Omara Portuondo - Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo

While she came to global prominence as the female singer on the Buena Vista Social Club album and in the film, Omara Portuondo has a career that--like the other participants--stretches back many years. She puts her experience to good use on this record, sounding for all the world like a Cuban Billie Holiday, smoky and quietly tragic, with a history of lost love. The lush arrangements, which often sound transplanted straight from 1950s Havana, frame her voice exquisitely while guests such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and Rubén González add their inimitable talents to the mix. Her reading of "The Man I Love" ("El Hombre Que Yo Ame") is also a microcosm of the disc--slightly jazzy, with a yearning vocal that's emotive without ever being overwrought. There's little doubt that Portuondo is a world-class singer, and this is the ideal showcase for her extraordinary talents. --Chris Nickson Amazon.com

Understated treasure

Slightly downtempo in feeling when compared to other _Buena Vista Social Club_ CDs I know. This isn't a bad thing; Omara Portuondo's sumptuous voice is at its best when she's not in a hurry.

Aside from Omara's intoxicating singing, the instrumental arrangements on this album have a cleaner and more spare sound than on other albums in the BVSC series. The players' restraint and sensitivity match her voice perfectly. There's a great deal on this album that doesn't call attention to itself, but that's well worth the time to get to know. A profoundly satisfying work. July 3, 2008

A GEM!

The Buena Vista Social Club is one of Cuba's gems. Omara is one of its stars! May 27, 2008

Sensual, Smoky and Moody.

There are very few songs that can do what nearly every single song on this CD can do for me. You know how sometimes a song taps into some hidden or undeveloped part of who you are? Well, for me, with the exception of one or two songs here, this CD transports me to a different level. I really can't articulate it any better than that. After I listen to it, I just sashay around the house (when I used to walk). I think I'm going to go and put on something slinky now! February 24, 2008

What a voice!

I had heard Omara Portuondo only on the Buena Vista Social Club CD, so I didn't know what to expect. I really love this CD. Her selections and delivery show great emotional range and a sense of humor -- lovely! May 13, 2007

Omara Sears my Synapses. Let her Blister yours, too..

Euphoria. Endorphin overload. Shake yourself a martini or something equally svelte, put this on, find the divan on the patio and just let all gringo unpleasantness evaporate into the Habana infused dusk.

This is the best of all the Buena Vista Social Club productions, IMAO. And whatever that woman up in one of the featured reviews means in saying that this music isn't danceable, I have no idea. Maybe she's in traction or something and can't move. I mean, I barely can myself. It takes something special to bring whatever rhythm I have out of me, but Omara does it every time. No drum machines or thumping bass, true- she's much more potent than that. It's much more a Billie Holiday slow burn, but in Spanish, y el espanol es una idioma mas proximo al corazón que ingles.

El fuego va consumirle.

Sorry about that. Soy el asesino del espanol. But it is still one of el gitano's axioms that if he can break his excreble Spanish down on a lady, then the repartee is practically over. And Omara is one of his very most secret weapons. Loose her, and the party or date will- how to say this - improve. Coulé, coupé, touché.

It happens every time. This album comes with el gitano's seal of guarantee. Buy it, use it with judicious abandon, and enjoy..
October 26, 2006

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