Pianist, composer and bandleader: Adalberto Álvarez, "El Caballero del Son", made the son modern again and brought it back into the sound of salsa. With Son 14 and Adalberto Álvarez y su Son he led two influential bands.
Adalberto Álvarez's full name was Adalberto Cecilio Álvarez Zayas. He was born on 22 November 1948 in Havana, but considered Camagüey his home town. From 1966 he studied bassoon at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana. In the 1970s he taught at the art school of Camagüey.
In 1978 he started Son 14, based in Santiago de Cuba. Its first record, A Bayamo en coche, came out in 1979. In 1980 he won the main prize of the Festival del Son in Guantánamo.
In 1984 he started a second band, named after his hit El son de Adalberto. He led it until his death.
He died on 1 September 2021 in Havana, of complications from COVID-19.