1908年出生的吉他手/歌手Compay Segundo当时是Buena Vista Social Club乐团中最老的成员,年逾90岁的他本身就是一个世纪古巴音乐的传奇。早在幼年时代他就开始学习吉他,后来还创作歌曲,50多岁时他成了著名的好景俱乐部的正式乐手,与其他大师一起引领古巴独特音乐风格的形成。CompaySegundo的音乐风格主要是古巴传统的奔放热情的颂乐(Son),《乐》片开幕的曲子《ChanChan》就是他自己创作的,一生风流倜傥的Segundo写出的歌词也很露骨地表达情爱。他去世时棺木更被盖上古巴国旗,整个哈瓦那的人民都唱着《ChanChan》送别他。
Compay Segundo在专辑前言里写到:
真正重要的思想(Thinks,原文如此,不过我认为应该是'Things',事情)从来都是不期而至,你永远都不会知道你梦想的机会、成功、爱情何时会出现。但是你必须做好准备,睁大眼睛,因为那些列车不会经过两次。
我以为在我这个年纪那些事情都不会再发生了,但令我惊喜的是,那些生命中的鲜花在我九十来岁的时候盛开了。我觉得自己很成功,能给你们看到这张新专辑。一个人只要还有心跳就永远不会太老。
在从德国飞往意大利的一万米高空上,我写下了几段歌词,几天之后回到哈瓦那我开始写曲子;接下来又是在飞机上,这一次是从哈瓦那到罗马,我灵感勃发,完成了这首歌的编曲。就在这首名叫“生命中的鲜花”诞生的同时,我决定下一张专辑也叫这个名字。有些人会认为我在重复自己,因为之前我有一张专辑叫做“生命之美”(Lo mejor de la vida);但我想告诉他们的是,在我到了九十三这个岁数的时候,我最喜爱的词毫无疑问是“生命”。
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这些歌肯定也是不期而至的惊喜,因为毫无疑问这些生命中的鲜花有天也会来到你们的身边——不要怀疑,我建议你们集中精力,不要让机会悄悄溜走。
by Jason Ankeny
Legendary Cuban guitarist Compay Segundo was born in 1907; collaborating with the likes of Sindo Garay, Miguel Matamoros and Benny Moré, he emerged as one of the most respected musicians of the pre-revolution era, and in the late 1920s invented the armónico, a guitar customized with a double third string to fuse the tonal qualities of the traditional Cuban tres guitar and its Spanish counterpart. Following Fidel Castros rise to power, Segundo worked as a cigar roller before returning to music during the late 1980s; in his early nineties he attracted worldwide attention in 1998 for his contributions to Ry Cooders wildly successful Buena Vista Social Club album, issuing the solo Calle Salud the following year. Buena Vista Connection was issued in fall 2000. Flores de la Vida followed later that same year; Trova Cubana surfaced in early 2001. The torrent of releases, both new and re-issues of classic pre-fame Segundo sessions, continued throughout 2001 with Yo Vengo Aqui, Que Lio Compay Andres and into 2002 with Yo Soy del Monte and Dos Leyendas de Cuba. On July 13 of the following year Compay Segundo died of kidney failure at his home in Havana.