A Toda Cuba le Gusta

A Toda Cuba le Gusta is the first studio album by the Afro-Cuban All Stars, produced by Cuban bandleader and musician Juan de Marcos González and Nick Gold, and released on April 9, 1997, on World Circuit Records.

In March 1996,[1] Nick Gold and Juan de Marcos González (previously the tres player of Sierra Maestra) produced A Toda Cuba le Gusta, the first album by the Afro-Cuban All Stars, recorded at the EGREM Studios in Havana and featuring Rubén González (piano), Orlando "Cachaíto" López (bass), along with a big band of veteran Cuban musicians and singers, most of whom had careers that went back to the 1950s Havana scene: Ibrahim Ferrer, Pío Leyva, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Raúl Planas, Félix Baloy, and José Antonio "Maceo" Rodríguez.

Over gently pulsating conga grooves and low-register ostinatos, such luminaries as pianist Rubén González and singer Manuel "Puntillita" Licea float dramatic melodies, as their solo contributions are answered by brass section chords as thick and sweet as cane syrup.

"[5] The album was mentioned by Jim Macnie in Artists & Music - Jazz Blue Notes, in Billboard (December 27, 1997 - January 3, 1998),[6] and also during a 2000 interview with Juan de Marcos González.

[12] "Amor Verdadero" is a guajira-son written by José "Cheo" Marquetti and arranged following the classical style of the Afro-Cuban Jazz bands from the 1950s such as Riverside and Casino de la Playa.

[1]: 21 "Pío Mentiroso" is a guaracha composed by Miguel Ojeda and re-arranged by de Marcos González, who added new material in the form of two montunos and two mambos, written for three trumpets.

[1]: 31 "Clasiqueando con Rubén" was composed by de Marcos González as an experiment mixing baroque with tropical dance music, following the principles of Haydn and Bach and arranged to the canons of son.