Ev Vivo: Live in Japan

Special edition release from the creator of Buena Vista Social Club band features 12 tracks recorded live in Japan, plus a bonus DVD featuring a 2 hour concert. Slipcase. Globestar. 2004. The Afro-Cuban All Stars' A Toda Cuba la Gusta was released at the same time as the landmark Buena Vista Social Club and Introducing Ruben Gonzalez. But whereas BVSC was more acoustic guitar oriented and Gonzalez's album showed off his jazz leanings, the Afro-Cuban All Stars' debut was the most in your face of the three, with big brash horn lines perfect for moving dancers around the floor. This double-disc live CD/DVD retains the intensity of past works, but the 18-piece band doesn't feature the array of stars that appear on the two studio efforts. Nonetheless, the group still sounds tight as a drum. The 12-song set here includes four songs from the first album and two from the second (as well as their version of "Chan Chan" as a closer) with the rest made of De Marcos's originals and a few Latin standards. "Tanga" starts things off on an energetic high note, but the laid-back (for this band) "Habana Del Esta" shows the leader's stellar arrangement skills. --Tad Hendrickson

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