01 Oct AMI’s New Giveaway Celebrates a Quarter Century of Buena Vista Social Club
-Grand prize is the 25th Anniversary Edition deluxe box set.
The latest contest from AMI marks 25 years since the recording of Buena Vista Social Club’s self-titled album. One winner will receive the 25th Anniversary Edition deluxe box set, which contains: the original album, remastered by Bernie Grundman on CD and 2 180g LPs, a CD of previously unheard bonus tracks from the 1996 sessions, a 40-page book featuring new liner notes, photos, song notes, lyrics, biographies, and a history of the original club, and 2 12×12 inch art prints. This giveaway is open October 1, 2021 through October 13, 2021. Music fans can enter the contest using the AMI Music app, available on iOS and Android. Contest entry is also available on any participating AMI jukebox.
World Circuit Records’ original vision for the group was to assemble a multi-generational, informal gathering of musicians with the intent of creating an experimental hybrid record of African and Cuban sounds. When half of the artists were unable to travel from Africa to Cuba because of visa problems, the organizers were forced to improvise. Label executive Nick Gold, producer/guitarist Ry Cooder, and director Juan de Marcos Gonzalez named the new all-Cuban collective after the popular members’ club, located in Havana’s Buenavista neighborhood. Recorded over a span of two weeks in 1996, the sessions included some of Cuba’s best musicians, including bassist Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal on trumpet, and virtuoso laúd player, Barabarito Torres.
The recordings, which brought about a worldwide renewed interest in traditional Cuban and Latin American music, became the biggest selling Cuban album in history. The project also inspired the creation of a 1999 documentary, also named for the group, which documented their formation and live performances—two nights in Amsterdam and one night at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Said founder, Ry Cooder: “This is the best thing I was ever involved in. . . It’s the peak, a music that takes care of you and nurtures you. I felt that I had trained all my life for this experience and it was a blessed thing.”
AMI is excited to offer this giveaway to fans of Buena Vista Social Club, fans of traditional Cuban music, and fans of all music in general. Everyone is encouraged to enter the contest using the AMI Music app or by visiting a nearby AMI jukebox venue.