Personnel: Lazaro Galarraga (vocals); Nelson Gonzalez (tres); Federico Britos (violin); Giovanna Moraga (cello); Danilo Lozano (flute); Justo Almario, Rafael "Tata" Palau (tenor saxophone); Feliciano Gomez "Pachu" (trumpet); Jimmy Bosch (trombone); Alfredo Valdes (piano); Israel "Cachao" Lopez (double bass); Luis Conte (congas); Andy Garcia (bongos, cowbells); Nelson Garcia-Marquez (claves); Richie R. Marquez (guiro); Orestes Vilato (timbales); Iris Sandra Cepeda, Cecilia Noel (background vocals).
Liner Note Authors: Andy Garcia; G. Cabrera Infante.
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, California (04/08/2003 - 04/10/2003).
AHORA SI! marks influential Cuban bassist Cachao's fourth collaboration with actor Andy Garcia (who serves a producer and an auxiliary percussionist). After Garcia's documentary about Cachao appeared in the early 1990s, his public profile rose, but the fiery Afro-Cuban rhythms and mambo-based grooves he has been generating since the '50s have remained solid and enjoyable all the while. This 2004 album captures Cachao working with a group that includes Nelson Gonzalez on guitar, Jimmy Bosch on trombone, and Orestes Vilato on timbales.
"Mambo Cambio De Swing" opens the album with a dose of classic mambo rhythm, while the fierce "Queja Africana/Protesta Abakua" takes the Cuban tradition back to its roots in Africa. There are a few reflective moments, like the folksy "Guajira Clasica," sweetened by an aching violin, but, for the most part, the fare here is straight Afro-Cuban groove, with plenty of clattering percussion, call-and-response vocals, and Cachao's nimble, sturdy bass holding it all together. AHORA SI! keeps Cachao's living legend simmering.
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Discography 
