“Gorgeous melodies, far-flung harmonies and rampant polyrhythms…Applying ultra-modern jazz sensibilities and a virtuosic vocabulary to the classical and vernacular genres he mastered as a child prodigy in Havana, Rubalcaba is on a mission to fix Afro-Cuban music where it belongs, among the most prominent constellations in the sky.”
–Howard Mandel (Liner notes, Super Nova)

Blending the traditions and innovations of American and Cuban jazz, 41-year-old pianist/ composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba has consistently validated the promise of his prodigious youth, from his “discovery” by Dizzy Gillespie to his collaborations with Charlie Haden to his highly acclaimed recordings and performances with his own bands. As he prepares to release Paseo (Blue Note) on September 28^th, Rubalcaba is touring with his CD compatriots, an all-Cuban quartet featuring drummer Ignacio Berroa, bassist Jose Armando Gola, and saxophonist Luis Felipe Lamoglia. After two nights at the Dakota in Minneapolis (September 20-21), the quartet stops on the east coast at the Cambridge (MA)Multicultural Arts Center (September 24-26), then heads west for six nights at Catalina’s in Los Angeles (Sept 28-October 3).

In Havana, Rubalcaba was literally born into the traditions of Afro-Cuban music. His father Guilhermos helped introduce the cha-cha-cha and still leads Charanga Rubalcaba; his grandfather composed "El Cadete," the well-known processional that the grandson included on his Grammy-winning Blue Note recording, Supernova. Young Gonzalo Rubalcaba studied piano from age eight, and for the next twelve years he continued his studies of the American, European, Russian, and Hispanic classical traditions at Havana’s famed Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, while also playing and absorbing the indigenous themes and rhythms of Havana. In 1983, he toured France and Africa with Orquesta Aragon, and two years later formed his own band, Grupo Proyecto, and came to the attention of Dizzy Gillespie. In 1986, Rubalcaba played with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian at the Havana Jazz Festival, beginning a long relationship with Haden that led to appearances at international festivals, including Montreal and Montreux, and several recorded collaborations, including the highly acclaimed Nocturne (2001, Verve) and the newly released Land of the Sun (2004, Verve), a tribute to Mexican composer, Jose Sabre Marroquin.

A contract with Blue Note introduced Rubalcaba to American audiences with such early gems as Discovery: Live at Montreux (1990), The Blessing (1991), Rapsodia (1992), and his tribute to his early mentor, Diz (1994), all recorded in Canada due to barriers at the time preventing Cuban artists from traveling in the U.S. After intensive lobbying by the National Endowment for the Arts and Wynton Marsalis, among others, he was one of the first Cubans "unblocked" by the U.S. State Department. Following a well-received performance at Lincoln Center in 1993, Rubalcaba emigrated to the Dominican Republic and moved to Florida in 1996. Blue Note celebrated his American studio debut with Imagine (1995), and three years later released an all-Cuban quartet outing (Antiguo) and a duet recording with Joe Lovano, Flying Colors. The highly acclaimed Cuban trio recording, Supernova, followed in 2001.

Internationally acclaimed drummer Ignacio Berroa has collaborated with Rubalcaba on several recordings including Super Nova. Growing up in 1950s Havana, he started out as a violinist (like his father) but became enamoured with jazz upon hearing Nat King Cole and Glen Miller. Switching to drums at age 11, he studied at Havana's National Conservatory and soon became the first-call drummer among Cuban musicians. Moving to New York in 1980, he joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet and ultimately played with many of Diz’ great bands of the 80s, including the Grammy Award winning "United Nations Orchestra.” In addition to playing with many of jazz’s top performers throughout his career (including McCoy Tyner, Milt Jackson, Wynton Marsalis, and Joe Lovano), Berroa is also an esteemed jazz educator. Said Gillespie, “…[Berroa is] the only Latin drummer in the world, in the history of American music, that intimately knows both worlds: his native Afro-Cuban music as well as jazz.”

Havana native Jose Armando Golo has played bass since age thirteen, and like Rubalcaba, attended the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory. He plays both upright and electric bass in various settings, has toured internationally and played at Colombia jazz festivals. Only in his mid-20s, he has worked with Rubalcaba for the past two years. Multi-saxist Luis Felipe Lamoglia has toured with Arturo Sandoval and recently recorded with Bebel Giberto.

Known for his technical virtuosity, multi-layered improvisations, and original compositions that draw upon his global influences, Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s latest project explores Cuban traditional melodies and rhythms in the modern jazz vernacular. Relying entirely on original compositions, Paseo revisits some works from his earlier Blue Note recordings, Rapsodia (1992) and Antiguo (1998). Those attending gigs on Rubalcaba’s current cross-country circuit with his Cuban quartet can eagerly anticipate “a tour of his world, a space in jazz unlike any other" (Boston Herald), “…an absolute clinic in ebony and ivory gymnastics" (Oakland Tribune). Noted the Los Angeles Times, "More than almost any pianist since the passing of Bill Evans, [Rubalcaba] truly has the capacity to make his instrument sing.”

Gonzalo Rubalcaba and his Cuban quartet perform cross-country this fall: September 20-21, Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant (Minneapolis)--www.dakotacooks.com; September 24-26, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center (Cambridge, MA)-- www.cmacusa.org; September 28 - October 3, Catalina's Bar and Grill (Los Angeles)-- www.catalinajazzclub.com; Nov. 30-Dec. 4, Mondavi Center/UC Davis (Davis, CA)-- www.mondaviarts.org; Dec. 7-12, Lincoln Center (New York City)-- www.lincolncenter.org. The Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio with Ignacio Berroa on drums and Carlos Henriquez on bass will be on stage at the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle (November 4)-- www.earshot.org; and at the San Francisco Jazz Festival (November 5)-- www.sfjazz.org. Rubalcaba appears with bassist Charlie Haden and the Land of the Sun band at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (November 12)--www.musiccenter.org.