Asere

With a suburban Havana look (tracksuits, dreadlocks and baseball caps on back-to-front), the seven members of Asere ("my friend" in the local slang) take pleasure in jostling the music of their Cuban granddads while still having a healthy respect for the past.

While the band uses the tonalities of classic son, including the guitar, tres (small guitar with three double strings), double-bass, brass and percussion, Asere's compositions and covers of little known tunes reveal great originality, exuberance and modernity. —Courtesy Calabash Music