Irakere - "Cuba Libre" - recorded in Japan 1980

"Cuba Libre" - 1980 Japan
vinyl LP

An interesting 'Irakere' LP, recorded in Japan in 1980. The interesting part is that all the tunes on this session were composed, arranged and produced by 'Chikara Ueda' from Japan. At this point, Paquito D' had already left the band, replaced by German Velazco. Sandoval remained on trumpet. I have always liked the Sandoval/Varona pairing, they complimented each others styles well. And my all time favorite Conguero: 'Jorge "El Nino" Alfonso' sounds impeccable... with the unique "style" and "technique" all his own. (Miguel Angá Diaz would later adopt that same style) Unfortunately, 'Jorge "El Nino" Alfonso' would eventually die from suicide in Cuba... and 'Miguel Angá' would later die of a heart attack in Spain.