# Juan Carlos  Formell  Alfonso

**Date of death:** May 26, 2023

**Categories:** Arts, Music, composer, Society, Musician

He was born in 1964 in La Habana, living in Callejón de Hamel, and later in his grandmother's house in Marianao. Since 1993 he resided in the United States city of Nueva York, the city where he died.
Musical Career

The eldest son of Juan Formell, founding director of the Orquesta Los Van Van, he received lessons from musician Froilán Amezaga, accompanist of Elena Burke. He studied music at the conservatories Alejandro García Caturla and Amadeo Roldán, in La Habana, later graduating from the Escuela Nacional de Arte de Cuba (ENA).

He stood out for his distinctive style as an accompanying instrumentalist for various figures of Cuban jazz such as Emiliano Salvador, Guillermo Fragoso and Joseíto González, director of the emblematic Orquesta Rumbavana. In 1999 he conceived and recorded his debut album Songs from a Little Blue House, for the American record label Wicklow Records, a production that was nominated for Grammy awards. Throughout his career, he recorded five record productions.

After joining as bassist the popular Cuban dance music orchestra Los Van Van, led by his father Juan Formell, and later by his brother Samuel Formell, he developed meritorious work until the moment of his death, contributing to raising Cuban music high in the world and keeping his father's legacy alive.
Death

He died on the night of Friday, May 26, 2023, at the age of 59, in the city of Nueva York, as a result of a heart attack. The event occurred at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, in El Bronx, while the group Los Van Van was offering a show. About 45 minutes after the presentation began, the bassist felt ill on stage, so he had to withdraw; later the news of his death became known.