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Rubén González, 1919-2003
BY TED DROZDOWSKI
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Rubén González was part of one of the most unusual and touching comeback stories in contemporary music. Forced out of favor in his native Cuba in the wake of cultural changes wrought by Fidel Castro’s regime, González and a clutch of his peers who had pioneered a style that blended jazz, Latin rhythms, and traditional folk music returned from retirement and obscurity to achieve international acclaim as the Buena Vista Social Club in 1996. He died on Monday, December 8, at age 84, from lung and kidney ailments. González had quit performing in 1987, a victim of arthritis and the extinction of the lavish ballrooms and clubs where he and fellow Buena Vista musicians like the singer Ibrahim Ferrer and guitarist Compay Segundo had perfected their art. In 1996, when the American guitarist and world-music explorer Ry Cooder arrived in Havana to locate the city’s musical legends for a series of recordings that included the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club (World Circuit/Nonesuch) and the Wim Wenders–directed documentary of the same name, González had not played a piano in nearly a decade. Nonetheless, his sparkling invention remained intact. Cooder compared the pianist’s distinctive and fiery melodic approach to that of jazz genius Thelonious Monk, and González’s skill, wit, and sartorial flair made him a star in his own right. He toured extensively and released seven solo albums between 1997 and 2000. During the first phase of his career, González had been a pioneer in Afro-Cuban music. Shortly after moving to Havana in 1941, he began working in elegant venues like the Tropicana Cabaret with bandleader Arsenio Rodríguez. He went on to perform with violinist Enrique Jorrín’s band, where he played a role in the invention of the cha-cha. González is the second Buena Vista Social Club member to die this year. Compay Segundo died in July, at age 95, following kidney problems.
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