Cuban Cultural Icon Ibrahim Ferrer's First Posthumous Release

MADRID, Spain (Locomotive Records) - On January 31, 2006, Locomotive Records will release Toda Una Vida, the first posthumous recording by the revered Buena Vista Social Club vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer (1927-2005).

When American guitarist/producer Ry Cooder kickstarted international interest in worldbeat music by teaming up with director Wim Wenders for the 1999 award-winning documentary, Buena Vista Social Club, it led to a resurgence of interest in the swirling rhythms and salsa-soaked beats of Classic Cuban Sound.

It also revitalized Ferrer's career. At the time of the movie, Ferrer's vocal glories were long past. He was living in a decaying apartment, shining shoes in Havana. Buena Vista Social Club founder Juan de Marcos Gonzalez searched for him, found him on a daily stroll, and enlisted his aid.

Ferrer, Gonzalez and the other members of the group went on to worldwide acclaim, bringing the traditional music of their native Cuba around the world and back, even winning a coveted Grammy Award in 2004. Unfortunately, Ferrer would not get to bask in the glory of his win, as he was denied entry into the U.S. by the Bush Administration due to America's ongoing ban against Fidel Castro and all Cuban athletes, artists and writers earning money in this country.

The music of Toda Una Vida is an important link between Cuban Salsa and Afro-Cuban folk and jazz. Recorded in the 1950's, these seminal studio tracks—11 of 16 unreleased—show Ferrer at a youthful and hungry time in his life. His vocals are soulful, reaching, syncopated and infused with an infectious spirit that would continue throughout his career.