The Recording
Irakere and the other musicians on this album have performed and made live recordings throughout the world. Yet the music from the first ¡Afrocubanismo! Festival reflects the uniqueness of their experiences in Banff. It is a collaboration of Cuban masters who came together to teach and share with other musicians and students from different places and backgrounds. In the spectacular setting of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, they were free to focus on the music and draw inspiration from the people and environment surrounding them.
Five different live concerts were held during the ten day Festival. The selections on ¡Afrocubanismo! come from four of those nights.
A showcase performance by all the participants in the Festival opened the concert
series. 
Estella a Las Estrellas, a Chucho composition to the changes of
Stella by Starlight, comes from this night. It gives a chance to hear Cuban
legend and international celebrity, José Luis Quintana Fuerte,
"Changuito". He trades percussion riffs with Enrique Plá and
Miguel "Angá" Diaz.
The Irakere solo night provides three selections, all Chucho compositions.
Anabis, as do many Irakere pieces, opens with a Chucho solo piano intro
and moves into a romping horn chorus. Anga expounds on congas. On Cha Cha
Cha, the vocalists are saxophonist César Lopez and trumpeter
Juan Mungia. The piece spotlights yet another Cuban master, Richard
Egües, on flute. He and Chucho playfully trade licks at the end.
Neurosis truly lives up to its name as frenetic, driving, upbeat jazz of
the kind that Irakere made famous. It features inspired trading between
Enrique Plá and Anga.
The "Cubana-Can" Jazz Night presented a collaboration between the Cubans
and Canadian musicians. Building Bridges, a Memo Acevedo
composition, showcases the Canadians along with the members of Irakere. Memo
plays drum set along with Don Thompson on vibes, Bill McBirnie on
flute and Hugh Fraser on trombone. Changuito is once again featured
on timbales.
The Rumba Tonada is the only studio recording on the album. During the ten
days of the !Afrocubanismo! Festival, Fundamento Productions used the
Banff recording facilities to produce an album of sacred Cuban drumming and
chanting with Regino Jiménez and Grupo Ilú
Añá. The only secular piece on the album is this entrancing and
unusual rumba, written and sung by José Pilar, who also plays solo
drum at the same time.
"Todo El Mundo" was the final concert of the festival, and Xiomara
climaxed that concert, a rare combination of rumba, jazz, salsa and funk. Two
musical paths meet as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Irakere
join together in a performance unlike anything captured before. Xiomara
starts with Rafael "Niño" Navarro singing lead with Los
Muñequitos. Then Irakere joins in, with Edgardo
Cambón, a talented young singer, exchanging lead lines with
Niño. This rousing piece embodies all the spirit of
¡Afrocubanismo! as a collaboration of the best in the world.
