April 8, 2003
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
The sizzling Afro-Cuban All Stars, led by Juan de Marcos González, to perform at UCSB Campbell Hall
Summary Facts:
- Juan de Marcos’ Afro-Cuban All Stars
- Juan de Marcos González was one of the original members of the Buena Vista Social Club sessions
- A 13-piece multi-generational big band that explores Cuba’s rich musical heritage
- Features musicians from many of Cuba’s greatest bands
- Saturday, May 10 / 8 pm
- UCSB Campbell Hall
- General: $40/$35, UCSB students: $19/$16
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535
Juan de Marcos’ Afro-Cuban All Stars, one of the hottest big bands in the world, will perform on Saturday, May 10 at 8 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. The original All Stars line-up was de Marcos’s brainchild and the initial project galvanized the Cuban music industry, launching both the Buena Vista Social Club sessions and worldwide interest in the seemingly dormant giant of Latin music. The current group, a multi-generational 13-piece band, explores Cuba’s rich musical heritage and features musicians from many of the island’s greatest groups, including Sierra Maestra, Los Van Van, Orquesta Revé and Irakere. The Washington Post claims, “The Afro-Cuban All Stars continue to meld the hard-won experience of old masters with the energy and enthusiasm of a new generation of Cuban musicians....[They play] a sizzling sonic stew laced with sleek rhythms, searing horns, sharp percussion and sensuous vocals.”
Juan de Marcos González had long hoped to honor the “golden age” of Cuban music, the 1940s and ’50s big bands, when he teamed up with the World Circuit record label’s Nick Gold in 1997. González handpicked musicians, many of whom were retired, who then recorded both the Afro-Cuban All Stars A Toda Cuba le Gusta and The Buena Vista Social Club. While the latter album became a bigger seller, in a large part due to American Ry Cooder’s participation and the popular film documentary by Wim Wenders, González wanted to attest to the breadth of Cuban music. He has said in an interview, “If we keep playing music in the old style, it’s going to be bad for the Cuban culture in the future. People start thinking that the only music that we have in Cuba is traditional music, that nothing happened after 1959. It’s important to show people what happened after that, and that we developed the music, and we have a punchier, contemporary music.”
True to his word, the second All Stars album Distinto, Differente accomplished what its title promises, to be “unique and different.” While still featuring the more traditional Cuban song-forms of son and bolero, the band also plays more contemporary music like a high-energy version of timba, the new wave salsa currently hot in Havana. After a show supporting this CD the Boston Phoenix wrote, “The All Stars rewarded the crowd with a hopping 90-minute set. And the music is this season’s Type O positive—it works in anyone’s bloodstream.”
Tres (the small Cuban guitar) player, vocalist and songwriter Juan de Marcos González has been a central figure in Cuban music for decades. He co-founded the highly acclaimed group Sierra Maestra in 1978, and thereby helped usher in an appreciation of older Cuban music styles. Calling the group “one of the most important non-rock ensembles on the island,” the Chicago Tribune claims, “Sierra Maestra foreshadowed the revival of interest in traditional musical forms among listeners in Cuba, the United States and beyond.”
This Arts & Lectures concert is rescheduled from its original November 13, 2002 date. All tickets for the original date will be honored. The Afro-Cuban All Stars are presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by the Santa Barbara Independent and KCBX Public Radio. Tickets are $40 and $35 for the general public and $19 and $16 for UCSB students.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.