Armando Garzon with Quinteto Oriente: Boleros CD

Displaced in the 1960s by salsa, the acoustic songs of Cuba's seductive bolero and son are now back with a vengeance. Armando Garzon ("The black angel with the velvet voice") sings boleros, the repertoire of Cuban trova that became internationally famous in the 1920s and, together with son, formed the basis of the rumba boom of the 1940s and '50s.
Although born in Cuba, boleros took root all over Latin America, especially beloved in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Today there is a huge revival of boleros. Garzon's repertoire is well-known to the Latin public (of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican origin); amongst the bolero singers living in Cuba today he stands apart. While he has bolero and son in his veins, he was also classically trained, possesses a perfect counter-tenor voice and has a taste for the music of Scarlatti and Handel. His creative arrangements bring a freshness to the classic repertoire. Here is a fresh new talent with an exquisite voice, and a recording that will make you stop and listen.

"There is no prettier music than bolero when it is done really well, and this is as good as it gets." --Boston Globe

". . . sings the sweetest love songs imaginable and gives an unforgettably delicious taste of the romantic music that is so loved throughout the Caribbean and much of Latin America. His crack musicians, who call their band El Quinteto Oriente, are the consummate Cuban acoustic ensemble. The one son on the recording, 'Chan Chan,' has also been released recently by Cuarteto Patria, and it's one of those tunes you can't get out of your head. But the absolute high-point is the third cut, 'Sublime Ilusion.'

Put this one on repeat, because you'll want to hear it over and over. . . ." --Sandy Miranda, Producer/Host of Music of the World, KPFA 94.1 FM Pacifica Radio

Notes in Spanish