Yusa

Yusa | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 1, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tumi Records
• ASIN: B00006HICC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,914 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Yusa comes out of east Havana with a hard-driving style and a raw edge to her voice, sounding like a grown-up street kid. But she's actually had the benefit of a conservatory education, starting as a guitarist, and going on to play the trés, piano, and bass. She then starred with a female jazz quintet in a celebrated basement club; she's always been an instinctive collaborator. And that's what makes this CD so beguiling: everything has the accomplished sheen that comes from constant group improvisation. There's no vanity in Yusa's sound. You sense that, with her, it's the words and the emotion what matter, not perfection of tone.

When the joint jumps, she leads energetically from the front. Given a cool-jazz backing, she responds with a graceful softening in her tone. And the lyrics are hers: "What happened to the glint in the eye/ It's got cold feet/ And it's giving me the creeps...." Her thoughts are as surreal as those of Portuguese fadista Misia, but they're not so spooky. Yusa is your ideal musical companion for a convivial evening. --Michael Church

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive musical performance, bittersweet troubadour lyric, January 3, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yusa (Audio CD)

Yusa showcases the impressive musical performance and bittersweet troubadour lyrics of the popular female Cuban singer Yusa. This impressive, entertaining, and highly recommended recording features Tomando el centro (2:32); A las doce (5:04); La Fabula (3:35); Tienta Paredes (3:59); Cuestion de angulo (6:22); La partida (3:20); La numero 2 (4:14); Mares de inocencia (3:39); Todo o casi nada (3:35); Cancion en cuna para Freya (3:33); En Todas las esquinas (1:54); Involucion (4:27); Momentos (4:51); Chiqichaca (3:32); and Flash (1:33). Total playing time 56:27).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last the other side of Cuban music, February 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Yusa (Audio CD)

La música cubana, a pesar de ser una de las más prolíficas y variadas del mundo, suele encasillarse siempre: o bien música para bailar, o bien música para la nostalgia de los que no concen profundamente Cuba. Este disco es un buen ejemplo de lo compleja y sofisticada que puede ser la música cubana, y de una de sus principales virtudes, la apropiación inteligente de todas las demás músicas. Yusa es una gran artista, una virtuosa y sus canciones son de una elegancia increíble, sin dejar de sonar cubana.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Style For Cuba, June 10, 2007

By 

Jack Combs "Shutterbug" (Santa Fe, New Mexico USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yusa (Audio CD)

Yusa is one of those rare creatures who breaks the mold and fashions a new style and sound. No Son or Buena Vista, but a departure from Cuba music to a world sound with this album. It is softly spicy with overtones of Brazil, with Marley honesty, and a Tracy Chapman unique voice, but it is all Yusa. A masterful musician: composer, lyricist, arranger, mixer, and skiled pianist, guitarist, bassist, percussionist, and a master's degree in the Tres, a six-stringed Cuban original instrument on which she plays classical music, she is, one hopes, a leader for new Cuban music. Although she can scat, chanteuse, and rip the top off the song, it is always done with
impecable skill and honesty. Nothing pretentious here. If you want to hear something original and a portend of
the future, grab this album. Not Too Late