Él Son Nesecita de Ti

Cándido Fabré is the feted musician, songwriter and sonero from Santiago de Cuba, renowned for his hoarse voice, sharp quips and remarkable improvisations (and, as of April this year, for being evicted by Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture from the land he inherited from his parents). A loyal defender of the Cuban regime, the salient characters and events of daily Cuban life have long informed his lyrics; the title-track, a duet with singer Mirelia Martín, is a paean to recently departed pianist Adalberto Álvarez. Recorded earlier this year with musicians including Fabré’s son, Cándido Junior, on piano, drums and arrangements, Él Son Nesecita de Ti offers ten songs that variously mix sensuous son rhythms with styles including bachata, bolero and guaracha. Adding welly to that famous voice are soneros including Abniobis Martínez Díaz and Victor Torres, their voices soaring over melodies and rhythms deployed on flute, horns and percussion. The güiro-wielding Fabré, a singer often likened to the great sonero Beny Moré, earths it all.