The idea for the Caravan Cuban Project was born in 1998 at the Los Angeles Memorial for Public Radio Broadcaster Emilio Vandenedes. Vandenedes was a long-standing supporter of Cuban music and his public radio shows in L.A., Miami. A who’s who in Cuban music performed at the service with such passion that George Hernandez was able to bring many of them together to record the project. Many of the musicians hadn’t seen each other since their time with Louis Armstrong in 1940s. Caravan Cuban’s music is an absolute gem. It’s jam-packed with powerful rhythms, rich vocal harmonies and passionate cries. Audio-wise, Caravan Cuban offers a lot to listen to. You will be keeping this CD near your CD player for many weeks. Caravan Cuban’s grooves can be so hard to listen to that it is difficult to stay still and pay attention. Who really cares? Although there are liner notes explaining what the lyrics mean, all songs are in Spanish. The lyrics were not as important to me as they are in opera. The vocals were great, and the music was clear. I don’t know much Spanish but I appreciated the way the music communicated the message. Although the CD is a good collection of songs, I was most attracted to track 3. “Chucho Carabali”, a song that begins with a solo piano and builds into a fast, melodic jam that’s led melodically by a piano. The chord progression is a great way to return to the main theme. The melody moves, a bit like Lauren, the salsa and feng-shui expert – all the while you are listening to your speakers. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
