For someone who's made his dream a fiery reality, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez sounds awfully laid-back.

The veteran composer, arranger and bandleader recently assembled the Afro-Cuban All Stars, a 15-piece big band that recaptures the golden era of Cuban music. A few tickets remain for the group's hugely anticipated appearance at Massey Hall tonight.

"Nick Gold (of Nonesuch Records) and I were promoting Dundunbaza (an album by Gonzalez's other group, Sierra Maestra) in England and I told him I wanted to make an album with people from different generations.

"It would be a tribute to the big times of Cuban music -- using the guys who invented this music in the '40s and '50s -- but playing it in a modern style."

The label, which helped bring us the superb Buena Vista Social Club and Introducing Ruben Gonzalez records last year, didn't need much convincing. It told Gonzalez it had the dough to cut such a disk and off he went to meet his "unrealized dream."

Featuring four generations of musicians and indigenous Cuban rhythms such as son, guaguanco, son montuno, guaracha, and guajira-son, A Toda Cuba le Gusta happens to be one of the sweetest, swingingest records released in 1997.

"I wanted to capture the power of the big Cuban bands (led by) Mario Bauza, Machito and Beny More but make it interesting for the young generation," Gonzalez says over the phone from Havana.

Fortunately for Gonzalez, he had the luxury of recording this masterpiece at the antiquated Egrem Studios. This Havana institution was built in the '40s specifically to record big bands and was totally conducive to the job being executed.

"People like Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra and Nat 'King' Cole recorded there," says Gonzalez, who studied classical guitar at the Havana Conservatory. "The walls sent positive vibrations to the musicians. It's a very old studio but I love it, it has a great spirit."

Searching for and convincing some of the players to be part of this dream team wasn't a cake walk and, indeed, a couple of them were unable to make the trip to Toronto.

"Most of the old guys had retired but I looked for them and brought in people like (singer) Pio Leyva who is 80, (pianist) Ruben Gonzalez who is 78, and (singer) Ibrahim Ferrer, who was absolutely forgotten," explains Gonzalez.

"Ibrahim had never enjoyed the success he's enjoying now 'cause he was always in the background with the bands he played with," adds Gonzalez. "He sang with Beny More and Pacho Alonso and he was always the second guy.

"For me, he's the most famous Cuban singer in the world!"

It becomes apparent when hearing Gonzalez rave about these legends that he's more excited for them than he is at being able to pull off the project.

"I went to Ibrahim's house and he was cleaning shoes," Gonzalez says. "I said, 'To me, you're the best singer and I'd like to have you on my album.'

"He thought I was joking but I told him, 'You have to believe me and come with me to the studio,' " he adds. "When he started singing, everybody was absolutely surprised."

"It was the same with Ruben. When I approached him with the idea he said, 'Thank you for believing in me.'

"The most important thing for me is that I gave some of these guys a chance to start a new life," Gonzalez adds. "They're feeling useful and they're making plans.

"Ruben's asking me, 'When are we going to Japan,?' " he says, laughing.