Havana Cafe - Bararito Torres

Havana Cafe- Barbarito Torres
Torres played in a series of military bands during the 1970s, before settling in Havana and becoming a permanent member of Orquesta Cubana de Cuerdas. He became musical director for Celina Gonzalez's Grupo Campoalegre and worked with some of Havana's most prominent musicians.

In the 1990s, Torres began working the Afro Cuban All Stars which led him to be included in the Buena Vista Social Club ensemble. Torres went on to play a prominent role playing on both records and performances for the group, featuring in the 1999 movie also titled Buena Vista Social Club. Barbarito has since released solo works including Havana Cafe, which featured a number of the players that had been featured in his previous ensembles, including Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo.[2]

He has become renowned for his virtuoso solos on the Laud, which often include playing the instrument behind his back.

This disc of traditional Cuban music is another of the stellar releases coming in the wake of the excellent Buena Vista Social Club documentary. While the music on this disc might not qualify as “jazz” in some listener’s minds, Cuban music has a powerful pedigree in jazz circles; it had an inarguable influence on the development of Latin jazz from Dizzy Gillespie onwards. The magnificent songs onHavana Caféillustrate just how vital this music was to the evolution of Latin jazz, not to mention they are guaranteed to make you want to get up and rumba.

Barbarito Torres is the Buena Vista Social Club’s laudista: a player of the laud, a 12-stringed instrument related to the Arabic oud but with the bright, ringing tones of a mandolin or 12-string guitar. The sound of the laud is a key part of the deep buoyancy found in Cuban music, pushing songs along with repetitive melodic motifs or resonant lead lines. Torres is a master of the craft with an acute sense of musical tradition and restraint. His usual ensemble is magnificent, their richness of sound evoking tropical beaches, good cigars and, yes, Havana cafes. And when the band is augmented by guests like Buena Vista vocalists Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Pio Leyva, the party gets bumped up a few notches. Torres’ music is fun, sentimental, simply wondrous, a worthwhile extension of the Buena Vista spirit of alégria.
1. Hijo Del Siboney
2. La Calabaza
3. Sarandonga
4. Corazon de Chivo
5. El Amor Di Mi Bohlo
6. Lagrimas Negras
7. Pensando En Ti
8. Yo Na Se
9. Sublime Ilusion
10. Camina Pa'lo Chapiao
11. Cangrejo No Tiene Na
12. Los Celos De Mi Compay
13. Alla Vay
14. El Tren

Personnel: Barbarito Torres, laud, acoustic guitar; Victor Villa, vocals, bass; Conchita Torres, vocals; Sonia Perez Cassola, background vocals; Nilso Arias, vocals, guitar; Onelio Arias, tres; Pedro Vargas Oliva, percussion; Pio Leyva (#4, 11), Ibrahim Ferrer (#5, 7), Omara Portuondo (#6), guest vocals; Frank Emilio Flynn, piano (#6, 8); Luis

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