Rubén González – Introducing Rubén González
World Circuit Records – 16 June 2017
Recorded in two days immediately following the completion of Buena Vista Social Club with many of the same musicians, ‘Introducing….Rubén González’ now gets a welcome reissue on double 180gm vinyl. Mastered at Abbey Road, two tracks are now heard in unedited, full-length form for the first time with the addition of a further track that has never previously been released. The re-issue will coincide with the summer 2017 world-wide theatre release of ‘Buena Vista Social Club: Adios’, a feature-length documentary about the band which features Rubén in depth.
When the Cuban pianist Rubén González recorded his first solo album in Havana in 1996 he was 77 years old. Released on World Circuit the following year, along with the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club and Grammy-nominated ‘Afro Cuban All Stars’ on both of which he also played, it led to a remarkable late flowering of his career that lasted until his death in 2003, as he toured the world and was revealed as one of the timeless legends of Cuban music.
‘Introducing…Rubén González’ was recorded ‘live’ in the studio by Jerry Boys using the same ambient techniques that gave Buena Vista such a full and dynamic natural sound, as if the listener was sat amongst the musicians inside Egrem’s peerless 1950s studio in old Havana. The brilliant hand-picked band accompanying González includes bassist Cachaito Lopez, Amadito Valdés on timbales, Roberto Garcia on bongos and guiro, Carlito González on congas and trumpeter Manuel “El Guajiro” Mirabal.
Watch Ruben Gonzalez’s first-ever solo show outside of Cuba. Recorded on April 6, 1997 at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London:
Track Listing:
1. La Engañadora
2. Cumbanchero
3. Tres Lindas Cubanas (extended)
4. Melodía Del Rio
5. Mandinga
6. Siboney
7. Almendra
8. Tumbao (extended)
9. Como Siento Yo
10. Descarga Ruben Y Cachaito (previously unreleased)
Order it via World Circuit