It seems very strange that World Circuit/Nonesuch would wait ten long years to issue this historic of the grand, wildly celebrated Buena Vista Social Club concert at Carnegie Hall. This is the very show so wonderfully and artfully detailed by filmmaker Wim Wenders in his ary on the project that reunited these then-obscure Cuban music legends for an album and a tour and catapulted them to worldwide fame. Perhaps it was worth the wait; perhaps this music should have been in our midst all along. Of the four older legends, those who had made music together in Cuba before Castro, only Omara Portuondo remains on the Earth, and she is still quite active. The other three, vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, pianist Rubén González, and guitarist and vocalist Compay Segundo, have passed away -- Segundo lived to be 96! The youngster of the group, guitarist Eliades Ochoa, continues to record and tour....by Thom Jurek
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Artwork – Iwant Design
Bongos, Cowbell, Guiro – Roberto García
Congas – Angel 'Terry' Domech*
Cover – Iwant Design, Jon Smith (13)
Double Bass – Orlando 'Cachaíto' López*, Salvador Repilado*
Drums, Percussion – Joachim Cooder
Engineer [Assistant Mix] – Joshua Smith
Executive-Producer – Nick Gold
Guitar – Benito Suárez Magana*
Guitar, Producer – Ry Cooder
Guitar, Vocals – Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa
Laúd [Laoud] – Barbarito Torres
Leader, Backing Vocals, Guiro – Juan De Marcos González
Maracas, Backing Vocals – Alberto 'Virgilio' Valdés*
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Mixed By – Martin Pradler
Photography By – Donata Wenders, Ebet Roberts, Geraint Lewis, Jon Smith (13), Susan Titelman
Piano – Rubén González
Recorded By – Jerry Boys, John Bates, John Harris, Randy Ezratty
Sleeve Notes – Nigel Williamson
Timbales – Amadito Valdés
Trombone, Leader [For Rubén Gonzaléz] – Jesús 'Agauje' Ramos*
Trumpet – Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal, Octavio Calderón
Vocals – Hugo Garzón, Ibrahim Ferrer, Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea*, Omara Portuondo, Pío Leyva