Buena Vista Social Club - Live at Carnegie Hall

Recording of Buena Vista's legendary 1998 performance at Carnegie Hall, some of which was featured in Wim Wenders' excellent documentary. They play all the songs from the studio album along with a few other Cuban classics.

"This set is every bit as necessary as the solo albums by the singers, and perhaps even more than the studio effort. It is not only a historical document; it is a living, breathing piece of work that guarantees the transference of emotion from tape to listener, and cements the Buena Vista Social Club's place not only in the Latin music pantheon, but in the larger context of popular music history."

Beyond Essential.

Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos - The Prosthetic Cubans

Continuing with some more Cuban influenced music I'll include this gem by guitarist Marc Ribot who's most famous for working with Tom Waits and John Zorn. He explores his love of Cuban music and the great Cuban band leader Arsenio Rodriguez with a collection of covers and original tracks played with his unique style.

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V/A - Sí, Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba, Volume 1

It's hard to be Puerto Rican and not like Salsa. It's all around you and you grow up on it, but just like a lot of musical styles it can hit a dead end. A lot of it starts to sound repetitive. That's why when I first heard this I couldn't believe it. I thought I was fairly well informed when it came to Cuban music but I never thought there would be a crop of Cuban musicians from the 70's that were blending the island's typical Son and Salsa sounds with psychedelic, progressive, middle eastern, avant-garde, and fusion influences creating a funky melting pot. Apparently there was a steady stream of American and European records flowing into the island and these local musicians absorbed all their influences creating some throughly unique recordings that until recently were criminally unavailable to a wider audience. What's even more surprising is that a lot of these bands were government sponsored and on their payroll. Apparently Fidel liked hitting the bong and listening to some good shit.

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