Career
He specialises in the Cuban tres, and only occasionally plays the Puerto Rican tres (similar to the cuatro). He has authored a book on the tres guitar method published by Mel Bay. Together with Pancho Amat and Papi Oviedo he is considered one of the most influential modern tres players.
Nelson González was born on May 30, 1948 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.
In 1960, his family moved to Brooklyn. He became part of the Nuyorican 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. 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"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.
