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Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Julio Gonzalez Fonseca was born in Havana, Cuba, May 27, 1963, into a musical family rich in the traditions of the country’s artistic past. During his childhood, in addition to the standard fare of elementary schools, Gonzalo was absorbing his Cuban musical heritage through personal contacts within his family, notably his father, pianist Guillermo Rubalcaba, and leading musicians who were frequent houseguests: Frank Emilio, Peruchin, Felipe Dulzaides and others. He also assimilated through scarce and treasured recordings the tunes and styles of 40’s-70’s US jazz masters: Thelonius Monk, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson among pianists; and instrumentalists Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey. Gonzalo loved drumming, and early in his career studied both piano and drums. He began his classical musical training at Manuel Saumell Conservatory at age 9, where he finally had to choose piano; he moved up to “middle-school” at Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, and finally earned his degree in music composition from Havana’s Institute of Fine Arts in l983. By that time he was already playing in clubs and music halls in Havana. With Orquesta Aragon he toured France and Africa in 1980. He introduced his own Grupo Projecto to the North Sea and Berlin Festivals in l985. In July 1990 he appeared as a surprise guest with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian at Montreux Festival, Switzerland, in a historic performance (available as the CD Discovery).
Egrem Studios of Havana was the first to record his music during the early and mid ‘80’s, and these discs are still being released (recently Inicio, an album of piano solos, and Concierto Negro.) Beginning in 1986 Gonzalo began recording for Messidor of Frandfurt, Germany, and put out three superb albums for that label with his Cuban Quartet, Mi Gran Pasion, Live in Havana, and Giraldilla.
1986 was also notable because of his chance meeting in Havana with bassist Charlie Haden. Through Charlie he came to the attention of Blue Note Records’ president, Bruce Lundvall, and thus began an association, first with Toshiba/EMI of Japan, and later with Blue Note in the US, which has resulted in eleven discs being released. These collaborations brought Gonzalo this year (2002) both a Latin Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year, Supernova, as well as a Grammy for co-production with Charlie Haden of Nocturne, a Verve release of Cuban and Mexican boleros and ballads.
To complement these wins, Gonzalo, in addition, has to his credit eight Grammy nominations, including four for Jazz Album of the Year (Rapsodia in 1995, Antiguo and Inner Voyage in 1999, and Supernova in 2002.) Among other recent honors, in June 2001 Gonzalo received the SFJAZZ Leaders Circle Laureate Award, and in 2002 he performed as Artist in Residence at Montreal Jazz Festival together with Chucho Valdez.
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Hamilton de Holanda & Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Collab
by Katchie Cartwright
Collab, the splendid duo album from the celebrated Cuban jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and the brilliant Brazilian choro mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda, is a sparkling collaboration between two contemporary masters of rhythm and improvisation. On the wings of a finely calibrated beat and a pliable form, they present 11 selections, adding new harmonic hues to the familiar, stretching, fracturing and reconstituting the given. Their experiences and tastes are wide ranging and divergent, but they meet--seemingly effortlessly--on the Latin jazz corner. ...
Continue ReadingGonzalo Rubalcaba: Borrowed Roses
by Maurizio Zerbo
Borrowed Roses testimonia la nuova primavera artistica di Gonzalo Rubalcaba, già protagonista di recenti opere di valore. Questo album del pianista cubano costituisce una delle rivisitazioni più eleganti e originali degli standard jazzistici proposte in questo decennio. Da “Lush Life" a “Very Early," l'ispirata eplorazione dell'universo canzone è sostenuta da un'invenzione su due livelli che pur rispettosa dello spirito originale procede parallelamente su piani sovrapposti. Il fine è quello di cristallizzare in un attimo di diafana bellezza la ...
Continue ReadingGonzalo Rubalcaba & Trio D'été: Turning Point
by Maurizio Zerbo
Ecco un trio di qualità superiore e magistrale souplesse, in grado di regalare profonde emozioni a chi lo ascolta. Aleggia in questo Turning Point un mirabile magistero tecnico, coniugato a un invidiabile interplay nel valorizzare il magniloquente pensiero compositivo di Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Nelle sette tracce di questo album c'è imprevedibilità, fantasia esecutiva, tensione emotiva. All'interno di un fitto interplay scorre senza soluzione di continuità la migliore essenza del jazz, distillata in cinquanta minuti di musica appassionante: trame eleganti, ...
Continue ReadingGonzalo Rubalcaba: Borrowed Roses
by Mike Jurkovic
While many men and women approach their sixtieth birthday with visions of retirement, pianist and iconoclast Gonzalo Rubalcaba, with his perceptive ear for folk dance and dense improvisation, moves as far as possible from the idea of retirement and attains another peak of perfection on Borrowed Roses. Unlike his previous head-turning, stylistic solo recordings--the Latin Grammy-winning Solo (Blue Note, 2005) and the spirit cleansing Fe Faith (5Passion, 2019)--Borrowed Roses contemplates popular song and standards. Coming off ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Skyline
by Jim Worsley
Substantial yet serene, sophisticated yet soothing, Skyline oozes with the earthiness of New York City. Here, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba merged their broad skills into an assemblage of erudite conversations, each package wrapped with beauty and delicate care. Of the many common threads heard in this collection, none could be more precious than time. Yes, of course, the trio had a wealth of rich pockets, but the reference is made to time of another nature. They were ...
Continue ReadingFano Jazz by the Sea 2021, Part 1-3
by Andrea Rotili
A collection of photos from Fano Jazz By The Sea in Fano, Italy running from July 23-31, featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola, Tigran Hamasyan, Nils Petter Molvaer, youth concerts, concerts for kids and concerts at sunrise. ...
Continue ReadingGonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymee Nuviola At Fano Jazz By The Sea 2021
by Andrea Rotili
A collection of photos of Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymee Nuviola at Fano Jazz by The Sea 2021, the opening concert of the week-long festival, on 23 July.. ...
Continue ReadingJazz Musician of the Day: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Gonzalo Rubalcaba's birthday today!
Gonzalo Julio Gonzalez Fonseca was born in Havana, Cuba, May 27, 1963, into a musical family rich in the traditions of the country’s artistic past. During his childhood, in addition to the standard fare of elementary schools, Gonzalo was absorbing his Cuban musical heritage through personal contacts within his family, notably his father, pianist Guillermo Rubalcaba, and leading musicians who were frequent houseguests: Frank Emilio... Read more.
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Cuban Piano Virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba Shines on Ambitious 2-CD Set, XXI Century
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Two for the Show Media
In a career that has spanned 25 years and nearly 30 releases, including a string of acclaimed recordings for the prestigious Blue Note label, Cuban piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba has awed critics and fans alike with his prodigious technique and depth of soul as a composer. On XXI Century, his second recording on his 5Passion imprint, Rubalcaba lets his Afro-Cuban roots bubble to the top while also paying tribute to two piano heroes in Bill Evans and Lennie Tristanto. Accompanied ...
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Harpist/Composer Edmar Castaneda Releases "Double Portion" Featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Miguel Zena^3n from Arpa Y Voz Records.
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Two for the Show Media
Edmar Castaneda's new album may be titled Double Portion (Arpa Y Vaz Records, Street Date April 17th, 2012), but don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting more of this sumptuous meal after you've tasted it. Castaneda, who has virtually reinvented the role of the harp in jazz singlehandedly within the past several years, explores fertile new territory on his latest release, fusing the sounds of his native Colombia with the energy of his adopted home of New York City. ...
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Edmar Castaneda with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Miguel Zenon CD Release Performance at the Blue Note NYC - 3/6-7/12.
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Grammy-nominated harpist Edmar Castaneda will celebrate his sophomore release Double Portion (Arpa Y Vaz, 2012) at the Blue Note on March 6 and 7. The record's title refers to Castaneda's attempt at fusing the music of his native Columbia with the sounds of New York, as well as his use of both the Colombian folk arpa llanera and the traditional classical harp. One each of the recording's ten tracks, nine of which are original compositions, Castaneda plays in solo or ...
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Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's Intimate and Engaging Solo Album "Faith"
Source:
Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards
Anyone who has followed the career of Cuba's pianistic dynamo Gonzalo Rubalcaba no doubt has some favorite recordings they especially like of his. Since his wider exposure as an artist to the world there have been many very good and some great ones. But to my knowledge there has been nothing that compares with his recent CD Faith (5 Pasion). It's solo piano all the way. It is a very intimate performance. You feel like you have dropped in on ...
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Gonzalo Rubalcaba -- Fe' ... Faith (2011)
Source:
Something Else!
By Nick DeRiso Intense and beautiful, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's new Fe' ... Faith, is this meditative wonder. Like the earth making its inevitable yearly circle, Rubalcaba returns time after time to themes and thoughts—but never approaches things exactly the same twice. Across 15 solo piano pieces, he eventually smashes through barriers between jazz, classical and pop music—something that underscores the record's one-world message of love and faith. That, despite the fact that it would have been easy for Fe' ...
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Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Source:
The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
Some individuals offer more to the world than a simple series of performances; instead, they spend their lives overflowing with music. These people dive into music at a young age, often moving between instruments and taking any available performance opportunity. As they learn more about music, they don't just move forward, they surge ahead in leaps and bounds. Multitudes of musicians seek their employment in numerous ensembles, but that's never enough—they eventually find themselves leading other musicians through original creations. ...
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Gonzalo Rubalcaba Releases Long-Awaited Independent Album Entitled "Fé"
Source:
Gary Galimidi
Gonzalo Rubalcaba: A Pianist Happy to Let Others Do the Driving
Source:
Michael Ricci
About a year and a half ago the redoubtable Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba took a new band into the studio. He had broken in his sidemen, a clutch of young New York progressives, with a weeklong run at the Jazz Standard. It was minimal preparation, given the demands of the music involved, and yet it produced strong results: “Avatar,” released on Blue Note last year, is one of his warmest and most rewarding albums. Mr. Rubalcaba and his crew are ...
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Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Meticulous Jazzman of the World (NY Times)
Source:
All About Jazz
THE NEW YORK TIMES Sunday, February 17, 2008 METICULOUS JAZZMAN OF THE WORLD By Ben Ratliff The Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who over the last 15 years or so has become one of the greatest musicians in jazz, is meticulous about music. You can tell this by the first unaccompanied notes of “Avatar," his complexly beautiful new album. He has an almost eerie control over his ...
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