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The Buena Vista Social ClubAlthough the guitarist Ry Cooder has been making critically well received music for a number of years, it will most likely be his discovery of other musicians that puts him in the annals of history. Of these, none have been more popular than the musicians that make up the Buena Vista Social Club that originated in Cuba. In the beginning, the actual club in Havana was home to musical events and featured a large number of Cuban musicians that played music in the hall in the 1940s. Although the club itself was closed, the music lived on in the minds of the musicians and was brought back to life by Ry Cooder.The Buena Vista Social Club music has been linked to a time that has since disappeared from the face of Cuban music. In finding the singer Ibrahim Ferrer, Cooder and his team found a voice to bring the music out of hiding and into the mainstream. Little did either know that the music and story would become an international sensation. Cooder used a film crew to document the search for the musicians and to locate the place where the Buena Vista Social Club once stood. The resulting film was nominated for an Academy Award and started a revival of traditional Cuban music. One of the first Cuban musicians to agree to be part of the effort was Compay Segundo. He was active during several decades, beginning in the 1920s. With 89 years under his belt, Compay Segundo was the oldest of the musicians involved with the project and has since become an international superstar for his inventive style of guitar playing. While the Buena Vista Social Club was essentially the project of Ry Cooder, he has let the music speak for itself and many listeners have discovered this almost extinct music that was popular half a century ago. |