Introducing...Rubén González

1	La Enganadora 2:32
2	Cumbanchero 4:35
3	Tres Lindas Cubanas 5:22
4	Melodia del Rio 4:42
5	Mandinga 8:28
6	Siboney 2:32
7	Almendra 9:53
8	Tumbao 5:11
9	Como Siento Yo 2:40

Barnes & Noble

Once the piano player alongside the Cuban music giant Arsenio Rodriguez, Ruben Gonzalez found his talent neglected and forgotten, and didn't even have a piano when he was approached by Ry Cooder and Juan de Marcos Gonzalez for the Buena Vista sessions. But rumors of Don Ruben's arthritis were greatly exaggerated, as his triumphant "introduction" amply demonstrates. His first solo album, at the ripe old age of 77, portrays a true master: Gonzalez is steeped in Cuban music, jazz, and the classics, and his technique is elegance itself. This instrumental set captures the warm, easygoing grace of Buena Vista Social Club, with Gonzalez's fleet fingerings creating an intellectual, be-bop flavored mood even as his insistent rhythms and expansive melodies capture the heart and feet. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

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. Scott Yanow