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Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince, 2017 - Part 1
by Mark Sullivan
Part 1 | Part 2 Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 4-11, 2017 Haiti: the only nation in the world established as the result of a slave revolt; home of Vodou. Haiti: poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; subject to devastating hurricanes and earthquakes. Most potential visitors to Haiti are likely to focus on the second view of the country, especially after the catastrophic 2010 earthquake which caused massive building collapse ...
read moreOh Vida! Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Esperanza Fernández at the 11th Annual Bay Area Flamenco Festival
by Harry S. Pariser
Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Esperanza Fernández Herbst Theater Bay Area Flamenco Festival 2016 San Francisco, CA March 9, 2016 They met for the first time in Spain. One a Cuban-born jazz pianist, the other a Flamenco singer. Both were internationally acclaimed performers. They came together as part of the documentary film project Playing Lecuona --which celebrates the life of the great Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona--and then parted ways. The pianist, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, later ...
read moreVolcan: Volcan
by Dan Bilawsky
Whenever a musician strikes out on their own by forming their own label they're addressing the issue of control and consolidation. Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba went one better when he created 5passion. He consolidated, took control, and diversified his offerings. First came Fe (5passion, 2011)--a sanctified solo piano date that All About Jazz's Dan McClenaghan rightly called “an eighty-minute jazz prayer." XXI Century (5passion, 2012)--a trio-plus-guests date--followed, providing an expansive look at the places where rock, funk, Cuban traditions, and African ...
read moreGonzalo Rubalcaba: XXI Century
by Mark Corroto
If Gonzalo Rubalcaba were a major league pitcher, he would be a seasoned veteran with the knowledge that to be effective he would have to be the master of multiple pitches. Gone are his rookie days when he could throw nothing but fastballs to get outs.Same for Gonzalo Rubalcaba, jazz pianist. Twenty-five years ago he wowed audiences with his powerful attack and blinding speed. As his sound has matured, he has begun communicating with more subtlety, throwing audiences ...
read moreGonzalo Rubalcaba: Fe...Faith
by Dan McClenaghan
Cuban-born/Miami-based pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba boasts a discography of some 25 albums, including a dozen discs for the esteemed Blue Note label. Having established star status for himself with numerous Grammy nominations and two wins, Rubalcaba steps out with the first release on his independent 5Passion label, Fe...Faith.Over the course of his career, Rubalcaba has worked with some of the best modern jazz players, including Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, but introduces his new record company ...
read moreGonzalo Rubalcaba: Fe' ... Faith
by Karl Ackermann
It's been ten years since pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba teamed up with Charlie Haden on Nocturne (Universal, 2001). Then a twenty-something Cuban virtuoso, Rubalcaba already had a decade of recordings behind him and was being compared to Keith Jarrett and Cecil Taylor. Now a Florida resident and with his own newly minted label, 5Passion, Rubalcaba releases Fé ... Faith, a solo collection and his finest work to date. Rubalcaba's playing style has typically been energetic and fiery and while ...
read moreGonzalo Rubalcaba: Avatar
by Luis T. Martinez
Having matured and no longer needing to prove his chops to others or himself, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba has turned his attention to ensembling and orchestration, and in no other work is this more evident than Avatar. Only after multiple listens does it become clear how the compositions are driving the improvisations and not the other way around, and how the Cuban-born pianist/composer manages a wonderful balance between freedom, interpretation, and restraint, between composition, orchestration, and the soloing of his band ...
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