VARIOUS ARTISTS
Festival In Havana (Milestone)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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A lot of people will probably snag this with no more than two seconds of perusal in the store, and they're either going to be miffed to discover there isn't a huge, modern horn-driven salsa band to be found on the entire CD or, if they're moved by the true spirit of the sounds at the root of Afro-Cuban music, they're going to be knocked out.

And surprised, because except for an easily missed light-red font that fades into the multi-colored artwork on the cover and spells out "A musical time capsule of Havana before the Revolution," there's little to prepare them for this. Festival In Havana is actually a re-release of a beautifully recorded collection of traditional Afro-Cuban performances from 1955, most of them emphasizing group vocals, exciting conga and rumba rhythms and just one horn, the animated and soulful trumpet of Oscar "Floresita" Velasco.

By the time of this release the dance orchestras were gaining favor, but Festival In Havana reminded people then and now that Afro-Cuban or any Latin music can be at its best and most emotionally satisfying when it is stripped down to its most basic elements. If you happen to remember the debut of a Columbian group called Bloque a few years back and their song "El Hedor," you may recall and agree that although there was great power in the electric instruments, it was the last section of the song, when only a chorus of voices and hand-held percussion instruments carried on, that cemented the mood and made it a powerful listening experience. Festival In Havana gives us that experience on a constant basis.

Kudos to the Fantasy Records folks for dusting off this deserving jewel I doubt very many people even remembered. If when Afro-Cuban music is playing you really feel it, right down your spine, this is a gift for you.

© 2004 - DJ Johnson