Nonesuch releases on vinyl, for the first time, Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán’s classic, Grammy Award-winning 2002 album Mambo Sinuendo.

Cooder’s collaboration with the late Cuban guitar legend Galbán hearkens back to a point in the late 1950s when Cuban popular music began to hint at a fusion of American pop-jazz and the futuristic creations of modern Cuban composers. Borne along by the mid-century mambo and cha-cha-cha crazes, the hot sounds of mambo-jazz spread out into American popular culture. But nowhere can there be found a more perfect representation of this style than in the recordings of the Havana doo-wop quartet Los Zafiros, still after 50 years the most popular Cuban vocal group of all time. As Los Zafiros’s guitarist and arranger, Galbán pioneered a tough, rocking guitar style that is considered by Cuban musicians to be unique in their music. Mambo Sinuendo reintroduced Galbán – pianist, organist, and guitarist extraordinaire.

‘Packed full of great, twanging guitar lines. An exquisite album. One of the musical highlights of the year. ’ – Uncut

‘Mambo Sinuendo generates a flavour unlike anything most of us have heard before. When Uncle Ry packs his bags and books that flight, he never comes back without something cool, weird and distinctive. This be no exception.’ – Mojo