Estrella Acosta: Noche Cubana

With this extended play of five songs on Noche Cubana the Cuban-born, Amsterdam-based vocalist Estrella Acosta covers an impressive array of classic Cuban music from the trova tradition to filin and the more contemporary boleros. It is a superb collection of vignettes by great Cuban composers from the turn of the century – such as Sindo Garay and Oscar Hernández Falcón – as well as from younger contemporaries – the great Osvaldo Farrés – to present day ones – such as César Portillo de la Luz and Pedro Luis Ferrer. This album reaffirms the fact that Miss Acosta is a superb interpreter of Cuban miniatures. Each of the five songs is infused with an intimacy and emotional intensity that can only be described as the poetry of feeling.

The repertoire extends from the familiar such as “Quizás Quizás Quizás” [Osvaldo Farrés] to the relatively rare such as “Ella y Yo” [Oscar Hernández Falcón]. Throughout this short sojourn Miss Acosta lets the lyrics of these songs breathe as she traverses their narratives and emotions with eloquence and precision. The small group of musicians – Carlitos Irarragorri, Pedro Luis Pardo and Gerardo Rosales – is excellent as well and they infuse the music with an easy elegance and rhythmic elasticity. The recording, made by the pianist Marc Bischoff, captures the music with great warmth as well as exquisite detail. Together with the renowned contrabassist Arjen Gorter – who mixed this exquisite little album – this homemade recording sounds like it was engineered in an expensive studio; which makes it especially good to listen to in the quietude of the pandemic lockdown.

Track list – 1: Retorna Vida Mia; 2: Ella y Yo; 3: Quizás Quizás Quizás; 4: Noche Cubana; 5: Si Alguna Vez

Personnel – Estrella Acosta: vocals; Carlitos Irarragorra: tres, guitar [1 – 5], bass and percussion [5] and vocals; Pedro Luis Pardo: tres [1, 2] and bass [1 – 4]; Gerardo Rosales: bongos, congas, maracas, guïro, clave and campana [1 – 4]

Released – 2020
Label – eStar
Runtime 19:35