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OUT OF CUBA: Latin American Music Takes
Africa By Storm
VARIOUS ARTISTS TSCD927
Compilation and text
by Janet Topp Fargion
• "If you want to understand
why so many African bands have been so influenced by Cuban music, look
no further than this great album. Superbly compiled, the album has informative
liner notes (a neat mix of erudition and vivid anecdote) coupled with
photos of the period." 
Songlines
more press reviews at the foot of the page
This HMV GV series is a catalogue
of roughly 250 double sided 78rpm discs issued between 1933 and about
1958, comprising almost entirely Latin music, mainly from Cuba but also
from Puerto Rico and Brazil. It drew on recordings originated by Gramaphone
and Victor (hence the GV prefix). The series was aimed initially at the
West African market, but subsequently reached and became very popular
across the entire African continent, particularly in the Congos.
This CD provides a snapshot of what African musicians heard as they listened
to the GV recordings on record, on the radio and live in local bars.
