Ibrahim Ferrer
Encyclopedia
Ibrahim Ferrer (February 20, 1927 – August 6, 2005) was a popular Afro-Cuban
singer and musician in Cuba
. He performed with many musical groups including the Conjunto Sorpresa, Orquesta Chepin-Choven and Afro-Cuban All Stars. Later in life, Ferrer became a member of the internationally successful Buena Vista Social Club
.
in San Luis
, near the city of Santiago de Cuba
. His mother died when he was 12, leaving him orphaned and forcing him to sing on the streets (busk
) to earn money. The next year, Ferrer joined his first ever musical group—a duet with his cousin—called Jovenes del Son
. They performed at private functions and the two youths managed to scrape together enough money to live.
Over the next few years, Ferrer would perform with many musical groups, including Conjunto Sorpresa and Orquesta Chepin-Choven.
The leader of the latter composed one of Ferrer's biggest hits, El Platanal de Bartolo.
Ferrer was an adherent of the Santería
faith, a blending of traditional Africa
n religions and Catholicism
.
, renaming themselves Los Bocucos, after a type of drum
widely used in Santiago.
With Alonso, Ferrer primarily performed son
, guaracha
and other up-tempo
songs. However, he yearned to sing bolero
s. It was not until almost 40 years later, with the release of Ry Cooder
's Grammy Award
winning Buena Vista Social Club
recording in 1997, that Ferrer's talent as a bolero singer would become widely known.
In 1996, Ferrer took part in the World Circuit sessions, when it was announced that an old-style bolero singer would be required. In that year, he recorded the album A Toda Cuba le Gusta with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, an album nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 1998 he recorded an album for the Cuban label EGREM
, Tierra Caliente: Ibrahim Ferrer con Los Bocucos which includes Ferrer's voice, band leader Roberto Correra's arrangements and lead trumpet
, and the Bocucos's accompaniment. The album is in the style of son-jazz big band fusion.
In 1999 Ry Cooder recorded Ferrer's first solo album. In 2000 Ferrer, at the age of 72, received a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist
. In 2001 he appeared on the track "Latin Simone" on the self-titled debut album of virtual-band Gorillaz
.
In 2004 Ferrer won a Grammy
, but was denied permission by the U.S. government to enter the U.S. to receive his award under a U.S. law designed to prohibit entry by "terrorists, drug dealers and dangerous criminals." Ferrer, who had been granted entry previously in order to perform in concert, was dumbfounded by the decision, stating, "I don't understand because I don't feel I'm a terrorist. I am not, I can't be."
Ferrer released his second solo recording, Buenos Hermanos, in 2003 and continued touring in Europe
into 2005.
Ferrer's contributed in 2005 to the APE Vision Artists Project Earth album Rhythms Del Mundo
: Cuba, a collaboration with artists Coldplay, U2, Sting, Dido, Faithless, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5 and others.
Ferrer's last recording was Mi Sueño, an album devoted to the bolero. It was released, posthumously, in 2006.
Ibrahim Ferrer died at age 78 of multiple organ failure
on August 6, 2005 at CIMEQ hospital in Havana (Cuba) after returning from a European tour. He was buried in the Colón Cemetery, Havana
. In 2005, Gorillaz
made a tribute to him playing the song he featured: Latin Simone.
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
singer and musician in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He performed with many musical groups including the Conjunto Sorpresa, Orquesta Chepin-Choven and Afro-Cuban All Stars. Later in life, Ferrer became a member of the internationally successful Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...
.
Life
Ferrer was born at a danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
in San Luis
San Luis, Santiago de Cuba
San Luis is a town and municipality in the Santiago de Cuba Province of Cuba. It is located north of Santiago de Cuba.-History:The city was founded in 1827 on the location of a ranch. Arrival of the railroad accelerated its development...
, near the city of Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
. His mother died when he was 12, leaving him orphaned and forcing him to sing on the streets (busk
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
) to earn money. The next year, Ferrer joined his first ever musical group—a duet with his cousin—called Jovenes del Son
Son montuno
The son montuno is a style of the Cuban son, but exactly what it means is not an easy question to answer. The son itself is the most important genre of Cuban popular music. In addition, it is perhaps the most flexible of all forms of Latin-American music...
. They performed at private functions and the two youths managed to scrape together enough money to live.
Over the next few years, Ferrer would perform with many musical groups, including Conjunto Sorpresa and Orquesta Chepin-Choven.
The leader of the latter composed one of Ferrer's biggest hits, El Platanal de Bartolo.
Ferrer was an adherent of the Santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
faith, a blending of traditional Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n religions and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Achievements
In 1953 Ferrer began performing with Pacho Alonso's group in Santiago, Cuba. In 1959 the group moved permanently to HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, renaming themselves Los Bocucos, after a type of drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
widely used in Santiago.
With Alonso, Ferrer primarily performed son
Son (music)
The Son cubano is a style of music that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930s. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arará origin...
, guaracha
Guaracha
The guaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music, of rapid tempo and with lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in low-class dance salons. They became an integral part of Bufo comic...
and other up-tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
songs. However, he yearned to sing bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s. It was not until almost 40 years later, with the release of Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
's Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club (album)
- Music :"Chan Chan", the first song on the album, is a Cuban song composition by Compay Segundo, revolving around two central characters, Juanita and Chan Chan. The song was one of Segundo's last compositions and was written in 1987, already having been recorded by Segundo himself various...
recording in 1997, that Ferrer's talent as a bolero singer would become widely known.
In 1996, Ferrer took part in the World Circuit sessions, when it was announced that an old-style bolero singer would be required. In that year, he recorded the album A Toda Cuba le Gusta with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, an album nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 1998 he recorded an album for the Cuban label EGREM
EGREM
is the oldest Cuban record label, it is located in Havana. It was founded in 1964 following the Cuban Revolution...
, Tierra Caliente: Ibrahim Ferrer con Los Bocucos which includes Ferrer's voice, band leader Roberto Correra's arrangements and lead trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and the Bocucos's accompaniment. The album is in the style of son-jazz big band fusion.
In 1999 Ry Cooder recorded Ferrer's first solo album. In 2000 Ferrer, at the age of 72, received a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist
Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists, nationally and internationally...
. In 2001 he appeared on the track "Latin Simone" on the self-titled debut album of virtual-band Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
.
In 2004 Ferrer won a Grammy
Grammy Awards of 2004
The 46th Grammy Awards were held on the February 8, 2004. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. The big winners were Outkast, who won three awards including Album of the Year & Beyoncé Knowles, who won 5 Awards...
, but was denied permission by the U.S. government to enter the U.S. to receive his award under a U.S. law designed to prohibit entry by "terrorists, drug dealers and dangerous criminals." Ferrer, who had been granted entry previously in order to perform in concert, was dumbfounded by the decision, stating, "I don't understand because I don't feel I'm a terrorist. I am not, I can't be."
Ferrer released his second solo recording, Buenos Hermanos, in 2003 and continued touring in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
into 2005.
Ferrer's contributed in 2005 to the APE Vision Artists Project Earth album Rhythms Del Mundo
Rhythms del Mundo
Rhythms del Mundo is a nonprofit collaborative album, which fuses an all-star cast of Cuban musicians including Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of the Buena Vista Social Club with tracks from US, UK and Irish artists such as Dido, Arctic Monkeys, U2, Coldplay, Sting, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5,...
: Cuba, a collaboration with artists Coldplay, U2, Sting, Dido, Faithless, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5 and others.
Ferrer's last recording was Mi Sueño, an album devoted to the bolero. It was released, posthumously, in 2006.
Ibrahim Ferrer died at age 78 of multiple organ failure
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome ', previously known as multiple organ failure or multisystem organ failure , is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medical intervention to achieve homeostasis...
on August 6, 2005 at CIMEQ hospital in Havana (Cuba) after returning from a European tour. He was buried in the Colón Cemetery, Havana
Colon Cemetery, Havana
The Colon Cemetery or more fully in the Spanish language Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón was founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana, Cuba on top of Espada Cemetery. Named for Christopher Columbus, the 140 acre cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials...
. In 2005, Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
made a tribute to him playing the song he featured: Latin Simone.
Discography
- 1960 - Mis tiempos con Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental
- 1973 - Recording with Los Bocucos
- 1999 – Buena Vista Social Club Presents: Ibrahim Ferrer
- 2000 - Tierra Caliente: Roots of Buena Vista
- 2001 - Single Latin Simone GorillazGorillazGorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
self-titled album - 2002 - Mis Tiempos Con Chepín
- 2002 - La Collección Cubana
- 2002 - Tiempos Con Chepín y Su Orquesta
- 2003 - Buenos Hermanos
- 2004 - Que Bueno Está
- 2004 - El Dandy
- 2005 - Ay, Candela
- 2006 - Mi Sueño (Montuno)
- 2006 - Rhythms Del Mundo
See also
- Afro-LatinosAfro-Latin AmericanAn Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
- Compay SegundoCompay SegundoCompay Segundo was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer.-Biography:...
- Elíades OchoaEliades OchoaEliades Ochoa is a Cuban guitarist and singer from Loma de la Avispa, Songo La Maya in the east of the country near Santiago de Cuba....
- Music of CubaMusic of CubaThe Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles, based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa. Since the 19th century its music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world...
- Rubén González