SAN FRANCISCO -- Of the many films making their North American and world premieres at this year's 51st annual San Francisco International Film Festival, one music documentary has particularly close ties to The City. 'Cachao: Uno Mas' was originally envisioned as a concert film of a 2005 performance by legendary Cuban bass player Israel "Cachao" Lopez with actor and longtime champion Andy Garcia and the group, The Cineson All-Stars, at Bimbo's 365 Club in North Beach. The producers realized that the documentary presented an opportunity to create a full portrait of one of the architects of modern Cuban music and expanded the film to include interviews with the bassist as well as family, friends and musical compatriots.

Cachao is one of the originators of the "nuevo ritmo" that transformed the Cuban danzon, a traditional dance form dating back to second half of the 19th century. By introducing African rhythms to the music -- a progression that eventually led to the creation of the mambo -- Cachao and his brother Orestes Lopez made their mark as two of the most influential artists in Cuban music. Cachao was also a driving force behind the rise of the descarga, the loose-limbed style of Cuban jam session that emerged in the '50s and became the model for salsa and numerous forms of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz.

'Cachao: Uno Mas' is only the latest documentary about the legendary bassist that Garcia has been involved in. While in San Francisco prepping for his role in 'The Godfather III' in 1989, Garcia saw Cachao perform an SF Jazz Festival concert at Davies Symphony Hall organized by noted Bay Area percussionist and music educator John Santos. Garcia was a longtime fan of the bassist and had seen him perform as a teen while growing up in Miami, but witnessing Cachao perform his famous danzones live inspired the actor to approach the musician with the idea of staging a similar concert in Miami and filming it.

The 1993 documentary 'Cachao (Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos)' became Garcia's directorial debut and screened at that year's San Francisco International Film Festival. More importantly, the film and the Grammy-winning albums like 'Master Sessions Vol. I'-- produced by Garcia for Cachao--reintroduced the bass player to a global audience. While the 1996 album 'The Buena Vista Social Club' and subsequent film by Wim Wenders also helped bring about a resurgence of interest in classic Cuban music, there's little question that Garcia's patronage of Cachao laid the foundation for what would become a veritable cottage industry of tours and albums for the venerable artists.

Garcia and Cachao would continue their work together throughout the years that followed as Cachao received the accolades and credit he had deserved for so long for his contributions as a musical pioneer. The new film produced in conjunction with San Francisco State University's DOC Film Institute gives insight into the maestro's long, successful career and rich personal life while illuminating the special relationship he shared with student and patron Garcia. But the real treat of the movie remains Cachao's fiery onstage performance; the bassist stands out as a marvel of energy and authority for a man who was 86-years-old when the concert took place.

The heartfelt cinematic tribute of 'Cachao: Uno Mas' became all the more poignant with the passing of the Cuban giant on March 22 in Coral Gables, Fla. from complications resulting from kidney failure. While the master may have moved on, his great legacy of brilliant recordings and cinematic documentation such as this new film will give future generations a chance to experience the irresistable energy and seductive rhythms of the music forms Cachao brought into the world.