Gonzalo Rubalcaba

For those who prefer their Latin jazz to lean a bit more heavily to the jazz side, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba ranks among the best of the modern composer/arrangers, with a style that pays tribute to the African, Caribbean, and European influences of his native country while updating them for today's jazz audience. Though nowhere near as traditional as, say, Buena Vista Social Club, Supernova is far more true to his Cuban heritage than anything he's recorded before, with compositions that run the gamut from cool and smooth to blazing hot. The opening "Supernova 1," for instance, unveils a complex, syncopated theme, then allows each member of the trio to strut their stuff before breaking it all down with dazzling stop-start time signatures that shift constantly…

In volume four of the Charlie Haden concerts at the 1989 Montreal Festival, Montreal Tapes with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Paul Motian returns as the drummer, but this time, the piano chair is occupied by the then-little-known Haden discovery, Cuban Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who proceeds to dazzle the audience with his mind-boggling speed. Rubalcaba's irresistible momentum drives this session whenever he solos; all the others can do is hang onto the whirlwind. The music-making in general, though, is more tied to the mainstream than that of the companion Montreal trio album with Geri Allen, and this group doesn't have quite the same internal compatibility as that of the Allen trio.

It should come as no surprise that Land of the Sun, a collection of Mexican ballads written by three of Mexico's most prominent modern composers, is yet another chapter in Charlie Haden's continually unfolding musical biography. Haden was given a folder of songs by the late and legendary Mexican composer José Sabre Marroquín by his daughter as a thank-you for his recording of "Nocturnal." Haden went over the tunes and decided to record some of them; he turned them over to pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba for arranging, employed a stellar band, and Land of the Sun is the end result. What a result. There are eight compositions by Marroquín and one each by Augustín Lara and Armando Manzanero, in their own right prolific and revered songwriters who have been recorded in this country by Presley, Sinatra, and Bennett, to name a few.

Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba makes an excellent match for Joe Lovano's "don't pigeon-hole me" style. From mainstream to Third Stream to avant-garde, the saxophonist continues to do it his way successfully. Rubalcaba's eclectic piano technique includes classical elements, straight-ahead jazz phrases, percussive Latin-influenced grooves, and special statements, such as plucking the piano's strings. Together, they make a thrilling pair. As Lovano states in the liner notes, "The music just poured out of us as though we were one."

Paseo is unique among Rubalcaba's discography in that he revisits directly the music of his homeland. Not that he hasn't always operated within the Afro-Cuban mode; but here, years after his emigration to America, he has struck up an intelligent and challenging conversation with the music that is now a part of the very foundations of his culture and likewise his personal development. The mere act signifies that he has enough confidence in his own wisdom and originality to tinker with the fundamentals. He also feels he's matured sufficiently to tackle some of his own material for a second time ("Santo Canto" from 1992's Rapsodia , for instance), even retitling "Supernova II" as "Quasar."

Although one might assume that having the title of Diz means that this set would be a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, only four of the nine selections were actually associated with the great trumpeter; the other numbers range from Bird and Bud Powell to Benny Golson and Charles Mingus ("Smooch"). Gonzalo Rubalcaba makes each of the jazz standards his own by reharmonizing the chord structures, playing in his own dense style and coming up with fresh new statements rather than just re-creating bebop. He is quite lyrical and somber on the ballads, makes "Donna Lee" unrecognizable, and (with the assistance of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Julio Barreto) modernizes all of the potential warhorses. This is a very interesting workout.

Antiguo is different than most Gonzalo Rubalcaba records. The pianist spends a lot of time exploring synthesizers. Rubalcaba and his longtime quartet (trumpeter Reynaldo Melian, bassist Felipe Cabrera, and drummer Julio Barreto) are joined in spots by the voices of Maridalia Hernandez and Lazaro Ros, percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo, and violinist Dagoberto Gonzalez.