 thumb|juan de marcos gonzalez. afro-cuban all stars is a cuban band led by juan de marcos gonzÃ¡lez (formerly tres player for sierra maestra). their music is a mix of all the styles of cuban music, including bolero, chachachÃ¡, salsa, son montuno, timba, guajira, danzÃ³n, rumba and abakua. they are known internationally for their 1997 album a toda cuba le gusta, which was recorded at the buena vista social club sessions. this album featured band members spanning four generations, with the youngest being julian oviedo sanchez, who was 15 and featured on timbales with the oldest band member being 81 year old flutist robert egues, this was the greatest difference in age range in a band, and was listed in guinness world records. members have included rubÃ©n gonzÃ¡lez, orlando "cachaito" lopez, ibrahim ferrer, raul planas, pÃ­o leyva, manuel "puntillita" licea, yanko pisaco and more recently caridad hierrezuelo and pedro calvo. the afro-cuban all stars is a unique orchestra that has always been devoted to promoting the full range of cuban music, one that embraces several generations and all musical styles. over the years many of the bandâs musicians have become international stars, including brilliant performers such as rubÃ©n gonzÃ¡lez, ibrahim ferrer, guillermo rubalcaba, and manuel "the guajiro" mirabal. ==history== the genesis of the afro-cuban all stars has its roots early in the 1990s. at this time the son ensemble sierra maestra, headed by juan de marcos, received a lot of international exposure. as a consequence, de marcos was introduced to nick gold, president of world music records (at that time a small independent world music label). that encounter led to a couple of very successful tours in europe. later the group went to london and recorded dundumbanza, considered one of the jewels of the world music scene of the early â90s. (in retrospect, this recording opened the doors to the further incredible boom of the traditional cuban music of the period.) months later, de marcos got the go-ahead to do an album celebrating the classic cuban sound of the â50s â a recording whose personnel would feature many great musicians that de marcos knew. an agreement reached, the plan was to prepare two projects: one featuring a cuban big band, the other record favoring a more traditional sound reminiscent of the acoustic style of nico saquito or portabales. in march 1996 they recorded the album a toda cuba le gusta, featuring nearly 60 performers. then, with the addition of celebrated artists such as compay segundo, omara portuondo, eliades ochoa, and american guitarist ry cooder, what became the legendary buena vista social club'
Afro-Cuban_culture Cuban_musical_groups World_Circuit_(record_label)_artists