Buena Vista Social Club

Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on "El Cuarto de Tula" is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from "Stormy Weather" and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called "world music." --Rickey Wright
Customer Review: Essential for any music collection
I am a fan of many types of music including jazz, rock, dance, blues, bluegrass, classical, world, etc. This is easily one of the top 5 albums ever created, regardless of genre. It is a magical culmination of music, musicians, and timing. If you listen to this (no really, close your eyes and really listen) and are not moved by it, you had better check to see that you still have a heartbeat!
Customer Review: Modern classic
I don't consider my house a home without this album. I seriously put it on repeat. It's one of my favorite to cook and clean to and just leave in the stereo when guests arrive. The DVD of the making of this CD provides a valuable context to what these musicians had been through and make the experience of the album that much more potent for me--I'd recommend the DVD, as well. Ry Cooder does a great job with both.

A number of classical and modern composers have believed in a direct correlation between notes of the musical scale and colors. Classical and modern composers fond of relating colors to their music include Liszt, Beethoven, Schubert and Rimsky-Korsakoff. Liszt described his dramatic intentions for his music with decorative phrases: "More pink here;" "This is too black;" "I want it all azure". Beethoven is reported to have referred to B minor as the black key. Schubert is said to have compared the E minor key to "a maiden robed in white and with a rose-red bow on her breast". And Rimsky-Korsakoff associated the color of sunlight with the key of C major and a strawberry red with the note F sharp.

A. Wallace Rimington (1854-1918) was a prominent instrument inventor, writer and artist in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rimington wrote extensively on the analogy between color and sound in his book Colour-Music: The Art of Mobile Color, published in 1911. Rimington, like a number of other theorists, constructed a scale of direct color-music analogies. Most importantly, Rimington set forth and thoroughly discussed what he considered to be the major points of resemblance between color and music.

In the first place, Rimington begins, both color and sound are produced by vibrations that act upon the eye and ear respectively. Secondly, both color and music are limited to particular ranges of visible or audible vibrations. Third, both create their effects through changeable levels of harmony and discord. Fourth, both tints and notes give pleasure or distress to the audience through a variety of combinations and sequences. Fifth, both color and music can also be combined with other art forms for a heightened experience. Sixth, rhythm can be used to add interest in both artistic and musical compositions.

Finally, changes in dynamics can be created in color through increases in the strength of the hue. This is similar to the potential for increasing tone strength through volume changes in music. Many of Rimington's ideas were not new, as these were probably some of the very issues pondered by the Greeks in ancient days as well as by alchemists, mystics and philosophers throughout history.

Kathleen Karlsen, MA is a professional artist, a freelance writer and design consultant residing in Bozeman, Montana. Her unique artwork and gifts for flower lovers can be found at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com . For an illustrated article on flower symbolism, see http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowersymbolism.htm . More about flower meanings are at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowermeaning.htm .

best salsa music