Tibiri Tabara

Recorded in London, the album was produced by Nick Gold, Alejandro Suárez, and Eduardo Himely.[8] Unlike some traditional Cuban bands, Sierra Maestra incorporated modern musical styles into its sound, including descarga.[9][10] Juan de Marcos González helped to arrange the songs.[11] Bernardo Sassetti played piano.[12] Five vocalists sang on Tibiri Tabara.[13] "Yo soy Tiburón" was written by Arsenio Rodríguez.[14]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[15]
The Baltimore Sun	[16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[17]
Los Angeles Times	[1]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide	[8]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[18]

The Sydney Morning Herald called the album "traditional, no-frills music done very well ... And the mixture of danceable tunes, son montunos and more melodic sones is just right."[18] The Globe and Mail wrote: "Star soloist piano player Bernardo Sassetti corners the band's jazz market with hard-driving (if occasionally lick-heavy) flights, but the real star is the whole Sierra Maestra galaxy—the nine-piece band's collective propulsion and flawless vocal ensemble work."[19]

Newsday noted that "this Cuban nonet swings son music like nobody's business."[20] The Baltimore Sun concluded that "it's one thing to know that Cuba has the richest musical heritage of any nation in the Caribbean, quite another to have the depth and breadth of that tradition demonstrated by a single band."[16]

AllMusic wrote that "this large band creates a bright testament to the glories of Cuban music, from son to changui."[15]