Review: Performance proves old ones are still the best

Buena Vista Social Club ****
The Playhouse

DESPITE the death of several big names, the Buena Vista Social Club continues to thrive, inspire and delight its followers. Original members such as Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez may have passed on, but as this performance so effortlessly proved last night at the Playhouse, their spirit remains within the virtuoso instrumentalists and gifted singers who continue to showcase what is so infectious and special about traditional Cuban music.

With 13 musicians on stage, the ensemble's two-hour performance is like taking a look over the shoulder of musical history; a portal that takes you back to that small club in Havana where the mambo and the cha-cha-cha were first performed.

Old music, yes, but thanks to the energy of its performers – and the support of a reassuringly young audience – Latin American music such as this continues to live on.

The first hour of the show concentrated on a high-energy run through of the Afro-Latin repertoire, punctuated by romantic ballads (boleros) before the more up-tempo son dance numbers took over for the last 60 minutes.

Percussionist Amadito Valdes, for example, amazed with his outstanding polyrhythmic playing ability. Halfway through a solo, one of his sticks slipped, flying right out of his hand. The audience tittered, albeit in a respectful manner. Nevertheless, Valdes continued on with one stick, and without missing a beat at that.

Not to be outdone, laud player, Barbarito Torres, did his Jimi Hendrix bit, playing his curious looking instrument behind his back. Meanwhile, pals Manuel Galban (guitar) and Guajiro Mirabal (trumpet) applied a delicious mix of slick riffs and brassy impetus to proceedings.

As a unit, every member fits into the Social Club's musical jigsaw in their own unique way. However, a special mention must go to pianist Robert Fonseca who had the unenviable job of replacing the deceased Ruben Gonzalez, the Club's original legendary ivory tickler.

Captivating to say the least, the highly inventive pianist's mazy runs across the keys was, with all due respect, akin to watching a live re-enactment of the Oscar winning classic Tom & Jerry cartoon, The Cat Concerto, where Tom is "conducted" by Jerry.

It took until the encore before anyone got out of their seat to dance, which was a shame; if the audience had started as they had ended, this review would have had five stars attached to it instead of four.

Nevertheless, two hours in the company of the Buena Vista Social Club is a heart-warming, uplifting experience everyone should sample at least once.