Ibrahim Ferrer, Photo: Karl Heim   Rubén González

Ibrahim Ferrer, who was front and center in the Walker Art Center's sensational evening with the Afro-Cuban All-Stars at First Avenue last fall has a honeyed voice sustained by all the notes it has caressed in 72 years. Ferrer and pianist Rubén González, whose playing style helped invent the "Cuban sound" in the 1940s, were pivotal to the Buena Vista Social Club's Grammy-winning CD and the center of Wim Wenders' recent documentary film on the group. The rich, remarkably influential Afro-Cuban sound of the 1940's and 1950's reaches its fullest, purist form with the gathering of these seminal musicians in this historic double bill. The two bands, led by Ferrer and González (on his first visit to the Twin Cities), feature an extraordinary lineup of master musicians - many of whom performed on the Buena Vista Social Club recording - including vocalist Omara Portuondo and original Los Zafiros guitarist Manuel Galbán. The concert is at 8 pm on Thursday, November 4, at Northrop Auditorium. The program is presented by the Walker and Northrop Auditorium, as part of Northrop's 1999-2000 Jazz Season.

The Buena Vista Social Club has been one of the year's biggest musical success stories. The group, named after an old members-only social club situated in the hills of east Havana, was assembled by World Circuit Records head Nick Gold and Ry Cooder for the purpose of recording an album of classic Cuban songs. The Buena Vista Social Club album was recorded in just six days in Havana's historic Egrem studios in March 1996.

Rubén González came out of retirement at age 79 to record Buena Vista Social Club and his own debut, Introducing Rubén González. No one imagined that he would again become an international star as he had a half-century earlier while playing with Arsenio Rodriguez's band. Described by Ry Cooder as "a Cuban cross between Thelonious Monk and Felix the Cat," González's second solo album is due this fall and features various friends old and new, including legendary Orquesta Aragon flutist Richard Egues.

Ibrahim Ferrer, who had never been famous in his own right in Cuba, emerged as the one true discovery of the Buena Vista sessions. Always known as a "musician's musician" for his naturally gentle and unassuming manner, Ferrer has now been given the chance to display his great talent in both the rural Santiago and urban Havana traditions. Ferrer's debut recording, Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer, was produced by Ry Cooder and Nick Gold. Ferrer says, "It is a dream come true . . . this has given me the will to live. I'm living the dream of my youth in the body of an old man."

Tickets to the Buena Vista Social Club are $24.50 (sold out) and $19.50 ($19.50 (sold out) and $15.50 Walker members and Northrop subscribers) and can be purchased by calling the Northrop box office at 612.624.2345.

Northrop Auditorium is located on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota.

The Walker Art Center' s Performing Arts Program is generously supported by funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Doris Duke Fund for Jazz and Dance and the Doris Duke Performing Arts Endowment Fund, and The McKnight Foundation.

The Walker Art Center is located one block off Highway I-94 at the corner of Lyndale Avenue South and Vineland Place in Minneapolis. For public information, call 612.375.7622; TDD: 375.7585. Gallery hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 10 am-5 pm; Thursday, 10 am-8 pm; Sunday, 11 am-5 pm; closed Monday; free Thursday and the first Saturday of each month (Free First Saturdays are made possible by Coldwell Banker Burnet).   www.walkerart.org