Spirits Of Havana [CD]

Jane Bunnett's Spirits of Havana, the landmark 1993 album that brought together North American and Cuban musicians in Havana, preceded Buena Vista Social Club by three years. With her all-female sextet, Maqueque, whose self-titled debut recently won a Juno (the Canadian Grammy) for Best Group Jazz Album of the Year, she's breaking new ground yet again. The name of the group means "the energy of a young girl's spirit," and with four of it's members still in their early twenties, this is a band with energy to spare. That spirit is manifested through propulsive montuno improvisations, call and response numbers and ivory-tickling piano features, as might be expected, but also on a stirring cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone."