Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos and his Buena Vista Orchestra: LIVE! at the Miami Beach Bandshell

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This past Saturday, Jesús “Aguaje” Ramos, who played on the World Circuit recordings of the original Buena Vista Social Club, brought his ten-piece Buena Vista Orchestra to the historic Miami Beach Bandshell, part of a whirlwind 44-city tour with dates everywhere from Red Butte, Utah to New York’s Town Hall.

Buena Vista Orchestra – Miami Beach Bandshell

What is Buena Vista Social Club, you ask? And is it located somewhere on Miami’s Calle Ocho?

Well, anyone who loves Latin music has surely listened to the Grammy-winning album “Buena Vista Social Club”. You know, the one where American guitarist Ry Cooder was invited to Havana by British world music producer Nick Gold of World Circuit Records to record a session in which African musicians from Mali were to collaborate with Cuban musicians? Yeah that one.

Thing is, the African musicians failed to turn up because of visa problems (¡Ay, caramba!) forcing producer Ry Cooder and band leader Juan de Marcos González to improvise.

Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos and his Buena Vista Orchestra – Miami Beach Bandshell

González, who was working an “all star” album tribute to the golden era greats of Cuban music called the “Afro-Cuban All Stars”, used his contacts in the Cuban music world to locate musicians, some of whom were barely scraping a living shining shoes and selling lottery tickets (singer Ibrahim Ferrer).

The album, recorded at Havana, Cuba’s EGREM studios in March 1996, was released in September of 1997 and quickly became an international success; often referred to as world music’s equivalent of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.

Following the success of the album, extensive tours were undertaken by the musicians leading up to three triumphant concert appearances; two at Amsterdam’s Carré Theatre and the final show at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall. The latter was filmed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders (of “Paris, Texas” and “Wings of Desire” fame) who also directed the Oscar-nominated documentary named (guess what?) “Buena Vista Social Club”.

However, with many players in their 70s and 80s when the record was produced, “todo tiene su final”, no? By 2016, when Buena Vista finally did its “Adios” tour, five of the original stars of the 20-piece band had passed away.

Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos: Buena Vista Orchestra

Trombonist and conductor Jesús “Aguaje” Ramos, now 73 years old, opted for a different approach, bringing younger musicians into the fold and creating a 21st century version of the original all-star ensemble. Buena Vista 2.0, if you will.

In a telephone interview in Spanish, Ramos explained the need to keep the Buena Vista sound alive. “Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Cachaíto López, Roberto el Millonario are no longer with us – all those legends of Cuban traditional music. And we had to continue with that story that we saw grow, that we saw be born, that we nursed and that we gave to the world. And this orchestra is the continuity of all that.”

Aldo Isidro Miranda Alvarez – Vocals

Geidi Chapman – Vocals

The show at the Bandshell, presented by New York-based live music venue Le Poisson Rouge and New York-based events company Murmrr, was pretty much everything I expected it to be. Caliente. Featuring fiery vocal performances by Aldo Isidro Miranda Alvarez and Geidi Chapman and a new generation of dynamic Cuban musicians – among them, Ramos’ daughter Lorena Lazara Ramos Diaz on trombone and another former member of the famed Buena Vista Social Club, 78 year old Fabian Garcia on bass.

Lorena Lazara Ramos Diaz – Trombone/Vocals

Fabian Garcia – Bass

The two-hour show, which started at 7:30pm sharp due to a scheduled European live broadcast (much to the chagrin of a small percentage of the typically late-arriving Miami crowd) featured a mix of BVSC standards, Cuban classics, instrumentals, and a tribute to Celia Cruz by vocalist Geidi Chapman.

Rogelio Ricardo Oliva Orelly – Trumpet/Vocals

Accompanied by my ladyfriend Serena, my lil brother Ruben (who runs Le Poisson Rouge) David Handler (who owns Le Poisson Rouge) and James Quinlan of the Rhythm Foundation (who operate the Bandshell), I was in very good company. And in possession of a media pass that allowed me to photograph this truly wonderful show.

Enjoy the photographs…

Antonio Remigio Rubio Borayo – Timbal, Percussion

Emilio Senon Moralez Ruiz – Piano

Héctor Randy Olmo Gómez – Congas, Bongo

Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos: “Our music did not leave Cuba’s borders – we had the vision to break that blockade and start with Buena Vista and bring that music to the rest of the world again, to take its rightful place, the place that traditional Cuban music has always had.”[*]