Cuban star Eliades Ochoa, best known as one of the original members of the eight-million-selling, Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club, returns to London this autumn for a show at KOKO on Sunday October 29th. The concert will feature classic repertoire from across Ochoa’s career including music from his brand new album ‘Guajiro’, which is set for release on May 26th.
Back in 1997 when he shot to international recognition as a member of the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club, Eliades was the young gun. True, he was by then in his 50th year - but he was still in the flush of youth compared to legendary veterans Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer, who had been playing since before he was born and with whom he duetted unforgettably on classic songs such as “Chan Chan” and “Candela”.
A quarter of a century later, Eliades is now the veteran with a legendary back story of his own. The songs on Guajiro – most of which are his own compositions – are the most intimate and personal Eliades has ever recorded. “The album tells a lot about me and my history,” he says. “It’s really the story of my life and each song has a lot of meaning.”
Ochoa’s vitality made a potent contribution to Buena Vista’s success, both on the eight-million selling album and in Wim Wenders’ evocative, award-winning documentary film of the same name. He also performed the handful of historic live dates played by the original line-up in Amsterdam and at New York’s Carnegie Hall. It led to Virgin Records Spain signing him as a solo artist and a string of fine albums featuring appearances by Ry Cooder, David Hildago of Los Lobos and Raul Malo of the Mavericks among others.
Ochoa’s 2012 album Un Bolero Para Ti won four Latin Grammy Awards and he was also a key collaborator in World Circuit’s 2010 Grammy-nominated album AfroCubism, which brought together the finest musicians from Mali and Cuba in a glorious, border-breaking celebration of shared virtuosity. Eliades was also the first Cuban to be awarded the Latin Award Canada in 2018.
Now with the release of Guajiro, he adds a new and revealing chapter that weaves together all the threads and strands of his storied life and career into a definitive and compelling personal testament that honours his past while ambitiously taking his music into pastures new.
Eliades Ochoa – Live at KOKO
Sunday 29 October 2023
Doors 7pm
KOKO
1a Camden High St
London
NW1 7RE
