One of the giants of Cuban music has passed on. En Paz Descanse, Maestro. 
Legendary musician ‘Cachao’ dies at 89
Posted on Sat, Mar. 22, 2008By ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ
Known to the world simply by his nickname – Cachao – bassist, composer and bandleader Israel López died Saturday morning at Coral Gables Hospital of complications resulting from kidney failure. He was 89.
Cachao was one of the most important living figures in Cuban music, on or off the island, and ‘‘arguably the most important bassist in twentieth-century popular music,’’ according to Cuban-music historian Ned Sublette. He not only innovated Cuban music but also influenced the now familiar bass lines of American R&B, ‘‘which have become such a part of the environment that we don’t even think where they came from,’’ Sublette said.
Full story from the Miami Herald.
I had the pleasure of seeing him play live on a couple of occasions. A great and humble musician, solid and stately, the model for Latin bass playing for all who came after him. While the mambo was considered the Lopez brothers’ most notable innovation, i will always remember the many hours i spent listening to my funky cassette tapes of his descargas, the jam sessions that were arguably just as lasting an achievement. He can be considered to be a seminal figure in both modern Latin dance music as well as Latin jazz. He’d been looking pretty frail in recent years, but still had the sabor whenever he was at the bass. A beautiful soul, he will be missed.