Reuben Gonzalez dies, aged 84

Cuban pianist Reuben Gonzalez has died on Tuesday, at the age of 84.

Having gained worldwide fame as part of the Grammy-awarded Buena Vista Social Club (documented in the 1998 film), Gonzalez's career is one that spanned over 60 years.

Although he had trained as a doctor, Gonzalez began performing in Havana's Tropicana caberet in the 1940s, and with his blending of jazz and Latin rhythms, made a pioneering impact on modern Cuban music during the 1950s and '60s. Interestingly, one of his first performances outside Cuba took place in our very own Whelan's.

Gonzalez joined the Buena Vista Social Club in 1996, even after he had retired from music due to arthritis. Ry Cooper from the Buena Vista Social Club would later describe him as "the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard".