Compay Segundo - Las Flores De La Vida (Reissue) (2007)

At 93, the man who came to international fame with Buena Vista Social Club is making some of the most celebratory music of his career. And some of the most adventurous, arranging his distinctive son forms for a band that, unusually, includes clarinets. Nor does he need to be front and center all the time, playing second banana to Hugo Garzo's Satchmo-like growl on "Amor de Loca Juventud," or harking back 60 years to a song he cowrote, "Te Doy la Vida," with son Basilio on lead vocals. There's plenty of charm, of course, and some luminous love songs on this record, not just to women, but a love of life itself. Segundo has come to be the embodiment of Cuban son, and his work here does nothing to diminish that reputation. He even closes the set with his version of an ineffably Cuban song, "Guantanamera," done simply because he'd never recorded it before. Self-indulgent? Not in the least. Simply more glorious music from someone who's finally receiving his international due. --Chris Nickson