Ibrahim Ferrer

Ibrahim Ferrer could sing the phone book and I would be enthralled. The man's voice was a treasure. This CD is not quite as good as Buena Vista Social Club, but almost nothing is. It's not as exciting as BVSC, but Ferrer is gone now, and any little phrase he sang is better than tons of other people's work.

Everything about this CD makes you smile. It is a work of art. The ambiance will surround you with a sence of being there in some Cuban nightclub where the sounds of Ferrer's unmistakable voice and the instruments reflect from the walls creating pure magic. Highly recommended. Ry Cooder did the musical world a huge service in rediscovering this music.

This guy has an amazing voice and remarkable control; for anyone, not considering his age. Of course he IS singing tunes that he sang in the 50s, so some of them are a little lounge-lizardy, but some of them are just great. He was famous for the son and for good reason. On those pieces he's outstanding. He never sings anything the same twice, while floating above a complex rhythmic background with repeating bass line and periodic interjections from a vocal trio. I got three of his CDs at the same time and listened to nothing else for about three weeks. He's a master; but his stuff.

Jamas escuche a este Señor en Cuba, pero su voz en guaracha o en bolero es inigualable. El duo de El con Omara Portuondo esta fuera de liga. Una lastima que lo tuvieran escondido por tantos años.

[*I first became conscious of the strange phenomenon when I was about 15 years old: I ordered something to eat in a little fast food Mexican joint on Venice Boulevard in West Los Angeles. Unbeknownst to the young Latinas working behind the counter, the very next person to place his order was my Pa, and when he joined me at a table, he related to me how one girl said to her co-worker after I walked away, "That guy was cute," and the other agreed.*]

Good Friend Melanie gave me the IBRAHIM FERRER album of Cuban Jazz as a gift the Christmas before last. (I had mentioned beforehand that I have more music than time to hear it, but she listened to me about like men listen to women. No one's to blame for the communication disconnect between the genders, really, because we have such disparate origins: A woman is from Venus and a man is from a woman's "Monologue.")

[*Including my ENTIRE life, I can count on two fingers how many White, Black, or Asian women have had me and the "Mystery Dance" occupying the same thought in their mind. But Hispanic women have always found me to be irresistible, and I don't know why. I am a very ordinary looking, but extremely analytical individual who tends to mentally dissect everything in order to comprehend why and how such and such is so. But I've yet to concoct even the most rudimentary theory to explain the Latin woman's attraction to me.*]

I almost gave up on the IBRAHIM FERRER recording because I just couldn't seem to warm up to it for the longest time. At one point, I considered posting a Two-Star review on this website which I thought to title, "I'LL HAVE THE NUMBER THREE COMBINATION PLATE AND A MARGARITA, PLEASE." The music just made me feel like I was sitting in a booth at a Mexican restaurant. "Not that there's anything wrong with that", but tunes for home listening? And since Good Friend Melanie wasn't too crazy about Bright Size Life - the Pat Metheny disc I had given to her - we even considered trading, and each of us keeping the item we had purchased.

[*The brilliant and world-renowned South American sociologist, Yoey O'Dogherty, once observed that, "Hispanic women are especially drawn to the warm magnetism of masculine intensity, just as conversely, snowmen are drawn to frigid climates." And in my youth I was sometimes known by the nickname, "Mister Intense." Perhaps this accounts for why Latinas are so susceptible to the energy of my aura?*]

I finally decided that I would play nothing but IBRAHIM FERRER whenever writing on my computer until either my ears became educated enough to enjoy it, or until I could stand it no longer and gave it away to Lupe, the waitress at Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy who always gives me extra guacamole and a wink.

[*You know how women can give men "the once over" without tipping their hand to the guys, while men just ogle openly? Well, these spicy Hispanic gals sometimes lose their highly refined skills around me, unable to extinguish the hungry flames in their orbs. Even at my advanced age of 47, wearing spectacles, and with plenty of grey cohabitating with the brown on my scalp and in my goatee, I still sometimes catch `em eyeing me.*]

Well, to my great surprise, I not only eventually came to differentiate between all of these melodies, but came to embrace them as if they were part of my own culture. The tremendous blasts of brass; the lively, intricate percussion work; the sparse but soulful guitar touches of Ry Cooder; and the emotional and romantic Spanish vocals really move me ... and they make my writing move, too. I've found that IBRAHIM FERRER puts some added zest into my words - really gets the creative juices flowing. (Can't you tell?) Because of its dancing rhythms, it's become maybe my very favorite disc to play as background music while writing anything.

[*I once had a sweet and shy Mexican girl tell me about a week before her wedding that all along it was me she had been hoping to catch. And less than twelve months ago, this 18-year-old hot Hispanic thang let it be known that she was interested in me. (She went by Wendy, but I'm pretty sure her Mama named her Maria.) She was a real cutie and had an absolutely OUTRAGEOUS body to go with that face: all the curves in just the right places and very well pronounced like: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!" To borrow from The Commodores, she was truly built like a "Brick OWse!" The night I had to turn her down, pointing out that at my age I was nearly old enough to be her grandpa, I drove home gnawing on my knuckles and chanting over and over again, "There had better be a Heaven! There had better be a Heaven!"*]

As if the music alone wasn't reason enough to purchase IBRAHIM FERRER, the song MARIETA contains one of the funniest lyrical passages ever. Translated into English it says: "My wife was suffering from an illness of the heart in Havana. So the doctor came one morning to examine her. He took off her dress, her p*nties, too. And her slip. But when I saw that indecency I said: This isn't good; I really don't think my wife's heart is that far down." Imagine that, a song about a doctor "playing doctor."

[*So, you're wondering why I told you how attractive Latinas find me? Well, it just so happens that I wasn't talking to you, Dude; I was trying to send a discreet message to your hot, Hispanic girlfriend. But you know what? To heck with subtlety: Hola guapa, llamame cuando tu novio esta fuera.*]

Mi Sueño Ferrer's voice is seasoned to perfection. This is a man who has experienced life at its fullest and his interpretations demonstrate that. His phrasing is perfect in the romantic boleros and his voice is still strong, revealing his sonero roots. This is a CD that people will listen to again and again. This beautiful dream is real. Ferrer leaves us a marvelous gift.

Though he had been active in music for many years, Ibrahim Ferrer came to my attention only through his involvement with Ry Cooder's wildly popular Buena Vista Social Club. And whatever you might think about that project, it was instrumental not just in resuscitating the careers of Ferrer and others who languished largely unemployed under Castro's heel, it also generated a worldwide rebirth of interest in Cuban music. Cuban music flourishes today and for that much of the credit has to go to Cooder.
Since I heard the BVSC, I have branched out and listened to some of the music recorded solo by those associated with that project. Mi Sueno is the first solo project of Ferrer's I have purchased, and after hearing it I assure you it won't be the last. Unfortunately for Ferrer and for us, it will be his last recording as he died shortly before it was finished. So though he realized his dream of recording an album of boleros (hence the title), he sadly is not around to enjoy the accolades it has garnered.
The songs here are not all strictly Cuban. I recognize a couple that were penned by the great Mexican composer Agustin Lara and another (Uno) that is of Argentine origin. What they have in common really is the way that Ferrer chose to interpret them. This album was a labor of love for Ferrer and its realization is a worthy legacy for a man who labored so long in the shadows.
Though I can't give the album five stars as some of the songs are "unfinished" vocally (You'll probably be able to guess which songs need another take) with the instruments added posthumously, it is a solid four star effort. Like one of the other reviewers, I really like Uno and Perfidia. In addition, my favorites include Si Te Contara, Melodia del Rio, and an interesting cover of Lara's Copla Guajira.
Those looking for a regurgitation of Buena Vista Social Club material aren't going to find it on Mi Sueno. What they will find is an intimate take on the music that was significant to the life of Ibrahim Ferrer. You also get an attractive booklet containing pictures, lyrics in both Spanish and English, and other pertinent information. If you love Latin music in the Cuban style, then Ferrer's dream can be yours as well. Highly recommended!

Not comparable to the great cd Buena Vista Social Club. The songs are more classic cuban style.

I ordered 2 copies of Mi Sueno and sent one to my 30 yr. old nephew who recently married. He and his wife called and said they loved it, too. So a 90 yr. old musician can communicate with 30 somethings through music. That restores my faith in human kind.

Ibrahim Ferrer shows yet again the finesse and maturity of a well seasoned vocalist who over the years has become better and better. With the Buena Vista sound backing him up he lets loose song after song with the incredible range and confidence only a master can produce. A wonderful posthumos album with his take on several classics. A spellbinding duet with Omar and impeccable rythm that grows on you the more you listen to it. Its wonderful to compare to his more youthful works and see that what he gave up in fiestiness he more than makes up for in sheer class and charisma. A must buy.

I first heard Ibrahim on PBS in the Buena Vista Social Club Special. I have loved his feel for the music ever since, he has just the right cadence, timing, sound and feel for the cubano music, I've heard other cubano's sing the same songs but they come alive when Ibrahim sings them. When I'm in the mood for the latin beat and sound of another era this is the first artist I think about.

Four years after his successful 'Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer' the now 76-year old Cuban singer still holds on strong and delivers an album that surpasses his "debut" album (I don't mean the quotes in a disrespectful way, but rather with regards to the fact that he was only exposed to the world back in 1999 by Ry Cooder).

With a solid band with some of Buena Vista Social Club's performers and the Cooder father/son team also on board, and having picked an exquisite combination of some compositions of his own and some Latin music standards, Ferrer is bound to make you get off your chair and dance, even if your deaf or have two left feet! From the first chord, time freezes around you and he embarks on a mission to make you smile and have a great time, without regards for anything troubling you. After all, he is the best example there is of getting a break: he made into stardom at age 73, so that oughta tell you something.

Highlights of the album: the opening track (loved it) and the classic "Perfume de Gardenia" with the thoughful participation of the Blind Boys of Alabama. Get it, love it, dance to it!

Unlike Buena Vista and Mas Cuba Libres where Ry wisely stayed in the background and only occasionally made himself know, here he takes center stage once in a while.
In spite of this, there's just too much talent in this album to give it less than 4 stars.

While Mr. Cooder is to be commended by making such great music (I am particularly grateful for the rebirth of Ibrahim's and Ruben's careers) accessible to Americans after decades of withdrawal feebly filled in by the soulless and superficial commercial sop called 'salsa' it's worthwhile to mention that Europeans have been enjoying the renaissance of Cuban music for years. It was the release of the Estrellas de Areito in France in the late 70's that has snowballed into the rediscovery of this most sublime and richest of all music.

Ibrahim fans, checkout a Edenway's recent release of Ibrahim's 1950's recordings with Chepin's Orquesta Oriental. If you think his voice is honey smooth now, you should listen to him as a youngster.

Not only is the music on these "Buena" discs great and funky, the recording quality is beautiful. Recorded in the Egrem studios, it is one of the few discs that actually capture the vibe of the studio, where the drums are placed, and who the background singers are standing behind. If you think these are bad recordings, you don't have the proper listening equipment. You can almost feel the shape and size of the place, what the walls are made of. CD's are mostly recorded in the setting of a soundproof studio, where sometimes the sound that recorded is lifeless, but with a black background, and super digitized. These CD's are the opposite, and you feel like you are in the studio. look at the liner notes for the Buena Vista social Club, and Mambo Sinuendo, and you can see how the mics are set up, and you can tell why it sound the way it does. I bet the mics used in this recording are vintage and priceless (obscure).

If this were just Ibrahim Ferrer reading from the Havana telephone directory, I'd have bought it anyway. But it's much more, of course. This loveable man brings one of the most moving interpretations ever to THE richest form of music on earth. And now nearly eighty years old, he doesn't appear to have slowed down one bit, nor to have lost any of his magic.

If you know Ibrahim Ferrer's music, then there is nothing I need to add. But if you don't, and if you love music, then you MUST get to know Ibrahim Ferrer. When his moment in the spotlight finally arrived, he didn't believe it, and practically had to be dragged to the studio. Now, audiences the world over have fallen in love with him.

The bad news is that it's recorded at the Egrem Studios in Havana. But even the miserable quality of that half drowned studio, with its ancient equipment, can't hold back the brilliance of Cuban musicians.

The good news is that Ry Cooder plays solo. I mean that he plays so low that you can't even tell he's playing. Apparently, he's finally gotten the message. Ry, we love you for what you have done to popularize artists like Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Eliades Ochoa and so many others. But slide guitar just doesn't go with son, pilón, or guaguancó.

And let's not forget the other musicians and singers (the usual suspects, of course): Manuel Galbán, Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, Amadito Valdés, Chucho Valdés, Miguel "Angá" Díaz, José Antonio Rodríguez and so many others.

My recommendation is that you buy this CD. You won't regret it. It's beautiful, it's soulful, it's moving, it's vibrant, it's Ibrahim!!!

Well, I don't know about the seeming rush to give five stars to every early recording made by musicians who subsequently were part of the Buena Vista Social Club project. I notice that many reviewers of Cuban recordings (like the previous two who are probably the same person) revel in sneering at the BVSC, but it was the BVSC that brought Cuban music to the attention of the larger record buying public and precipitated a revival of interest in its many forms.
As we all know, Ibrahim Ferrer participated in the BVSC project. I enjoyed that quite well even though I had heard plenty of "authentic" Cuban music at home when growing up as my father was and is an aficionado.
If I like something I hear, the hunt is on to discover other recordings done by the principal musicians on the recording in question. Such is the case with the BVSC and Ibrahim Ferrer. Only the question of where to begin remained. I chose Mi Oriente by chance and ordered here on amazon before any "partners" had it on offer. It took so long to receive it, I was afraid it had become unavailable but to my delight, it finally arrived after a six month wait.
Now that I've heard Mi Oriente, I'm not waxing rhapsodic but I do enjoy it. You get a solid hour plus worth of music in a variety of styles that showcases Ferrer's versatility. But as far as anything new or extraordinary goes, there's nothing but just some good basic Cuban music in an orchestral format. My favorite tunes are those in the danzon style, but I also enjoy most of the others to some degree.
If you like Cuban music, Mi Oriente is highly recommended. Just don't expect to be overwhelmed by virtuosity or any originality.

As the previous reviewer said, this is the honey-voiced Ferrer in his prime. There is a great assortment of son montuno, danzon and guaracha on this disc. It will bring you back to the early 1960s and make you wish that you were on the dance floor. I much prefer the authentic, "live" sound quality of this disc to the overprocessed and Hawaiian guitar-marred Buena Vista discs.

Have you listened to Ibrahim Ferrer on Buena Vista and wondered what he was like in his prime - and without the "Hawaiian guitar" effects of Ry Cooter? Here it is, coming at you from 1960 with great sound. This CD is hot. The whole tone of the recordings is youthful and exhuberant. Not to be missed if you are a fan.

If you're a fan of the great, recently departed Ibrahim Ferrer, you will find this album to be a interesting window into the work he did during the decades before he retired, before hooking up with the Buena Vista clan. If you're a more casual listener of Cuban music, I'd recommend sticking with Ferrer's more recent albums, as they are produced to better enhance the beauty of his voice.

It is important to note that the music on this cd was actually recorded from the 1960s to the 1980s, not in the Buena Vista era.

un disco con un sonido muy puro y de excelente calidad.