¡Cubanismo!

¡Cubanismo! certainly has good timing. Releasing their first album just before the seminal world music success of Buena Vista Social Club, they were poised to make a real impact with their melodic Cuban music that kept its roots strong but also reached outward with a rhythmic kick and a sense of adventure. The band was formed by trumpeter Jesús Alemañy, who had been a Cuban child prodigy, gliding through Havana's Conservatorio Amadeo Roldan, then joining Sierra Maestra, the group that helped rejuvenate Cuban son, when he was just 16. The solid grounding in Cuban musical tradit...