Juan Gonzalez

Juan de Marcos González is one of the most important figures in Cuban music today. He has a mission to show the world the wealth, diversity and vitality of Cuban music. His work with the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the Buena Vista Social Club, Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Sierra Maestra and others has made an extraordinary contribution to raising the profile of Cuban music throughout the world.

Growing up in Venado Tuerto, a small town in central Argentina, drummer/composer Juan Chiavassa was introduced to music at an early age by his father, a fusion fanatic who switched him on to the sounds of The Yellowjackets, Mike Stern, Jack DeJohnette, Wayne Shorter and many others. After winning a scholarship to Berklee College Of Music, where he was taught by the legendary saxophonist George Garzone, Juan's talent shone through brightly enough to attract the attention of the cream of the New York scene, and his dreams came true when he was chosen for the drum chair in the Mike Stern band, alongside the very musicians whose recordings his father had played to him so many years before.

The most jazz-oriented of the elderly musicians in the Buena Vista Social Club, pianist Ruben Gonzalez was 77 at the time of this CD, his debut as a leader. Although he did not even own his own piano at the time, he plays brilliantly, performing a variety of traditional melodies plus two originals, often quoting other songs and really stretching himself. His chord voicings are distinctive and very inviting, his control of the piano is quite impressive, and the music sings its heart out. The CD was recorded spontaneously over a two-day period with Gonzalez mostly being the lead voice, assisted by trumpeter Manuel Mirabal (who has some fine solos), bassist Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, several percussionists, and occasionally three background singers. This set is impossible not to love.