Sue Miller drinks coffee whilst listening to the soundtrack of Putumayo's Cafe Cubano and finds herself transported to a sunlit cafe in Havana where she imagines its holiday time and there's no work in the morning.
As always with Putumayo this compilation is well presented with sleeve notes and artist details in English, Spanish and French and features a mixture of Son and Trova artists such as Pedro and Lena Ferrer, Felix Baloy and Asere.
"Definitely one to drink coffee to in a sunlit cafe"
Although designed to create an ambiance of old rum-soaked Havana cafes with smooth vocals and gently strumming guitars it also includes two political dissidents, José Cónde and Pedro Luis Ferrer. The opening track El Chacal (The Jackal) by José Cónde y Ola Fresca questions the hero worship of Che Guevara with a hypnotic, electric-guitar fuelled parody of 'Hasta Siempre Comandante' where he critiques the consumer celebration of a man who used violence to achieve social change. The Pedro Luis Ferrer track 'Ay Mi Vidita' is less political and features the striking vocals of his daughter Lena, with whom we hear a different style of female vocal in Cuban music. Until recently only male Cuban tenors and occasionally low female voices have predominated.
This said, the old voice of experience in 82 year old Ignacio 'Mazacote' Carillo's rendition of 'Lagrimas Negras' cuts to the quick with a warmth and passion that only his generation of Cuban musicians seem to carry off well. Another standout track is Asere's Corazón, a catchy romantic Son number and the other tracks on the compilation are mellow and agreeable, not too demanding on the ear - definitely one to drink coffee to in a sunlit café, imagining you are on holiday and don't have to go to work!
