Lost and Found

グラミー賞を受賞したオリジナル・アルバムのリリースから約20年後、ブエナ・ビスタ・ソシアル・クラブの未発表曲集が待望のリリース!
「長年にわたり、保管庫にどんな未発表音源が残っているのかとよく聞かれてきました」とWorld Circuitのニック・ゴールドは語る。「ミュージシャンたちの間でお気に入りとされていた宝石のような音源がいくつかあることは知っていましたが、次のプロジェクトに取り組むのに忙しく、他に何が残っているのか確認する時間がありませんでした。ようやく時間ができて見直してみると、驚くほど素晴らしい音楽がたくさん残っていたのです。」
スタジオ録音のすべての楽曲は、オリジナル・アルバム制作後から2000年代初頭まで続いた創造性豊かな時期に、ハバナのエグレム・スタジオでWorld Circuitのために録音されたものである。同時期のライブ録音も加えられ、『Lost and Found』には驚くほど多彩で変化に富んだ音源が収められている。

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 Gonzalez 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. Its members subsequently recorded solo and together, and various versions of the group have continued to tour internationally, but some of its foundational members have since passed on -- singers Ibrahim Ferrer and Compay Segundo, pianist Ruben Gonzalez, bassist Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, and bassist Miguel "Anga" Diaz. Lost and Found compiles unreleased vault tracks from the original 1996 EGREM studios sessions, live tracks, and rehearsal sessions from subsequent albums. But this music is anything but a hodgepodge, half-baked assortment. It is assembled with care and attention to the group's legacy. For starters, opener "Bruca Manigua" is one of three excellent live tracks to feature Ferrer on his 2000 tour in support of his debut album, backed by a killer large band. "Macusa" is a vocal duet between Eliades Ochoa and Segundo from the 1996 sessions. The pair delivered the album's standout hit, "Chan Chan." Omara Portuondo's gorgeous reading of the Cuban standard "Lagrimas Negras" could have easily made the cut on the 1997 album; that it didn't is a head scratcher. Likewise, "Tiene Sabor" is sultry and steamy; it's all roiling passion underscored by a saucy female backing chorus and a sizzling violin solo. (This may be the album's finest track.) "Black Chicken 37," a duet between Diaz and Cachaito (playing arco), reveals the improvisational power in Afro-Cuban jazz. Two solo tracks by Ochoa, the guitar instrumental "Quiereme Mucho" and the bolero "Pedacito de Papel," are haunting in their intimacy. They were recorded after-hours during the album sessions. Gonzalez is also represented handsomely and poignantly: first by his last ever recorded solo on "Bodas de Oro," a swinging danzon from a session led by trombonist Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos; by the elegant live piano solo "Como Siento Yo"; as well as by his informal scat singing on set closer "Ruben Sings!" Lost and Found is better served as a companion volume to the painstakingly curated Buena Vista Social Club album than as a general listener's introduction to the various musicians. That said, for anyone who ever wished there was more music in the can, this all-killer, no-filler program is indispensable. ~ Thom Jurek