José Antonio Rodríguez died on Sunday night 6 November 2005, in Copenhagen aged just 52 years old. Singer with Sierra Maestra since the beginning twenty-six years ago, he was considered as one of the best soneros (or singers of the son style) in Cuba. He was the co-founder and the soul of Sierra Maestra.

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 Son: Soul Of A Nation. The bedrock of Cuban music, son has shaped much of twentieth-century Latin music, and this album, recorded in Havana, pays tribute to the great writers of the past, selecting lesser-known classics alongside legendary tunes.

Daily Telegraph (UK) – ‘sheer soul and love – there’s no other word for it – imbue every note of this music’

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) – ‘the old styles, revived from the verge of extinction, sound better than ever’

The Times*** (UK) – ‘a spirited tribute’

Global Rhythm (USA) – ‘a fulfilling glimpse into the heart and soul of Cuba’s most essential expression’

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Sierra Maestra's live performance of songs from Son: Soul Of A Nation has been recorded at Womad Canaries. Each month you can watch a video of a different song from the set.

Sierra Maestra will once again be heading back out the road this year to promote their new album and thrill audiences around the world. Click here to find out where they will be performing.

A wildly different take on some of the tracks from Sierra Maestra’s most recent album, this new remix single will get the feet moving and the hips swinging as Cuban music is brought into the modern dance arena.

For these remixes it was necessary to stretch the technology to its limits. The groove laid down at the initial recording, at Chris’s studio in France, had a natural breath in relation to tempo and structure that remix technology, with its precise computer generated tempos, does not posses. The musicians in the band synchronize emotionally during the performance and transplanting this to a dance format was the challenge, striving simultaneously to retain essential elements of the band’s distinctive sound.

Price: £3.99

Sierra Maestra's groundbreaking album, Rumbero Soy, marked their twenty-fifth anniversary and is an unbridled celebration of Sierra Maestra’s successful career, blasting into the future with a new set of songs and innovative sound. Rumbero Soy pulsates with energy and never loses pace. It is impossible to stay still and listen – first your foot taps, then your shoulders shimmy and before you know it your hips are gyrating to the infectious beat.

This album includes very special guests Marc Ribot, Omara Portuondo and Ibrahim Ferrer. Click here to read more about the recording of the album and find out what the press had to say.

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'Sierra Maestra’s success is built on their expert recreation of the classic son style of the great sextets of the 1920’s and the 1930’s’ The Independent (UK)

‘Sierra Maestra are spectacular – stratospheric trumpet improvisations, inticate tres patterns over bubbling percussion, and the call-and-response close harmonies are immaculate’ The Wire (UK)