Buena Vista Social Club’s Omara Portuondo

The legendary Cuban singer celebrates her 85th anniversary in a rare concert tour.

Omara Portuondo wants to celebrate with a grand fiesta representing the impressive sweep of her career, meeting with friends old and new to perform together much-loved Cuban classics from “Besame Mucho” to “Veinte Años.” Listeners will be taken back to her younger years and her continuing love of elegant cabaret, from the Buena Vista Social Club days to the present, in a musical feast full of piquant sabrosura.

Portuondo will be joined by gifted artists who will perform timeless Cuban songs, as well as selections from their own repertoires.

Regina Carter is the foremost jazz violinist of her generation. Her passion for excellence did not escape the attention of the MacArthur Foundation, which awarded her with its prestigious “genius grant.”

Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. She is an established bandleader and prolific composer whose music is a unique blend of modern and traditional jazz, classical music, Brazilian choro, Argentine tango and an expansive timeline of Afro-Cuban styles.

From the beginning of his career in the 1990s, Cuban-born multi-instrumentalistRoberto Fonseca, although considered very young by the standards of jazz, world music or other genres, has maintained a sharp focus on a mission that has already garnered him worldwide recognition.

Sponsored by the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers-Newark