Omara Portuondo "Gracias" *
11 July 2008 | Amazon | 21:45 - 23:00 |
Line-up:
Omara Portuondo (vocals); Swami Jr. (musical director, guitar); Harold Lopez Nussa (piano); Felipe Cabrera (double bass); Andrés Coayo, Rodney Yllarza Barreto (percussion).
About Omara Portuondo "Gracias" *
At this year's festival, Omara Portuondo will sing songs from
her forthcoming album Gracias, on which the grand old lady of Cuban
music takes her listeners through her entire, powerful career. The
emphasis is naturally on the "filin", an exotic blend of
Afro-Cuban, Latin and vocal jazz, but her favorite song is there as
well: the Chilean Gracias a la Vida - Thanks to Life. Omara
Portuondo is one of the most colorful and famous singers in Cuba.
For years she fronted the famous Cuban revue group Tropicana and
the legendary Orquesta Aragon. And last but not least: she is the
only woman of the old Buena Vista Social Club to enjoy worldwide
fame through her melancholic yet swinging Cuban music. The singer,
now well into her seventies, is justifiably a living legend. She
sings of lost and tragic love with passion and a fitting quiver in
her voice.