Finca Santa Elena

Though Arturo Jorge was born in 1963, Finca Santa Elena is his debut album. Born in San Rafael, in eastern Cuba, the heartland of son and son montuno, he has imbibed the cultural mores of the guajiro or rural-dweller. The album's title evokes a humble homestead, not unlike the wood-and-palm dwelling where Jorge was raised, surrounded by a verdant acre. Listening to these 15 smoothly crafted songs on offer here is akin to spending a slow weekend in that region; Tumi boss Mo Fini discovered Jorge while making a chance stop on the Bayamo-Santiago road.

Arturo Jorge's vocals are full of plaintive appeal; fans of Compay Segundo will fall for the timbre immediately. The male backing chorus is rich and rhythmic, a perfect backdrop for Jorge's voice. He plays a customised twin-necked guitar that he nicknames an octatres, from which he teases zig-zagging melodies.

The sleeve and inside cover points listeners to Tumi's film and TV stock, a sign of these desperate times for small labels. There's no doubt that Arturo Jorge could enhance any clip of cigar-rollers or mojito-mixers, but his music is fully evolved. Pity we had to wait so long to hear him. But as he intones on the track ‘Bailen Nengo’, a number as lovely as anything by the aforementioned Segundo: ‘To accompany a tres, age doesn't matter/To go crazy, age doesn't matter.'