Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club to Return to Segerstrom Center, 10/11

After 16 years of thrilling audiences around the world, Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club is set to bid 'Adios' with a farewell world tour. The group -- which has been touring the globe in different forms, guises and combinations since 1997 -- will take to the road one final time in 2014/15 with a series of concerts and related cultural events that will celebrate the Orquesta's storied journey as ambassadors for Cuban music.

Single tickets start at $49 and may be purchased online at SCFTA.org, the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746. To help enrich the concert experience for audiences, a free Preview Talk with speaker Jose Rizo from KJazz-FM will take place at 6:15 p.m.

The Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club grew out of the 1997 release of the Grammy-winning best-selling album Buena Vista Social Club, and its line-up continues to include a number of the original artists featured on the landmark recording and film. But that was only the starting point of an extraordinary journey. Over the years, there have been further acclaimed albums, Grammy Awards and a packed schedule of sold-out tours and concerts featuring artists such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Cachaito Lopez, Manuel Galba?n, Omara Portuondo, Anga Di?az and Roberto Fonseca. The Adios Tour represents the distillation of more than a thousand shows involving more than forty musicians. During that time the group has evolved into a customized, dynamic, multi-generational big band in which veterans and younger performers have combined to celebrate Cuban musical tradition with flair and e?lan. "We wanted our traditional music to live on and to enchant the world and this is what our tours achieved. It has been an incredible part of my career and life," said Omara Portuondo.

Under the musical direction of band leader and trombonist Jesus 'Aguaje' Ramos, the line-up for the Adios Tour will feature several of those who played on the original Buena Vista Social Club album and film all those years ago, including Cowboy hatted singer/guitarist Eliades Ochoa, the incomparable veteran diva Omara Portuondo, trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal and laud virtuoso Barbarito Torres.

They will be accompanied on stage by those who have joined the journey along the way, including dynamic veteran tres player Papi Oviedo; Havana's young star pianist Rolando Luna; a superb rhythm section comprising double bass player Pedro Pablo and percussionists Andres Coayo (congas), Filiberto Sa?nchez (timbales) and Alberto 'La Noche' (bongos); a three-man trumpet section led by high note specialist Luis Allemany plus Havana's celebrated son singer Carlos Calunga and Idania Valde?s.

From son and guajira to danzon and bolero, cha-cha-cha and rumba, the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® Adios Tour will showcase the classic styles and rhythms of Cuban music in a new stage presentation that will feature fresh songs and familiar numbers in new versions. The shows will reflect the Buena Vista experience past and present with tributes to many of the late, great musicians who contributed so richly to the story.

The Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club Adios Tour launched in the summer of 2014 with sold out performances and will run through to the autumn of 2015 with more than 60 shows visiting New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North and South America. After performing across the word, the tour will end where the journey began. A homecoming gala performance in Havana.

The Adios Tour coincides with the release of Buena Vista Social Club's Lost and Found on March 23. A collection of previously unreleased tracks, some recorded at the first legendary sessions in Havana and others during the extraordinarily rich outpouring of music that followed. Watch the album trailer here. The album is available for pre-order now on iTunes.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds Kia, Official Automotive Partner of the Center and United Airlines, Official Airline of the Center. The Orange County Register is the Print Media Partner of the Jazz Weekend. KJAZZ is a Media Partner of the Jazz Weekend.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution and as well as a beautiful multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, where students ages 3 - 14 are taught by acclaimed teachers utilizing the renowned ABT National Training Curriculum in studios utilized by the world's greatest dancers and choreographers.

The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family- friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.

The Center's arts-in-education programs are designed to inspire young people through the arts and reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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