba evokes - music, revolution, rum, women, cigars and sunshine.

Bearing the trademark of the most successful world music phenomenon of the era comes the solo debut of Cuban singer Omara Portuondo. A key artist in the original Buena Vista sessions, Omara was among the most talked-about discoveries to emerge from the project, and has since - in her touring with Ibrahim Ferrer - established a name for herself as a performer to reckon with. On an album noteworthy as the first reunion of the original Buena Vista musicians since the landmark sessions, Omara performs ballads and uptempo numbers with full big band support, by an ensemble studded with master players, including Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Compay Segundo, and Eliades Ochoa.

The landmark Buena Vista Social Club concert at Carnegie Hall-July 1, 1998-was both the start of a remarkable story and the culmination of a dream. This one-time-only event elevated veteran Cuban performers like Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo and Omara Portuondo to long-overdue status as international stars, and it transformed the BVSC's already critically acclaimed album into a commercial juggernaut. Since then, the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club, recorded at Havana's Egrem Studio by guitarist Ry Cooder, has sold over eight million copies, making it the best-selling world music album ever, and the 'Buena Vista Social Club Presents' imprimatur has come to represent an unwavering mark of quality…

It's hard to believe that it took Nick Gold and his World Circuit team to plunder the vaults for unreleased Buena Vista Social Club recordings. This loose-knit group of all-but-forgotten all-star musicians from pre-Revolutionary Havana was assembled by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder – and supported by a cast of players they influenced – to record its self-titled 1997 album that went platinum in the wake of Wim Wenders' 1999 film of the same name.

The 12th studio album from Ry Cooder was his first concept album and historical album telling the story of Chavez Ravine. The Mexican-American community was demolished in the '50s in order to make way for public housing. That housing was never built and, instead, the Brooklyn Dodgers stadium was erected on that site when they moved to L.A.

Rhythms Del Mundo is an electrifying album that fuses music of different cultures and comes up with a melting pot of rare sounds. While the majority of the original artists' vocals remain the same, The Buena Vista Social Club musicians took the original orchestration from each song and created something utterly unique, casting their trademark mastery over each track. Their noted and exceptional musicianship seduced even the notoriously protective Arctic Monkeys into handing over their track. As well as The Arctic Monkeys' track `Dancing Shoes', Rhythms Del Mundo included reworked tracks such as `Clocks' by Coldplay, `Better Together' by Jack Johnson, `She Will be Loved' by Maroon 5, `High and Dry by Radiohead' and others. The album is in aid of Artists Project Earth (APE), which lends support for natural disaster relief and climate change awareness.

Buena Vista Social Club is the debut album by the eponymous ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. It was recorded at Havana's EGREM studios in March 1996 and released on September 16, 1997, on World Circuit. Despite its success, it remains the only standard studio album exclusively credited to the Buena Vista Social Club. Buena Vista Social Club earned considerable critical praise and has received numerous accolades from music writers and publications. In 2003, the album was ranked number 260 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, one of only two albums on the list to be produced in a non-English speaking country. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was awarded the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album and Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year by a Group at the 1998 Billboard Latin Music Awards.