Bossa Cubana

1	Bossa Cubana 2:37
2	La Luna en Tu Mirada 2:36
3	Mirame Fijo 2:37
4	Dichoso Mar 2:58
5	Por No Comprenderte 3:10
6	Y Sabes Bien 2:36
7	Cancion de Orfeo 3:53
8	Mi Amor Perdoname 3:00
9	Cuando Yo la Conoci 2:10
10	La Caminadora 2:36
11	He Venido 3:17
12	Puchunguita Ven 2:36
13	Herido de Sombras 2:15
14	Si Corazón 2:33
15	Mi Corazon 2:38
16	Un Nombre de Mujer 2:24
17	Canta la Sentimental 2:30

Barnes & Noble

The brilliance of Cuba's doo-wop princes Los Zafiros (the Sapphires) was the stuff of legend. Without a domestic retrospective of their work available, the group was the subject of two films -- finally, the world gets to hear what the fuss was about. BOSSA CUBANA is miraculous -- priceless, moving, and impeccably restored after 40 years in the basement of EGREM studios. You don't need a film to appreciate this vocal quintet who embraced the entire history of Cuban song, processed it through the then vogue sounds of the Penguins and the Platters, and acknowledged a pan-American consciousness with hints of bossa nova and calypso. Nor do you need a back story to be moved by the masterful tenor of Eduardo Elio "El Chino" Hernandez, who plays with his phrasing as one would toy with marionettes, seductive and cruel. The first notes of "Canción de Orfeo" betray the group's dark fate (a spiral of alchohol abuse and out-of-control behavior tore them apart; none of the singers would live to see 60). The eerie, reverb-laden mystery of American R&B in the early '60s is bewitchingly refracted through a tropical languor; the guitar of Manuel Galbán, heard most recently on BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB PRESENTS IBRAHIM FERRER, conjures the shades of Arsenio Rodriguez and Duane Eddy. The combinations are deft and surprising, and in these self-conscious days of the Global Village, bracingly natural and unforced. These Sapphires are truly gems. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

Complimenting Orfeon's equally impressive Hermosa Habana collection, this los Zafiros disc on the World Circuit label rounds up 17 of the Cuban group's finest cuts. Wowing crowds in Havana and Europe, los Zafiros remained in the spotlight between 1963-1967 thanks to an infectious and ingenuous blend of American doo wop and such tropical specialties as bossa nova, calypso, and mambo. Augmented by a lean combo of guitar, bongos, drums, bass, and congas, the quintet are stellar throughout a fetching set of both bouncy R&B-tinged cuts and bolero-styled ballads. Equally effective in conjuring the romantic tradition of great Latin singers like Daniel Santos and Beny Moré and the drive-in insouciance of stateside crooners, Bossa Cubana will be welcome by fans of both these great musical traditions. Stephen Cook