Nelson González (born May 30, 1948) is a Puerto Rican

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * ''Tres'' (2014 film), a Filipino anthology drama film based on short stories * "Tres" (song) by Juanes *"Tres", a song by Líbido from thei ...

player. He specialises in the Cuban tres, and only occasionally plays the Puerto Rican tres (similar to the

cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...

). He is a prolific session musician and has been a member of renowned

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

ensembles such as

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

, Orchestra Harlow and Típica 73. He has authored a book on the tres guitar method published by

Mel Bay Melbourne Earl Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997), known professionally as Mel Bay, was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'', first published in 197 ...

. Together with

Pancho Amat Francisco Amat Rodríguez (born April 22, 1950), better known as Pancho Amat, is a Cuban musician specialized in the Tres (musical instrument), tres. In 1971, he became a founding member of Manguaré, which would become one of the leading ensemble ...

and Papi Oviedo he is considered one of the most influential modern tres players.

Career

Nelson González was born on May 30, 1948, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. In 1960, his family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He became part of the

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...

music scene of the 1970s, making his debut recording in 1971 (Los Dinámicos). He then recorded with Orquesta Harlow, Típica Ideal and Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino. He was a member of Típica 73 for four years before co-founding Los Kimbos in 1976 with other ex-members of Típica 73 (

Adalberto Santiago Adalberto Santiago (born April 23, 1937) is an internationally known salsa singer. Career Born April 23, 1937, in Pozas barrio, Ciales, Puerto Rico, Adalberto's relaxed and flawless lead vocals are among the best in the salsa genre of Latin ...

Orestes Vilató Orestes Vilató (born 12 May 1944 in Camagüey, Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and c ...

and Joe Mannozzi). The same year he recorded two albums with Carlos "Patato" Valdés in which he also acted as musical director and mixing engineer. In 1977 he performed in

Cachao Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo (music), mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised ...

's comeback album ''Dos''. In 1978 Los Kimbos split into two bands, The Nelson González Group and Los Nuevos Kimbos de Orestes Vilató, while Adalberto Santiago started his solo career. In 1979 he played in Fania All-Stars' famous '' Habana Jam''. In 1984 he launched a new project, Orquesta Revelación, with Joe Mannozzi, Papo Lucca and Louis García. In 1997 he released his first solo album, ''Son mundano''. His second solo album, ''Pa' los treseros'', was released in 2001, and was nominated for the 2002 Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Album.

Awards and honors

*Best Salsa Band in Latin America (Típica 73; 1976) *Latin New York Magazine's Best Tres Player of the Year (1978, 1979) *Performed in 5 Grammy Award winning albums: **''

Mi tierra ''Mi Tierra'' (''My Homeland'') is the third studio album by Cuban-American recording artist Gloria Estefan, released on June 22, 1993, by Epic Records. Produced by husband Emilio Estefan, it is a Spanish-language album and pays homage to her Cu ...

'' (

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

; 1993) **''Master Sessions Vol I'' (

; 1994) **''Master Sessions Vol II'' (Cachao; 1995) **''

Alma Caribeña ''Alma Caribeña – Caribbean Soul'' is the ninth studio solo album and third Spanish album recorded by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was first released by Epic Records in France on May 9, 2000, and in North America on May ...

'' (Gloria Estefan; 2000) **''Masterpiece'' (

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

; 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Nelson Tres players Salsa musicians People from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican guitarists 1948 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists