Sierra Maestra biography  Sierra Maestra, Cuba’s leading son group, who are largely responsible for the style’s revival, present their personal account of the genre’s development in their new 2005 album, Son: Soul Of A Nation. Charting son’s development from the early days before horns were introduced, through the additions of trumpets, piano and big bands, to the original modern son sound, Son: Soul Of A Nation sees Sierra Maestra back on top-form (The Times*** UK ‘a spirited tribute’).
In 2000, Sierra Maestra starred and performed in the feature film, Salsa!, that is internationally distributed by Universal Music, and in 2002, the band released Rumbero Soy on Riverboat Records to critical acclaim (The Independent UK ‘typically addictive’). Over the years they have recorded over fifteen albums and ten singles and appeared on over forty compilations. Son: Soul Of A Nation is just the latest in a string of cracking son recordings.
Named after the mountain range in the eastern part of Cuba as a tribute to the birthplace of son, Sierra Maestra have been stars of Cuban music ever since the late 1970s. They were the first group, and remain the best, of the modern era to play in the old-style son line-up: tres, guitar, trumpet, bongo, güiro and vocals – as during the great days of the 1920s and 1930s. They have been the pioneers in reviving this style for new generations and reintroducing it into the Cuban mainstream.
The group have played a significant part in the global explosion in popularity of Cuban music. Ex-leader Juan De Marcos González created the Afro-Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club while still with the band, and Jesus Alemañy, previously trumpet with Sierra Maestra for fifteen years, left to create his group Cubanismo. Yet the new tres, percussion and trumpet players that have joined the six original members, make the group line-up perhaps the strongest ever.
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