NEPM presents Jesus 'Aguaje' Ramos & His Buena Vista Orchestra
Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.
Academy of Music, Northampton
Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos is a Cuban musician best known as the original orchestra leader, composer and trombonist of The Buena Vista Social Club. He has also served long stints in world-class ensembles Estrellas de Areito and Afro-Cuban Allstars. His musical journey and history is brought into focus in the critically-acclaimed 1999 documentary “Buena Vista Social Club.”
The Buena Vista Social Orchestra, under the direction of Ramos and featuring key players from throughout the history of The Buena Vista Social Club, continues the legacy of the legendary group in 2024 with an exciting new stage production and repertoire pulled from the greatest hits (many of which Ramos composed) and deep-dive cuts. The group has amassed over 50,000 monthly listeners on Spotify with their debut album, with another album due out later this year.
Ramos is joined on this inaugural tour by an all star ensemble including original BVSC members “Betun” Luis Mariano Valiente Marin (congas, bongo), Emilio Senon Morales Ruiz (piano) and Fabían Garcia (bass).
To date, The Buena Vista Social Club and related projects have global sales that stand at over 50 million, making it the biggest-selling Cuban music project in history. As one critic put it, Buena Vista has become “world music’s equivalent of 'The Dark Side of the Moon.'”