Arturo Jorge y El Cuarteto Tradición – Finca Santa Elena (Tumi Music, 2017)
Finca Santa Elena is the international release from Cuba’s Arturo Jorge y El Cuarteto Tradición. British label Tumi Music is providing wider exposure to one of the finest performers of rural guajira music from Eastern Cuba.
Arturo Jorge Cabrales, better known as Arturo Jorge, is a talented singer-songwriter, composer and tres and guitar player from San Rafael. He founded El Cuarteto Tradición, an ensemble that brings forward the son and son montuno traditions to new generations. It’s music that brings together poetry, the Spanish guitar traditions and light Afro-Cuban percussion.
The amusing lyrics cover all kinds of topics, ranging from changing rural life and love to jealousy and unhappiness with foreign rhythms like reggaeton that are getting more attention than traditional Cuban genres.
The personnel on Finca Santa Elena includes Arturo Jorge Cabrales on vocals and tres (he uses a double-necked acoustic guitar instrument); Geovanis Oliva Aguilar on guitar and backing vocals; Gerardo Ramirez Valdé on acoustic bass; Ramón Vicente García Montero on percussion and backing vocals; and Erlis Ros Navas on percussion and backing vocals.
Buy Finca Santa Elena in Europe
Buy Finca Santa Elena in the rest of the world
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.