“I was there when it all began, too,” he recalls. “I grew up listening to them playing there, the trovas and soneros. I’m 76 now. I’m the last of the founders still alive.” It’s a house filled with memories of all the tunes that have filled the air over the years – and still do. As a child, Almenares took them all in as naturally as breathing. When he was 10 years old he began attending music school staying until he was 14, “when I had to quit in order to work and help my parents.”Two years later he was a professional musician, playing the music his father had written and performed in groups like Los Taínos, Trio Oriente and Las Guitarras Internacionales. A lifetime of music, and, he adds with a smile, “so many bands that the number and names escape me now.”
If you’re a fan of the Buena Vista Social Club, this guy’s gonna make them seem like a bunch of posers. Composer, vocalist and tres guitarist, Alejandro Almenares delivers the real thing from Cuba here on this set. This double vinyl set contains the same songs (although in different order); the difference is that the first features his rich and full voice, while the second features his material as (mostly) instrumentals. Flutes, percussion, violin, soprano sax, guitars and intermittent vocal choruses accompany Almenares on the gentle and fragrant instrumental takes of “No Critiques Al Nene” and “La Nina Que Yo Ame”, while vocalists Tony Rodon, Eva Grinan, Jose Cabrera and Ismael Borges deliver tales of passion on “Mujercita “Linda”, A Tu Retrato”, “Te Vi Y Te Contemple” and “De Lo Que Quiero Saber” respectively. The simplicity of the old world charms are on abundant display here. No gimmicks, no frills, just earnest notes and, like the best of cooks, letting the simple ingredients do all the work in creating the flavor that makes your mouth water. Essential listening! By: George W. Harris
Reviews: hifi News February 2015 – Dennis Davis
Alejandro Almenares (born in 1978) is a Cuban treasure who still performs regularly at the Le Casa De Trova in Santiago de Cuba, the secondlargest city in Cuba, and a centre of Cuban cultural life. Le Casa De Trova was founded by Alejandro’s father Angel, himself one of Cuba’s legendary singer-songwriter trovadores. Tumi Music, a UK based record label specializing in Latin American & Caribbean music, made the fourteen-hour drive from Havana to Santiago de Cuba in late 2012 to record Almenares and his septet.
For most audiophiles, the extent of their Cuban music collection will be through the Buena Vista Social Club album. While Almenares’ music shares some of the same roots as that album, it differs in many ways. The earlier double album, is a studio recording employing a much larger force of musicians. The sound of the Almenares LP is excellent, no doubt far superior to what you would hear during an amplified live performance.
“Pure Pleasure’s issue of Alejandro Almenares’ album coincides with the historic thaw of relations between the United States and Cuba and will hopefully give a boost to this unappreciated music”. A very enjoyable small group recording
Tracklisting
Side A – vocals
1.No critiques al nene
2.La finca de Vila
3.Mujercita linda
4.Te vi y te contemple
5.El son de Vicentico
6.A tu retrato
Side B – vocals
1. La chica de mi rosal
2. Esa guitarra que suena
3. Lechero
4. La niña que yo ame
5. De lo que quiero saber
6. Pepillito
7. Con amor te pagare
Side C – instrumentals
1.No critiques al nene
2.El son de Vicentico
3.Pepillito
4.Te vi y te contemple
5.Con amor te pagare
6.Lechero
7.A tu retrato
Side D – instrumentals
8. Mujercita linda
9.La chica de mi rosal
10.La niña que yo ame
11.De lo que quiero saber
12.Esa guitarra que suena
13.El mismo paso
14.La finca de Vila
Released September 2014
Label: Pure Pleasure/Tumi
Cat No: PPAN TUMI 228
Format: 180 gram LPx2 gatefold sleeve
Re-mastering by: Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London
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