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Rubén González

The young Rubén González was an accomplished classical pianist and in his youth was planning to become a doctor. In 1941 he gave up his studies of classical music and medicine to begin his professional career playing dance music, playing with most of the major orchestras in Cuba. He began his recording career in 1943 with the pioneering bandleader Arsenio Rodríguez, who would help revolutionize the sound of Cuban music. Rubén said that he approached the piano not as an accompanying instrument but one that also ‘leads’, whilst still maintaining the rhythm. Arsenio became a major influence on Rubén’s playing style and his outlook on life, giving him some invaluable advice that he has always tried to follow. He explained that the key to being a great pianist was mastering Cuban syncopation, while at the same time playing from the heart. “Don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Just play your own style, whatever it is, but don’t imitate anyone. Just carry on like that, so when people hear your music, they’ll say, ‘that’s Rubén’."

Along with Lilí Martínez and Peruchin, Rubén was part of a trio of pianists who helped shape the way in which this music would develop. Having established his own distinctive style Rubén went on to play in various orchestras throughout South America before returning to Cuba. In the early 1960s Rubén became pianist for Enrique Jorrín, the man credited for inventing the cha cha cha, and would continue to play for him for the next 25 years. In 1979 the cream of Cuba’s musicians got together for the Estrellas De Areito sessions. Hand picked especially for these recordings, the stellar line-up included Rubén González as a featured soloist. After Jorrín’s death in the mid-80s Rubén briefly took over the role as band leader but would choose to retire soon after.

It wasn’t until 1996, when the now legendary trio of albums-the Afro Cuban All Stars’ A Toda Cuba le Gusta, produced by Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and Nick Gold, Buena Vista Social ClubTM, produced by Ry Cooder; and Introducing...Rubén Gonzalez, also produced by Gold, all for World Circuit, was recorded that Rubén would play again professionally. Ruben’s genius was a crucial factor in the success of the projects, which were all recorded during a three week recording blitz. After years without owning a piano, and despite the onset of arthritis, the music flowed out of him prompting Cooder to call him “the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my life.” All three albums would become commercial and critical phenomena and finally brought Rubén the international recognition that he richly deserved. Rubén’s piano playing is an essential feature on the solo albums of fellow Buena Vista stars Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo. The trio of celebrated musicians toured the world several times over, delighting ecstatic audiences everywhere they went.

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18
Album Review

Rubén González: Introducing...Rubén González

Read "Introducing...Rubén González" reviewed by James Nadal


When Cuban piano master Rubén González was brought out of self-imposed retirement, at age seventy seven, in 1996, for a recording by the Afro Cuban All Stars, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, he had not played in over ten years, and did not even own a piano. After hearing González on those sessions, producer/guitarist Ry Cooder invited him to appear on the Buena Vista Social Club recordings that same year. The rest, is history. Seizing upon the creative ...

113
Album Review

Ruben Gonzalez: Momentos

Read "Momentos" reviewed by Chris May


This is one of those evenly tempered and prettily mellifluous albums which sound at first like background music, but which reveal a subtle and sophisticated beauty if you pay closer attention. Like guitarist Johnny Smith's transcendental '52 masterpiece Moonlight In Vermont, this roughly contemporaneous compilation of archive recordings by Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez sounds superficially like the output of a hotel lounge band playing politely for the well-heeled tourist trade. It never strays far from tune or pulse and it ...

117
Album Review

Rub: Indestructible

Read "Indestructible" reviewed by Javier AQ Ortiz


Havana... After gazing, throughout the day, at the freshly painted and renovated walls of this city, as complementary backdrop for its equally renovated and painted citizens, haunting melodies enthrall the soul and entice towards a corner establishment. As the bar is approached, things become rather obvious... Beyond the frenetic raucous engulfing the Cuban country after the demise of the revolutionary government, there is a stalwart fringe that refuses to merely follow those who seem to know who, what, and how ...

265
Album Review

Ruben Gonzalez: Introducing...Ruben Gonzalez

Read "Introducing...Ruben Gonzalez" reviewed by Derrick A. Smith


Most Cuban releases these days evoke the atmosphere of the dance hall, or the veranda of an Havana dwelling, depending on whether the music is in the big-band dancing format or one of the more folkloric string-oriented styles. This premiere full-length by Ruben Gonzalez, however, brushes the sepia and blues of an early 20th Century salon performance. Gonzalez' virtuosic style, lyric and harmonically-full, reveals the depth of 19th Century Romantic influence on the arc of Cuban music as well as ...

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3

Recording

"Introducing…Ruben Gonzalez" Out June 16 Via World Circuit Records

"Introducing…Ruben Gonzalez" Out June 16 Via World Circuit Records

Source: Sacks and Co.

RE-ISSUE FEATURES EXTENDED AND UNRELEASED TRACKS ON DOUBLE 180gm VINYL AND CD “The greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my life. He’s like a Cuban cross between Thelonious Monk and Felix the Cat.” —Ry Cooder “Gonzalez was known for his suave virtuosity and playful charisma.” —NPR Music Introducing…Ruben Gonzalez, the classic debut album by the famed Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez will be reissued on double 180gm vinyl and CD this June 16 via World Circuit Records. The LP ...

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