bebo

Traditional jazz piano in a live venue. It doesn't get any better than this and the cuban flavor adds to the mix.

I was pleasantly pleased with this CD. I had to listen to it carefully twice to truly appreciate the performers: Bebo Valdés and Javier Colina skillful playing of the piano and bass. The musical selections are varied, but familiar to jazz listners. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mellow piano jazz.

This is Bebo, well, at his seemingly never ending prime. And the dance between he and bassist Javier Colina is the dance of two who anticipate and never overtake. I have only one disappointment in the album, which is superbly recorded, by the way, and that is that I was not at the Vanguard that night. Superb.

I've just "discovered" Javier Colina here in Montevideo, Uruguay, South America, during the Jazz Tour Festival in September 2008.
I was absolutely amazed by his technique, his swing and his joy in making music.
Once at home after the concert I found this CD in Amazon and I said to myself: These two men together must be dynamite.
And they really are, not in the sense of a sound explotion but of intelligence, delicacy, good taste and mutual understanding.
Bebo Valdes needs no introduction. His amazing touch is always tender, never hammering the piano even in the most turbulent passages.
Colina is the new monster of tne bass. He is evidently at ease with the latin touch but also capable of making a breathtaking solo in "Yesterdays" wich has nothing to do with latin music.

I did have to find out where the repeat tracks button was though. Great album. I highly recommend purchasing the entire album. My personal favorites are 'Pull Me Out,' 'Britney,' 'Ruins, 'Never Saw You Coming,' and 'The Only Hope.'

You have done it again!!! Another awesome album, full of personal thoughts and glimpses into his heart for GOD!!!!I will be a forever Bebo fan!!!

My wife told me of a Bebo song that she liked and I went and bought the album. I loved his style so much that I bought every album in one go and I am amazed to say every one of those albums are now treasures in my collection of Christian music. Not one album is average. I love Bebo's music but also his words are deep, formed by one who doesn't just quote the scripture in song but conveys the experience of the traveler, the one who through experience has found the right path and now sings a word of encouragement to those who may also want to walk the same way. His music is great for those who want to be gently moved towards Christ and who appreciate fantastic music. I highly recommend any album to your readers.

I've been a huge fan of Bebo Norman for the past decade as he has consistently released songs that have touched me such as The Hammer Holds, Tip Of My Heart, Nothing Without You and I Will Lift My Eyes. He is a truth telling folk music style singer-songwriter like Rich Mullins, Derek Webb and Todd Agnew, all favorites of mine. Having recently changed labels to BEC Records, this is his first recording as a new father of his 1 year old son Smith and and it has quickly become my favorite album by Bebo Norman and it is one of my top albums of 2008!

Bebo Norman is richly loaded with personal themes of coming out of depression, prayerful reflection and hope-filled expressions of joy in Christ. This album stands out like Deep Enough To Dream by Chris Rice in that you can't help but root for this album and artist because you can immediately identify with the personal nature of the songs. The first track is a great example. Pull Me Out is a song about Bebo's battle with depression and calling out for God's grace. Hear It From Me is another standout song in that we can all relate to Bebo's prayer. Every song is truly brilliant and personal and the song I can't stop listening to is the first single Britney, written as an apology to Britney Spears for how our culture tells lies about what's beautiful and what will give life. Bebo says: "it is also an invitation to the truth about a God who is bigger than the pain this world leaves us in." It is one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard and as a father of 3 daughters, it wrecks me everytime.

Pick up Bebo Norman and you won't regret it. For me this is a 5 star album.

Bebo Norman has an amazing gift to tap into human nature while at the same time reflecting a loving God.

Each new album builds on the one before. He has a supernatural gift (thank you Holy Spirit) of tapping into emotions -- mine included. This creates the sense that the songs become my own individual anthems for life.

While in Spain for 23 days volunteering to help Spanish professionals improve their conversational English skills. I asked my new friends to recommend some authentic musica Espana that I could purchase. Bebo Y Cigala were instant suggestions. So I bought the "Lagrmas Negras" at the Cortes Ingles store and have been listening to it ever since. Soulful and melodic are two adjectives that come to mind.

Others have amply covered the virtues of this album. The songs are good, but what really sets it apart is Bebo and Cigalla's phrasing. They're just brilliant. I have tried to remove the disk from the CD player, so far without success.

Aparte de la calidad de grabacion realmente buena , entre el concierto
en directo y el disco encontre pocas diferencias mas alla de lo obio.

El bolero cubano y la voz flamenca se juntan en este disco y dan lugar
a un disco irrepetible , por la edad de Bebo por una parte y por que sera dificil que se vuelvan a conjuntar estos dos estilos tan dispares de
forma tan acertada .

Altamente recomendado ,no para puristas sin mente abierta

thats what I was thinking when I first saw this CD and deciding whether to buy it or not. A cuban piano player and a gypsy flamenco singer NAAA I don't think it's gonna work,I bought it any way..... I was familar with most of the songs Inolvidable, Lagrimas Negras and had heard them done by other artists many times. but this combination works and what is created is a haunting beautiful version of a song that will change you forever because these are the versions of the songs that will stick in your mind forever and when you hear them again being done by other arists they will not have that special tragic magic that will haunt you forever..... No other version of Lagrimas Negras will ever be good enough to compare....curiosity almost killed the cat but the magic in this CD will surely bring any cat back to life..

This is one of the most exciting CDs I have bought in the last year. The paring of great musicians of differing musicaly styles and from such different generation is pure genius.

FINALLY, A CHRISTMAS CD FROM BEBO NORMAN....UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED FROM OTHER ARTISTS....NOT THE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS MUSIC, AN AMAZING ADDITION TO MY BEBO LIBRARY.

I was looking for a Christmas album that had both the classics and also some new songs. This CD was just what I wanted. Bebo sings with an authentic voice that touches the heart. We listened to the CD more than any other this Christmas. It is wonderful.

I love Bebo Norman's music, and my wife and I love Christmas music - so when I saw that Bebo came out with a full Christmas album, I had to get it for her. We definitely enjoyed listening through the album, there are a few songs that we liked better than others, but overall it is a great Christmas album and a pretty good Bebo album. Wouldn't mind seeing another Christmas release from him in the future. Song number 9, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is probably the best song on the album in our opinion.

This is one of this year's best Christmas albums, a worthy addition to anyone's holiday collection. Bebo's voice is in fine form and the selection of songs is perfect.

I was looking forward to getting some NEW Christmas music this year and Bebo did not disappoint. A great selection of original songs and well known carols given his own rich but understated vocal treatment with a worshipful undertone that's just right.

Traditional jazz piano in a live venue. It doesn't get any better than this and the cuban flavor adds to the mix.

I was pleasantly pleased with this CD. I had to listen to it carefully twice to truly appreciate the performers: Bebo Valdés and Javier Colina skillful playing of the piano and bass. The musical selections are varied, but familiar to jazz listners. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mellow piano jazz.

This is Bebo, well, at his seemingly never ending prime. And the dance between he and bassist Javier Colina is the dance of two who anticipate and never overtake. I have only one disappointment in the album, which is superbly recorded, by the way, and that is that I was not at the Vanguard that night. Superb.

I've just "discovered" Javier Colina here in Montevideo, Uruguay, South America, during the Jazz Tour Festival in September 2008.
I was absolutely amazed by his technique, his swing and his joy in making music.
Once at home after the concert I found this CD in Amazon and I said to myself: These two men together must be dynamite.
And they really are, not in the sense of a sound explotion but of intelligence, delicacy, good taste and mutual understanding.
Bebo Valdes needs no introduction. His amazing touch is always tender, never hammering the piano even in the most turbulent passages.
Colina is the new monster of tne bass. He is evidently at ease with the latin touch but also capable of making a breathtaking solo in "Yesterdays" wich has nothing to do with latin music.

This is one of the better CD's in my collection. Congratulations Mr. Norman! I would recommend this CD to anyone! I have enjoyed this CD thoroughly! Give it a listen and you wont regret buying it. You'll be patting yourself on the back!

This album has really grown on me in the last 2 years. I liked previous Bebo Norman songs like "Nothing Without You", "Disappear" and "Great Light of the World" so I knew I'd like the songs on this album and "I Will Lift My Eyes", "Into the Day" and "Now That You're Gone" are standout tracks. In comparison to his previous work, I feel this is Bebo's strongest overall album and top 10 of 2006! The songs take you on a journey and the collaboration with Jason Ingram is brilliant. Looking forward to more, especially based on what I've heard so far including "Britney" the new song from the self-titled album coming out in September, 2008.

A little melancholy and I'm not drawn to listening to it as his other CDs.

This is a really awesome cd. It contains: Worship, Real world propositions, Some good wholesome music, AND MORE! If someone asked me I would absolutely recommend this cd. This is also a very pleasant cd some songs just make you take deep breaths and some make you want to do something (witch is good get off the couch right?) I would most encourage this to anyone who is looking for a good, wholesome, pleasant, Christan, cd this is the one!

When I hear the words, "Your beloved needs you now" I feel as if that song was written directly for the needs of my heart. Thank you, Bebo Norman, for uplifting me. You have a beautiful voice with a beautiful message. God bless.

I discovered this album my freshman year in college and played it so much I wore it out! I loved this CD and over time just stopped listening to it and forgot all about it. I did a search on I-Tunes for another song called Healing and Bebo's Healing Song popped up. I listened to the excerpt and immediately went back to the place where these lyrics touched me nearly ten years ago. If you don't have this album, get it, it will draw you into worship. The lyrics are amazing, humbling and the feel of the whole album will just mellow your spirit.

I have just recently been going through my old CD's and came across this jewel. I totally forgot how much raw and powerful emotions each song can produce. Each song gives an honest glimpse into the life and faith of Bebo Norman, and one that can match many others will the same views. You will not find another CD out there like it. It is one of my all time favorites and for very good reason. Don't let this CD go another day without it in your collection.

I was introduced to Bebo Norman's music only a short time ago and the style and passion really do take your breath away. Here is a singer whose every words carve themselves onto your heart. They are unforgetable, they are genuine and they are stunning. His voice is soulful and gentle, with an incredible power that leaves you captivated. HIs words are poetic, and honest, and his music etches itself deep into your soul. You know, when you listen to him, that he really lives and breathes the love of the Lord God.

Quite stunning.

Bebo has my heart. A little bluesy, a little folk, a large measure of rock and pop, spin and enjoy! The emotion in his voice is incredible. The pictures he paints bring so much meaning to topics we've all grown too used to hearing. Another contemporary Christian artist worth hearing! He gets better with every album.

I first heard Bebo Norman during last year's Third Day tour; I ordered two of his CDs the day after the concert. This recording remains my favorite, for its richness and its diversity and its marvelous "listenability".

Friends of mine who are fond of CCM often criticize Bebo for what they regard as the simplicity of his lyrics; compared to those of Jennifer Knapp or a Caedmon's Call, the words to a Bebo song are straightforward. But on clever and powerful songs like the sublime "The Hammer Holds", Bebo crafts a simple, tuneful, and deeply resonant meditation on God's sovereignty through the story of a nail that will, in due course, pierce the side of Christ. I saw many tears being wiped away when Bebo sang that live in Los Angeles a year ago; I have wiped away a few of my own while listening to that particular track.

As I went through my recent and painful divorce, this was the CD that brought me the most reassurance. In particular, the lovely "Where the Angels Sleep" and the humble "In Your Hands" brought me tremendous comfort. Perhaps these are not the most sophisticated songs I could have been listening to, but in a time of great spiritual and emotional pain we tend to seek out the familiar, the comforting, and the beautiful. This CD has become all three of these for me, and I will continue to treasure it.

The ten songs on this CD are all great Bebo - probably every one worthy of inclusion in this greatest hits offering. It isn't what's here that detracts from making this a super collection, it's what's missing!

Where's "Borrow Mine"?
Where's "Cover Me"?
Where's "I Am"?
Where's - well, you get the idea!

And one can't make the argument there were just too many great songs already included. All 10 are excellent and represent among the best of this gifted young artist's efforts. But - wow! - the label didn't extend itself here! 10 songs? You've got to be kidding! Too slim for any greatest hits collection - if there's not enough material, then the record label should hold off until there is enough!

But, tragically, the failure doesn't lay with the artist - there is plenty of worthy Bebo material. This could easily have been a 14- or 15-song collection without quality dropping off. Too sad!

It isn't Bebo who failed to "man up" on this collection - it's the recording company who failed to give us a satisfyingly comprehensive collection of Bebo's best and who failed to "man up".

Great light of the world is Bebo Norman's first great hits CD and he only has a half dozen recordings.

I love every song and I haven't stopped playing this since I got it. My favorite is "Into the day".

I laughed at the reviewer who said he'd been robbed! That there were too few of Bebo's songs on it and named the ones he would expect to be on Bebo's greatest hits!

Many of these songs I hadn't heard before, though I knew at least two of them.

Great CD to start with for one of my favorite christian popular music artists.

On the one hand it's great having a first ever Best of collection for Bebo. On the other, this is about as stingy as you can get for a Greatest Hits. And instead of the label offering it as a trimmed down low price release, they're actually asking $13.98.
No wonder CD sales are dropping!
Even the wimpy "20th Century Masters" series offers 12 cuts on their releases. And the price is usually less than 9 or 10 bucks.
This one only brings 10 to the table, and although his two signature songs ( Great Light of the World & I Will Lift My Eyes ) are here, several key Bebo hits are missing like:
"Disappear"
"I Am"
"Yes I Will"
"Borrow Mine"
...and early career concert fav's like "Walk Down This Mountain" & "The Man Inside"

No excuse to not include those songs.
As is the so called Best of Bebo Norman is worth about $4.99 as a budget release. Even then it fails in it's mission to represent all of the best works of a very talented singer/songwriter.

I always enjoy listening to Bebo's music on the radio...this is my first Bebo purchase ever...LOVE IT!

This includes some of the very best of Bebo and is a great introduction for those who are unfamiliar with his moving music. "Great Light of the World" is still his signature song and the album includes the recent "I Will Lift Up My Eyes" (thrilling), "Stand" (great), "Sometimes By Step" (posthumous duet with Rich Mullins only on single up to now) and "the Hammer Holds" (listen very carefully to these chilling words!).

Missing is "Borrow Mine" one his most uplifting efforts.

But overall, a don't miss this CD from one of Christian music's great, inspirational musicians.

If you close your eyes and listen to this album, you would be convinced there are at least four hands on the piano at any moment. You would be wrong, of course, since this is a solo piano album by the Cuban legend Bebo Valdes. Not only that, it's his debut solo album, at the young age of 88. As he plays through one traditional track after another, it becomes clear that the piano is his vehicle for nostalgia - it is easy to imagine these sounds coming straight from a Havana night club in the 1950s. I would hesitate to compare him to the late Ruben Gonzalez, as Bebo is a bit less florid and this album is less improvisational than Gonzalez's work, but there's no doubt that he is of the same technical caliber. All the tracks are excellent - I especially like his renditions of La Bella Cubana (tk 6) and Tres Lindas Cubanas (tk 9).

This DVD, a black-and-white format of a live concert collaboration between El Diego Cigala, a Gypsy Flamenco singer, and Bebo Valdes, a Cuban pianist, is a unique mix of cultures that hits the mark.

The concert is tastefully done, with close-ups on Valdes' marvelous piano playing as well as Cigala's vocal talents. The concert changes pace to keep you interested, its songs ranging among light, almost whimsical to passionate longing.

The visuals are as captivating on this DVD as the music. Whether it's playing as background music to a dinner party or you're avidly watching the concert, you cannot go wrong with this brilliant manifestation.

I first saw a clip from this concert on YOUTUBE and was hooked on the music...the DVD is consistantly wonderful. Both artists are superb!

I saw this a long time ago on KPBS channel. I really enjoyed the music so I bought the CD. Cigala has a great unique voice that you cant compare to any singer out there. The DVD that includes a Bonus DVD shows all the behind the scenes stuff that I really enjoyed. If you like Jazz this is a great buy even though its not like any other Jazz you have heard before.

I have been a fan of Bebo and El Cigala since I discovered his album "Lagrimas Negras" right after it came out, recommended by a musician friend. But this set of 2 videos (En Blanco y Negro) is truly a jewel... The DVD with the public performance is fantastic, but when you get to see what took place, for the recording, the drama of true musicians with a passion for making something unusual, and the recording of something that was going to make people stop and try to decifer what was being played.?? a Son,a Bolero,a Rumba Flamenca or simply an accomplished "cantaor" singing the must beautiful boleros with that incredible voice and feeling.?? Making it that unusual..Whatever they created is absolutely fantastic and we hope to get more beautiful boleros arranged by the 2 of them. The second DVD by the way was my favorite, given the sentiment expressed, El Cigala in the "raw" enjoying and almost astonished to see what had been created and enjoying the talent of Bebo and his piano. I would blindly recommend this DVD set to all of those who already are followers of Cigala and Bebo....the DVD set will put you there in the middle of the arrengment of the CD with the family of Cigala in his very own house somewhere in Spain,and with Bebo Valdez creating fantastic music.

Don't miss out on your chance to own this beautiful and marvelous piece of live music!
The black and white of this musical performance only adds to the beauty and mystique of this film.
Bebo Valdes is flawless on this performance (every note is so soft) and Diego Cigala sings with a fire and passion that I can only describe as breathtaking. If you enjoyed the LAGRIMAS NEGRAS cd, then this is without a doubt a must have!! ENJOY!!!