With the revitalization of interest in Cuban music over the course of the last five years, recent converts interested in going beyond the skin deep could easily become frustrated in their search. But despair not! There is so much beyond the world of New York mambo and watery, blue-eyed Latin jazz. Be it for their master soneros, the clever tres playing of Juan de Marcos González, the suave, buttery tone of the trumpet, or the tasteful commentary of the bongo, Sierra Maestra is the modern masters of son. Their 2001 release, Viaje a la Semilla, is in keeping with their stellar reputation. With nearly two decades as the premier group in the genre, Maestra’s artistic decisions, from repertoire to arrangement to the place of modern influence, are exquisite and inerrant. The level of integrity brought to the music by the members of Sierra Maestra leaves descriptors like “salsa” flavorless and insufficient. Guaracha, guajira, guaguancó, and son are the order of the day, and take the listener far past the cha cha, or thoroughly adulterated social club sound. From traditional, stylistically appropriate instrumentation to vocal performances to rival the best to come from of any Latin artist of the decade, Sierra Maestra’s Viaje a la Semilla will turn Cuban interest to Cuban passion. – Evan C. Gutierrez
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