Orquesta Failde is a Havana-based group blessed with God-given talent and state-nurtured skill and fired by a passion for danzón – the slow, elegant partner dance music of pauses and syncopated beats and the national music of Cuba. Composer Miguel Failde (1852-1921) drew on his Spanish and African heritage to create the first danzón (‘Las Alturas de Simpson’) in 1879, and his famed eponymous dance orchestra has been reclaimed and revitalised since 2012 by his descendant, charismatic flautist and bandleader Ethiel. This superb recording, an ambitious sweep of a century of Cuban music, is the youthful outfit's third release, firmly positioning them as a danzón orchestra with a knack for playing related styles from bolero to son, mambo to chachachá to timba.

Special guests including iconic octogenarian Omara Portuondo on the 1924-penned ‘Me Desordeno’, in fine strong voice both over and between soaring violins and emotive, nostalgic flute; much touted jazz trumpeter Julito Padrón of the Interactivo collective blows on ‘Havana’; pianist Alejandro Falcón is a highlight of the cinematic ‘Concierto en Varsovia’. Balancing male and female voices over consummate arrangements by the likes of Falcón, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and – on Miguel Failde's previously unpublished ‘Nievicita’ – Ethiel Failde, Failde Con Tumbao is a reminder of the musical treasure box that is Cuba. A recording with contemporary currency, and a sepia tinted delight.