Rubén González (pianist)

Rubén González Fontanills (May 26, 1919 – December 8, 2003) was a Cuban pianist. Together with Lilí Martínez and Peruchín he is said to have "forged the style of modern Cuban piano playing in the 1940s".[1]

Rubén González
Background information
Birth nameRubén González Fontanills
Born(1919-05-26)May 26, 1919
Santa Clara, Cuba
DiedDecember 8, 2003(2003-12-08) (aged 84)
Havana, Cuba
GenresSon, danzón, mambo, chachachá, Afro-Cuban jazz, descarga
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1937–2002
Labels
Associated acts

Between the 1940s and his retirement in the 1980s, he played with Cuba's most successful acts, including Paulina Álvarez, Arsenio Rodríguez, Orquesta América del 55, Orquesta Riverside and Enrique Jorrín. In the 1990s, he came out of retirement to play in the revival ensembles Afro-Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club, also recording solo material and performing live until 2002.

Biography

Early life and career

González was born in Santa Clara, Cuba on May 26, 1919.[2] His family moved to the small village of Encrucijada when he was 6 years old.[3] He took up the piano at age 7 and graduated from the Cienfuegos Conservatory at age 15.[4][5]:12

He grew up wanting to be a doctor and studied medicine, thinking music would remain a hobby he could pursue by night. However, he abandoned his studies after four years because music was "in his blood" and also because of all the encouragement he received from people around him.[3][6]:11 Thus, after graduating from high school, he began playing with groups in Cienfuegos and around the country.[5]:13

From Havana to Venezuela

In 1941, González moved to Havana where he played in the charanga of danzonete singer Paulina Álvarez, as well as Orquesta Elósegui and the orchestra of the CMQ radio station. He became friends with important pianists such as René Hernández, Anselmo Sacasas, Jesús López and Facundo Rivero.[2] He joined Arsenio Rodríguez's conjunto in 1943,[2][5]:13 replacing Adolfo "Panacea" O'Reilly.[7] Rodríguez advised him to "just play your own style, whatever it is, but don't imitate anyone".[8] Although González's first confirmed recordings with Arsenio's conjunto are dated to July 5, 1945, earlier recordings might feature him, since Panacea's last confirmed recording session took place on November 16, 1943; these recordings were all released by RCA Victor.[9]

In 1945, he left the conjunto—and was replaced by Lilí Martínez—to go to Panama with the ensemble Estrellas Negras, comprising mostly ex-Rodríguez musicians. With the Estrellas Negras, González toured most of South America—from Mexico City to Buenos Aires—and, on his return to Cuba, he joined the Conjunto Kubavana directed by Alberto Ruiz.[4] He also performed with the Orquesta Los Hermanos Castro which, at one time, featured Mongo Santamaría.[5]:16[10]

Between 1948 and the mid-1950s, González played with Ernesto Grenet and Senén Suárez at the Cabaret Tropicana.[4] At the same time, he became a member of René Álvarez y Los Astros and he often played with Orquesta Gris, Orquesta Ideal de Joseíto Valdés, Orquesta Siboney de Armando Pidre, and Los Hermanos Lebatard.[4][11] In 1954, he backed Rolando Laserie at the Cabaret San Souci.[11]

In the mid-1950s, he toured Venezuela with the charanga Orquesta América del 55. He established himself in Venezuela between 1957 and 1962, in the orchestra directed by Luis Alfonso Larraín.[4] He also briefly resided in Argentina, where he played with tango musicians.[2][6]:11 By the late 1950s, Rubén González was widely known in Cuba and other parts of Latin America.[2]

Back in Havana

González returned to Cuba in 1961, joining the famous big band Orquesta Riverside.[2][5]:18 In 1962, he became the pianist for the Orquesta de Enrique Jorrín, and would continue to play for him for the next 25 years. In 1964, González joined Pucho Escalante's Noneto Cubano de Jazz.[12]

In 1975, he recorded his eponymous solo album backed by members of Jorrín's orchestra; the album was released by Areíto as LD-3582.[4][13]:1 In 1979, he recorded the album Los héroes as part of the Estrellas de Areito all-star ensemble. After Jorrín's death in 1987, González briefly took over the role of bandleader, but retired soon after.[5]:19

Career revival

In 1994, Raúl Planas and Radio Progreso announcer Eduardo Rosillo approached González with the idea of recording new versions of ten songs composed by fellow Cuban pianist Lilí Martínez.[14] The resulting album, Son Inconcluso, featured a full band including bassist Orlando "Cachaíto" López and Arturo "Alambre dulce" Harvey (ex-tresero with Conjunto Chappottín),[15] among others, and was released in 1999 by EGREM.[14][16]

In 1995, Nick Gold (head of World Circuit Records) and Juan de Marcos González (director and tres player of Sierra Maestra) decided to record a series of descarga sessions featuring classic Cuban musicians, including Rubén González on piano, together with African virtuosos Toumani Diabate (kora player) and Djelimady Tounkara (guitarist).[17] By early 1996, the Cuban musicians had already been selected and the African musicians were about to leave for Cuba, but could not travel because of difficulties in obtaining visas.[note 1] Gold then invited Ry Cooder and his son Joachim to participate in the sessions; Ry would play guitar and Joachim African percussion.[17][18]

The sessions, all of which featured Rubén González on piano, took place in March 1996 in Havana's EGREM studios. The first set of recordings was meant to revive the 1950s Cuban big band sound.[17] This material yielded the album A Toda Cuba le Gusta credited to the Afro-Cuban All Stars and produced by Gold and Juan de Marcos, who also played tres.[17] It again featured Orlando "Cachaíto" López on bass along with vocalists Ibrahim Ferrer, Pío Leyva, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Raúl Planas, Félix Baloy and José Antonio "Maceo" Rodríguez.[19] Cooder also played slide guitar on Lilí Martínez's famous son "Alto Songo".[19]:1 In the sleeve notes, Juan de Marcos wrote: "This album is dedicated to Rubén González, genius of Cuban piano".[19]:41

The second set of recordings were meant to revive the acoustic sound of the 1940s Cuban trova and filin movements.[17] It yielded the critically acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club album. Gold was credited as executive producer, Juan de Marcos as A & R consultant and Cooder as producer.[20] Here Rubén González on piano and Cachaíto on bass accompanied singers Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Eliades Ochoa.[21]:8 Cooder played guitar on all but one track.[20]

In April 1996, and using left over studio time after the sessions that had produced the previous two albums,[21]:9 the solo album Introducing...Rubén González was recorded in just two days, live with no overdubs.[22]:1 All three albums were released on Nick Gold's World Circuit Records in 1997. In early 1998, Wim Wenders filmed a documentary entitled Buena Vista Social Club, and González and his colleagues became famous worldwide.

Later years and death
If I can't take a piano with me to heaven, then I don't want to go.

Rubén González[23]

Between 1997 and 2000, González recorded his next album, Chanchullo, at EGREM Studios in Havana and Angel Recording Studios in London.[24] Some recordings he made in September 1999 at EGREM studios were released by EGREM as Rubén González and Friends in 2000. His last public appearances took place in Mexico and Cuba in 2002.[25]

In the morning of December 8, 2003, Rubén González died at his home in Havana after a long illness which had prevented him from walking and eventually led to renal and respiratory problems.[8][26] He was survived by his wife, Eneida Lima,[26] and is buried in Havana's Cristóbal Colón Cemetery.[27]

Style and legacy
[González is] the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my entire life. A Cuban cross between Thelonious Monk and Felix the Cat.

Ry Cooder[28]

Rubén González is considered an innovator of the son cubano piano style.[1] The genre's early ensembles (sextetos and septetos) lacked pianos, and these were introduced in the late 1930s by the first three conjuntos: Arsenio Rodríguez's conjunto, Alberto Ruiz's Conjunto Kubavana, and Conjunto Casino. González played in the former two, which made him a pioneer in the genre.[29] Apart from the son, González had a profound knowledge of the danzón and his improvisations are characterized by harmonic subtleties.[29] His style has been described as "romantic and angular", possessing "strong lyricism" with characteristic "swirling arpeggios".[8]

Like his contemporary Peruchín, González was influenced by jazz, particularly by Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, which made him one of the grandfathers of Afro-Cuban jazz. His style has influenced Eddie Palmieri, amongst others.[10]

Discography

As principal artist

As sideman
With Noneto Cubano de Jazz
With Estrellas de Areito
  • Los héroes (Areito, 1979)
With Afro-Cuban All Stars
With Buena Vista Social Club
With Raúl Planas
  • Son Inconcluso (EGREM, 1999) – Recorded in 1994;[16] reissued as Trilogía De Boleros in 2002 on the Exotica label[31]
  • Dos Grandes – Con la Orquesta Jorrín (EGREM, 2000) – Recorded in 1989[32]

Compilations
  • Rubén González and Friends (EGREM, 2000)
  • Todo sentimiento (Yemayá, 2004)
  • The Essential Rubén González (Manteca, 2006)

Filmography
With Buena Vista Social Club
  • Buena Vista Social Club DVD (Road Movies/Sony VCD0040, 1999) – Directed by Wim Wenders
With Afro-Cuban All Stars
  • Afro-Cuban Legends DVD (Warner Music Vision 8573-88531-2, 2001) – Directed by Tony Knox

Notes
  1. The project became a reality in 2010 with the recording of Afrocubism.
  2. Reissued in 1997 under a new title, Indestructible, on CD (EGREM) and LP (Areito).[30]
  3. Reissued in 2000 as Sentimiento on CD (EGREM).

References
  1. McAuslan, Fiona; Norman, Matthew (2003). "Cuban music". The Rough Guide to Cuba (2nd ed.). London, UK: Rough Guides. p. 538.
  2. Lam, Rafael. "Rubén González, el hombre del piano". Bolpress (in Spanish). Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  3. Orovio, Helio (2004). Cuban Music from A to Z. Bath, UK: Tumi Music. pp. 97–98.
  4. Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal (Fall 2013). "Rubén González Fontanills" (PDF). Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925-1960. Florida International University Libraries. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  5. Lucy Duran. Sleeve notes from Introducing... Rubén González, World Circuit Records WCD 049, 1997.
  6. Sleeve notes from Wim Wenders' Buena Vista Social Club documentary, Road Movies Filmproduktion, Berlin. Licensed by FilmFour Ltd, 1999.
  7. Dalmace, Patrick. "Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez". Montuno Cubano (in French). Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  8. Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates Jr., Henry Louis (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Volume 3. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 18.
  9. García, David (2006). "Discography". Arsenio Rodríguez and the Transnational Flows of Latin Popular Music. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. pp. 147–166.
  10. Morales, Ed (2009). The Latin Beat. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 113.
  11. Dalmace, Patrick. "González, Rubén". Montuno Cubano (in French). Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  12. Orejuela, Adriana (2004). El son no se fue de Cuba (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: Ediciones ACS. p. 187.
  13. Sleeve notes from Rubén González – Indestructible, EGREM CD 0275, 1997.
  14. Rosillo, Eduardo (1999). Sleeve notes from Son Inconcluso (in Spanish). EGREM Records CD0334. (1999).
  15. "Conjunto Chappottín". encaribe.org (in Spanish). Enciclopedia de Historia y Cultura del Caribe. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  16. Petinaud Martinez, Jorge (December 21, 2003). "En el piano, ¡Don Rubén González!". lr21.com (in Spanish). LaRed21 Cultura. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  17. Lam, Rafael (October 26, 2010). "Juan de Marcos González cuenta la verdadera historia del Buena Vista Social Club". Salsa.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  18. "Interview with Ry Cooder in Los Angeles", by Betty Arcos, host, "The Global Village" Pacifica Radio June 27, 2000. Buena Vista Social Club site. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Retrieved on September 13, 2014.
  19. Sleeve notes from A Toda Cuba le Gusta – Afro-Cuban All Stars, World Circuit Records WCD 047, 1997.
  20. Sleeve notes from Buena Vista Social Club, World Circuit Records WCD 050, 1997.
  21. Nigel Williamson. Sleeve notes from Wim Wenders' Buena Vista Social Club documentary, Road Movies Filmproduktion, Berlin. Licensed by FilmFour Ltd, 1999.
  22. Nigel Williamson. Sleeve notes from Introducing...Rubén González, World Circuit Records WCD 049, 1997.
  23. "Rubén González Obituary". The Telegraph. December 10, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  24. Sleeve notes from Chanchullo, World Circuit Records WCD 060, 1997.
  25. Denselow, Robin (December 10, 2003). "Rubén González Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  26. "Fallece el cubano Rubén González, pianista del Buena Vista Social Club". ABC (in Spanish). December 8, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  27. "Rubén González". Find a Grave. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  28. Outer cover of Introducing...Rubén González, World Circuit Records WCD 049, 1997.
  29. Roy, Maya (2003). "Los instrumentistas". Músicas cubanas (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Akal. pp. 192–193.
  30. Back cover of Rubén González – Indestructible, EGREM CD 0275, 1997.
  31. Sleeve notes from Trilogía De Boleros Exotica, EXTC018. (2002).
  32. Sleeve notes from Dos Grandes – Raúl Planas & Rubén González, EGREM CD 0392. (2000).
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