Musician Juan Carlos Formell dies of cardiac arrest after a concert (PHOTOS)

• Musician Juan Carlos Formell dies suddenly.
• He began to feel ill while performing.
• The Los Van Van bassist died shortly after.

Musician Juan Carlos Formell dies: It’s always shocking when a celebrity dies — even more so when it happens suddenly and just after they were performing for thousands of people.

This was the case with the heartbreaking death of Juan Carlos Formell, who was the bassist for popular Cuban group Los Van Van. The bassist died on Friday night at the age of 59, after having a heart attack following a show in New York.

Juan Carlos Formell dies

Instituto Cubano de la Música announce the death of the son of Los Van Van founder Juan Formell. He died at the age of 59 following a concert in New York.

Formell began to feel ill during a performance at the Lehman Center in The Bronx, interrupting the show. The band returned to the stage with another bassist a short time later. Formell was taken to a nearby hospital but did not survive, according to Cuba Debate.

Video of the concert

Video of the concert shows everyone having a great time. Then Juan Carlos Formell appears to stumble and abruptly leaves the stage.

Shortly after this, he’s believed to have suffered a heart attack. One of his fellow musicians realized that something was not right and helped him off stage. This video has already been shared many times on social media.

Juan Carlos Formell’s life

Juan Carlos Formell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1964. He studied at the Alejandro García Caturla and Amadeo Roldán conservatories in Havana and completed his training at the Escuela Nacional de Arte de Cuba to later settle in New York in 1993.

According to the Instituto Cubano de la Música, he stood out for his unique style as an instrumentalist accompanying several Cuban jazz figures such as Emiliano Salvador, Guillermo Fragoso and Joseíto González, director of the Rumbavana Orchestra, according to EFE

He had a long, successful career

He was a renowned guitarist, bassist and composer. EFE reported that Formell recorded his album Songs from a Little Blue House in 1999. It was nominated for a Grammy and was the first of several solo albums.

After the death of his father in 2014, he picked up his baton and joined Los Van Van as bassist. The Cuban group performed on Friday in New York as part of a troubled US tour, as the band was forced to initially postpone that concert due to visa difficulties and cancel another performance in Miami.