*** Cachao, “Cuba Linda,” EMI Latin.

In 1994, the career of legendary Cuban bassist Cachao got a new lease on life thanks to the efforts of movie star and amateur musician Andy Garcia. Their latest collaboration finds Garcia producing and playing the bongos, surrounded by some of the best Afro-Caribbean instrumentalists in the business. A master of the danzon, Cachao focuses on the most elegant side of his country’s tradition without sacrificing any of its rustic bite. The result is a crisp, invigorating set, marked by some wonderful Jimmy Bosch trombone solos and a delightful transposition of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” into Latin territory.

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