Omara Portuondo

Magia Negra Omara Portuondo

Omara Portioned, the immensely gifted vocal star of Buena Vista Social Club fame, started her career in the early 1950's as a dancer at the famed Tropicana night club in Havana and then formed Cuarteto Las D'Aida with her sister Haydee, an all female vocal group that was quite a popular attraction in Havana throughout the 1950's. She became associated with "Feeling", a movement that revolutionized the bolero form popularized by singers such as Doris de la Torre, Elena Burke and Rene Barios in the late 1950's. Unlike many of her contemporaries that fled Cuba following the embargo of 1959, Omara remained, performing in numerous bands and participating in many recording sessions. The extremely rare sessions presented here were recorded in Cuba in 1958 under the direction of the famed arranger / producer Julio Gutierrez, and is among the first to feature Omara as a soloist. The presence of the Harold Arlen penned "Black Magic" (Magia Negra) and the Duke Ellington chestnut "Caravan" sprinkled among tunes written by Cuban composers offer evidence of Omara's sophisticated bent and her love for American jazz. The recording has a very exotic feel, the arrangements very "cocktail" inspired, producing a unique mood that is unlike any other Omara Portioned recording that has surfaced from that time. All selections newly remastered.