Prachtig album met zelfde BVSC-achtige sfeer van Rubén González (1919-2003), de Thelonious Monk (jazzpianist) van de Cubaanse muziek (5-sterren). Extended 2017 edition van dit klassieke Cubaanse piano-son album.
Toen de Cubaanse pianist Ruben Gonzalez zijn eerste solo album opnam voor World Circuit in Havanna was hij 77 jaar oud waarna het album een jaar later werd uitgebracht samen met het legendarische album Buena Vista Social Club; wat leidde tot een bijzondere en late opleving van zijn carriere die duurde tot aan zijn dood in 2003. De opnames vonden plaats in 2 dagen vlak na de opnames van het legendarische BVSC album en met bijna dezelfde muzikanten.
Cuban pianist Rubén González has lived through this century`s greatest musical windstorms, from the emergence of son to salsa to Latin Jazz and more. Born in 1919, González also retired from playing professionally years before this, his debut CD, was even recorded. He reemerged in 1996 when World Circuit stopped in Cuba to record for several days. He ended up making a thrilling debut. This impromptu CD was cut in a day, and its limber vibe shines for all its uptempo looseness. González plays a rainbow of Cuban rhythms and prods his percussionists and lone trumpeter to great depths of conversation and great heights of flash.
Personnel: Rubén González: piano; Cachaito Lopez: bass; Amadito Valdés: timbales; Roberto Garcia: bongos, guiro, cowbell; Carlito Gonzalez: congas; Manuel `El Guajiro` Mirabal: trumpet; Alberto `Virgilio` Valdés: maracas; Carlos Puisseaux: guiro; Juan de Marcos González: chorus vocals; Manuel `Puntillita`Licea: chorus vocals; Antonio `Maceo` Rodriguez: chorus vocals; Richard Egues: flute
1. La Engañadora (2:33)
2. Cumbanchero (4:35) extended
3. Tres Lindas Cubanas (5:22) extended
4. Melodía Del Río (4:42)
5. Mandinga (8:28)
6. Siboney (2:32)
7. Almendra (9:52)
8. Tumbao (5:11) extended
9. Como Siento Yo (2:41)
10. Descarga Rubén and Cachaïto (previously unreleased)

Digitally remastered and expanded edition. When the Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez recorded his first solo album in Havana in 1996 he was 77 years old. Released on World Circuit the following year, along with the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club on which he also played, it led to a remarkable late flowering of his career that lasted until his death in 2003, as he toured the world and was revealed as one of the timeless legends of Cuban music. Recorded in two days immediately following the completion of Buena Vista Social Club with many of the same musicians, Introducing Ruben Gonzalez now gets a welcome reissue. Mastered from the original mix tapes by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road, several tracks are now heard in unedited, full length form for the first time with the addition of a further track that has never previously been released.