Paul Jackson Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer.The Yomiuri Shimbun , March 8, 2001.
Jazz will be on offer at Tokyo's Blue Note from March 19, with the start of
a six-day residency featuring the prodigious technique and rhythmic mastery of
37-year-old piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
The young Cuban, who has performed and recorded with a host of jazz
luminaries including Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker and Ron Carter, has been
captivating audiences worldwide since his explosion onto the world jazz scene in
1990, when his playing stunned those present at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
A recording of the Montreux session was released under the title "Discovery"
the following year and enjoyed a long run on the Billboard magazine jazz chart.
About 10 CDs, many of them award-winning, have been recorded since, with
Rubalcaba refusing to tread musical water. Instead, he has experimented with
different musicians, material and band formats, including a duo recording, "Flying
Colors," with saxophonist Joe Lovano.
As a Cuban, Rubalcaba naturally has a wealth of rhythmic ideas to bring to
the keyboard, as it is almost essential for any aspiring pianist on the island
to master the whole gamut of Afro-Cuban rhythms if they are to get regular work.
Like many pianists from Cuba, he also spent many of his formative years studying
percussion despite his commitment to playing the piano.
However, Rubalcaba tends not to emphasize his musical heritage to the same
extent as fellow Cuban keyboardists Chucho Valdes and Hilario Duran. His
approach is rather more centered in the jazz idiom and ranges from polished
introspection to prolonged surges of awe-inspiring technical ability. Nat
Chediak, writer of the Dictionary of Latin Jazz, has said that Rubalcaba's dream
is to be like Bill Evans one day and Keith Jarrett the next.
Born to a musical family in Havana, Rubalcaba had an early teacher in his
father, Guillermo, who still performs with La Charanga Rubalcaba. Gonzalo went
on to study at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, where he underwent the rigorous
technical training Cuba is renowned for.
After playing with a host of local artists, including a young Issac
Delgado--now the island's most famous contemporary salsa singer--Rubalcaba
focused more of his attention on jazz.
At least three people have a claim to having "discovered"
Rubalcaba. Dizzy Gillespie was said to be extremely impressed by the youngster
when he heard him in 1985, as was Goetz Woerner of the record label Messidor, on
which Rubalcaba recorded his first album, "Live in Havana," in 1986.
However, it was an encounter in 1986 with bassist Haden, the former
right-hand man of Ornette Coleman, and drummer Paul Motian that proved to be
most instrumental in introducing Rubalcaba to an international audience. And it
was with Haden and Motian that Rubalcaba made his breakthrough at the Montreux
festival.
Given the difficulties in organizing dates for a Cuban artist at the time,
Rubalcaba's U.S. debut did not come until 1993. He soon proved highly successful
in winning over American audiences, and it was not long before he was touring
there again.
Playing in the United States did not prove to be entirely free of problems,
though. In 1995 Rubalcaba's band was refused entry, and Lovano had to be quickly
drafted in to play with the Cuban pianist.
Miami was the scene of another unfortunate incident in 1996 when scuffles
broke out among anti-Castro protesters and those waiting to hear Rubalcaba play.
Nevertheless, by the end of the decade Rubalcaba had chosen to move to
Florida with his young family to further his career, although he shrewdly
selected to live in the relative quietude of Fort Lauderdale rather than the
politically charged atmosphere of Miami.
Rubalcaba first played in Japan at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival in 1991, and
it was the domestic arm of Blue Note that was responsible for his release, "The
Blessing," that same year.
The upcoming Blue Note Tokyo residency is Rubalcaba's third. Performing with
him this time around will be bassist Carlos Henriquez and drummer Ignacio
Berroa, who appeared on Rubalcaba's most recent release, "Inner Voyage."
The Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio will perform March 19 and March 21-24, 7 p.m. and
9:30 p.m., and March 20, 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., at Blue Note Tokyo (03)
5485-0088.
Copyright 2001 The Yomiuri Shimbun | 