By Richard Harrington
                  Washington Post Staff Writer
                  Sunday, February 6, 2000; Page G10

                  The Buena Vista Social Club saga continues to amaze: Tomorrow's
                  Constitution Hall concert is sold out. That's shocking only because the
                  show's stars--pianist Ruben Gonzalez and singers Ibrahim Ferrer and
                  Omara Portuondo--are gracefully aging Afro-Cuban musicians whose
                  names would have drawn baffled looks here just three years ago. That was
                  before the Ry Cooder-produced, Grammy-winning "Buena Vista Social
                  Club" album had been embraced around the world, its popularity further
                  propelled by the box office success of Wim Wenders's inspirational
                  documentary of the same name.

                  Once neglected at home, the 82-year-old Gonzalez, 72-year-old Ferrer
                  and 62-year-old Portuondo have become international favorites, and
                  Cooder has rightfully earned accolades for his contributions to the project.
                  But another key figure has yet to be given his due: Juan de Marcos
                  Gonzalez.

                  He is listed on the Buena Vista Social Club album as "A&R consultant." In
                  fact, it's hard to imagine any of this happening without the 46-year-old
                  Gonzalez. Twenty years ago, when this traditional Cuban son had fallen
                  into disfavor with young Cuban musicians, Gonzalez started a group, Sierra
                  Maestra, to revitalize the music, which they did through dozens of
                  recordings and countless performances. In 1996 the English label World
                  Circuit encouraged Gonzalez to make a big-band recording, spotlighting
                  neglected stars of the '50s, long considered the golden age of Cuban
                  music. Along with a trio of seventy-something singers (Manuel "Puntillita"
                  Licea, Pio Leyva and Raul Planas), Gonzales recruited the long-retired
                  Ruben Gonzalez, who at that point did not even own a piano.

                  There would be two projects recorded in Havana's Egrem Studios: The
                  first was the Afro-Cuban All Stars' "A Toda Cuba le Gusta," which was
                  recorded in the same two-week period as "Buena Vista Social Club." The
                  latter was supposed to be a cross-cultural collaboration between
                  Afro-Cuban and West African musicians, with Cooder guest-producing.
                  When the African contingent didn't show up, the focus shifted, along with
                  the All Stars rhythm section and such key musicians as Ruben Gonzalez
                  and trumpeter Guajiro Mirabal. When Cooder desperately sought a classic
                  bolero stylist, it was Gonzalez who found Ferrer, who had not performed
                  in 20 years and was eking out a living shining shoes. It was Gonzalez who
                  conducted the "Buena Vista" recording sessions and served as musical
                  director for the New York and Amsterdam concerts featured in Wenders's
                  film.

                  Now, the Afro-Cuban All Stars have released a second album, "Distinto,
                  Diferente" (World Circuit), which continues to meld the hard-won
                  experience of old masters with the energy and enthusiasm of a new
                  generation of Cuban musicians. But where "A Toda Cuba le Gusta" paid
                  homage almost exclusively to the '50s, the new album's 10 expansive
                  dance tracks explore the vibrant link between traditional Cuban music and
                  its modern variants, from the ancient tribal rhythms of abakua heard on
                  "Warariansa" to son montuno and boleros, big-band guajira and
                  Afro-Cuban danzon, with splashes of timba, the new wave salsa that's so
                  hot in today's Havana. It's a sizzling sonic stew laced with sleek rhythms,
                  searing horns, sharp percussion and sensuous vocals.

                  The title track, which translates as "unique, different," bemoans the lack of
                  musical originality "in these times of imitation" before a series of soneros
                  (singers) engage in a round of spirited boasts about the richness and
                  distinction of Cuban music:

                  "Every art should have its own style/ Something to make it stand out/
                  Create beauty with imagination/ And make it unique, different." Another
                  song that juxtaposes young and old soneros to good effect is the Gonzalez
                  original "Reconciliacion," an impassioned plea for national identity beyond
                  emotional borders and the politics of mutual suspicion.

                  Buena Vista's Ferrer, pianist Gonzalez and laud player Barbarito Torres
                  are all in fine form on the irresistibly soothing "Al Vaiven de mi Carreta,"
                  while Omara Portuondo and Lino Borges serve up a gracious medley of
                  boleros in tribute to their composer, "Homanaje a Martha Valdes."

                  Among the rhythmic standouts: "Tumba Palo Cocuye," homage to the great
                  Afro-Cuban band leader Arsenio Rodriguez; the rippling instrumental
                  "Gandinga, Mondongo y Sandunga," a terrific showcase for young pianist
                  David Alfaro, trumpeter Julito Padron and trombonist Jesus Agauje
                  Ramos; and the danson-cha of "Variaciones Sobre un Tema
                  Desconocido," a bracing brew of trombone, flute, string quartet and Ruben
                  Gonzalez's sturdy piano lines.

                  (To hear a free Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at
                  202-334-9000 and press 8161.)

                  Compay Segundo

                  Fans of Wim Wenders's documentary, which has just been released on
                  VHS and DVD, had no trouble connecting to the Buena Vista Social
                  Club's colorful cast of living legends. Many were especially taken with
                  singer-guitarist Compay Segundo, then 90 but going on 16 with his bold
                  talk of upcoming seductions and impending fatherhood. The children may
                  be on hold, but Segundo has in the meantime produced a new album,
                  "Calle Salud (Health Street)," (Nonesuch) and it's a charmer.

                  Segundo is not the pure singer that Ferrer is: In fact, on most tracks here,
                  his smoky baritone is second voice to the high leads of Hugo Garzon. But
                  they make for an effective pairing, particularly because of the small
                  ensemble arrangements, almost all of which feature a trio of clarinets that
                  reflect the softer, more supple sound that dominated Cuban music in the
                  '30s, before the popularity of big bands and brass sections.

                  It's a sound that works particularly well on the album's many elegant
                  boleros. The best of these are "Amor Gigante (Mighty Love)," in which a
                  suffering lover begs his tormentor, "Why must you condemn my soul to
                  love you in silence/ Suffering the piercing wound of your cruel goodbye?"

                  Thankfully, matters of the heart are not always so miserable: Both "El Dia
                  Que Me Quieras (The Day You Love Me)" and "Un Rosa de Francia (A
                  Rose From France)" celebrate the giddy energy love can inspire.
                  Sometimes seductive rhythms rule, as on the sway of the naughty cha-cha
                  "La Enganadora (The Cheat)," or the spry danzon instrumental "Se Perdio
                  la Flauta (The Flute Is Lost)." And there's a youthful zest to the distaff
                  harmonies of Vionaika Martinez and Mayelin Perez, featured on a pair of
                  airy sons, "Viejos Sones de Santiago (Old Songs From Santiago)" and
                  "Balcon de Santiago (A Balcony in Santiago)."

                  Segundo wrote and arranged many of these songs (under his given name,
                  Francisco Repilado) and at album's end he reprises "Chan Chan," the
                  insinuating opening track from "Buena Vista Social Club." It brings the
                  project full circle, but hopefully does not imply closure. This story's too
                  good for an ending.

                  (To hear a free Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at
                  202-334-9000 and press 8162.)

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