Rustico
Not that the health of Cuba's musical tradition was ever seriously in doubt, but if anyone was contemplating a trip to the bedside Cuban troubadour Pedro Luis Ferrer's enchanting newRusticoshould put those thoughts to rest. Ferrer specializes in the kind of stately and romantic son that much of the rest of the world associates with the Buena Vista Social Club, but in his hands the music is anything but a museum piece. Ferrer hails from the eastern end of Cuba and draws from some musical styles less well known outside the island, like changui and trova espirituana--the latter a style of singing from Central Cuba--and he throws in some far-flung musical elements as well, like the Peruvian percussion of "Como Vivire, Mi Cholita?" and the marimbula--a larger version of the African mbira thumb piano--that functions as the bass on much of the album. The result is refreshing, with Ferrer's rich tres lines and the lush backing vocal chorus sometimes recalling the countrified Cuban swing of Eliades Ochoa but with a more far-reaching twist. This spirit of reinvention extends to Ferrer's lyrics (translated from Spanish in the liner notes), which may surprise listeners not used to social commentary from modern Cuban songwriters. "I paid for a watermelon yesterday/with a two month salary/that's why my heart/sometimes bursts" sings Ferrer in "Fundamento." In "Congo Vegetariano" he notes the irony of vegetarians in a land where no one can afford meat, proving that at least for Ferrer, honoring tradition includes bringing it into the present.--Ezra Gale