Bio Full Biography »

RubTn Gonzßlez was one of the last of Cuba's great Afro-Cuban piano players. Although he had played and recorded with the band led by Enrique Jorrfn, the creator of the cha-cha, for a quarter of a century, he had retired from music by the mid-'80s. Things began to change when Gonzßlez recorded with the Afro-Cuban All Stars in 1996. The album, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta, released the following year, helped to inspire an international fascination for Afro-Cuban music and brought Gonzßlez to the attention of a global audience. His performance on the Ry Cooder-produced album Buena Vista Social Club made him an international phenomenon. Signing a contract with Cooder's label, World Circuit, Gonzßlez released his debut solo album, Introducing...Ruben Gonzalez, at the age of 78. Showing great promise, as a pianist, from an early age, Gonzßlez graduated from the Cienfuegos Conservatoire in 1934. Although he briefly attended medical school, hoping to become a doctor, the lure of music proved unsurm...