Afro-Cuban All Stars w/ Juan de Marcos

An artist who “has probably done more than any other person to bring traditional Cuban music to people outside the island” (Miami Herald), tres master Juan de Marcos is known around the world as founder of the Buena Vista Social Club.

His group The Afro-Cuban All Stars is a sensational showcase for Cuba’s most prodigious young musicians, and they returned for this performance in May of 2019 as part of the 2018-19 Season — a concert that originally premiered in July of 2020 on SFJAZZ’s Fridays at Five series, now known as SFJAZZ At Home’s weekly series Fridays Live.

ABOUT JUAN DE MARCOS AND THE AFRO-CUBAN ALL-STARS

A thrillingly autentico survey of the colorful panorama of Cuban music, from religious batumbata beats through contemporary timba jams. Village Voice

While long revered in Latin America and Europe as a founding member of Cuba’s great son revival band Sierra Maestra, Juan de Marcos was the one who assembled Ibrahim Ferrer, Eliades Ochoa, Ruben Gonzalez and the rest of the crew for Ry Cooder when he came to Havana looking for illustrious veterans for his album project devoted to classic Cuban music — a project called The Buena Vista Social Club that became a global phenomenon and produced a GRAMMY-winning album as well as an Oscar-nominated documentary film.

But de Marcos is just as interested in promoting Cuba’s brilliant young musicians as in highlighting Cuba’s senior talent. The Afro-Cuban All Stars not only features a multi-generational cast, but the group also draws on both classic Cuban styles like son, bolero, and danzón and contemporary dance rhythms like timba.

“What I’m trying to do is create a bridge between contemporary and traditional Cuban music,” de Marcos says. “I’m trying to mix both things so people can realize that Cuban music didn’t stop in time, that it developed in this long period when Cuban music disappeared from the market.”