Ibrahim Ferrer: Marieta

Sunday is jazz day. Continuing my best of 1999 list, I’ve selected a song from my favorite jazz recording of the year. Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer was the debut album for Cuban jazz legend Ibrahim Ferrer. After being brought out of retirement for the first Buena Vista Social Club album in 1996 (an album of legendary Cuban jazz artists who were organized into a new group to showcase the music they had been playing for decades), Ferrer and the rest of the BVSC artists recorded this album featuring him as the vocalist. Ferrer was 72 at the time of the album’s release, but he was relatively unknown due to the lack of attention given to Cuban musicians during his lifetime. He was vocalist for Los Bocucos from 1953 to 1991, and also performed with many other Cuban groups. The music on the album ranges from lovely ballads to upbeat dance numbers. “Marieta” has always been my favorite on the record, but every song is wonderful.

To learn more about Ibrahim Ferrer, check out his Wikipedia page.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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