In early 1996
Nick Gold, head of
World Circuit Records, invited
Ry Cooder to participate in an experiment combining Cuban and African musicians. A group of Cuban musicians had already been assembled, including
Rubén González as the pianist. However, since the African musicians had experienced difficulties in obtaining visas, the focus changed to recording Cuban music instead. In March 1996, Gold and Juan de Marcos González (previously the
tres player of
Sierra Maestra) produced
A Toda Cuba le Gusta, the first album by the Afro-Cuban All Stars. It was recorded at the
EGREM Studios in
Havana and featured Rubén González (piano),
Orlando "Cachaíto" López (bass), and a big band of veteran Cuban musicians and singers, most of whom had careers that went back to the 1950s Havana scene:
Ibrahim Ferrer,
Pío Leyva,
Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea, Raúl Planas,
Félix Baloy, and José Antonio "Maceo" Rodríguez. Cooder also played slide guitar on one track, "Alto Songo". also held at EGREM Studios in March 1996, Cooder then produced the Grammy winning
Buena Vista Social Club, featuring Rubén González (piano),
Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer,
Omara Portuondo and
Eliades Ochoa, supported by much of the same band that had recorded the Afro-Cuban All Stars album, and with Juan de Marcos González now acting as A & R Consultant. On the album's outer cover, Cooder is quoted as saying: "The greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my entire life. A Cuban cross between
Thelonious Monk and
Felix the Cat". All three albums were released on Nick Gold's World Circuit Records in 1997. In early 1998,
Wim Wenders filmed a documentary entitled
Buena Vista Social Club, and the entire group of Cuban artists became famous worldwide. ==Discography==