Septeto Habanero - 75 Years Later

75 years later, the band that first took Cuban son all round the world is thriving in Central Havana.

The soaring vocals of Manuel Furé, who took over in 1958 from the original singer Gerardo Martínez, ensure that son cubano, at its most passionate, remains one of the great styles of popular music of this century.

It was this band that, together with Ignacio Piñeiro's Septeto Nacional, led the boom in Cuban music that, in the '20s, '30s y '40s swept dance floors from Puerto Rico to Shanghai.

Since they were founded in 1920, this band have made more than 100 recordings. Although none of the original members of the band survives today, Manuel Furé retains the distinctive upbeat sensuality of the original Septeto and his falsetto voice - mark of the great Cuban soneros - is hard to equal today.

CO 126 ©, (p) Discos Corason, 1995. Produced by Eduardo Llerenas