Cuba: Music and Revolution

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The first comprehensive exploration of Cuban record sleeve design, this book showcases hundreds of rare vinyl records from the early 1960s following the Cuban Revolution until 1985, when the collapse of the Soviet Union ended vinyl manufacturing in Cuba. The artwork reflects Cuba's rich cultural and musical heritage alongside the political impact of revolutionary communism. Over the last century, Cuban music has evolved into a diverse array of styles—rumba, mambo, son, salsa—at an impressive pace. Since the 1940s, many Cuban musicians migrated to the US, influencing North American music; notable figures like bandleader Machito ignited New York's jazz and Latin scene, while drummer Chano Pozo's collaboration with Dizzy Gillespie birthed Latin jazz. Following the 1959 Revolution, the government nationalized American-owned nightclubs and established a state-run recording industry, leading to the emergence of new musical styles, including the Nueva Trova movement. The 1980s brought further innovation in modernist jazz, salsa, and Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Richly illustrated with hundreds of color images, this work chronicles the history of Cuban record cover art, featuring many examples previously unseen outside the island.