One evening in early 2010 I grabbed my MacBook and started searching for “Gonzalo” news. Gonzalo Rubalcaba: I think this is the first time we’re doing a concert of duets. Two of those musicians will come together for an SCP Jazz concert Feb. 23 when pianists Chucho Valdés, 76, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, 54, collaborate in a program titled “Trance.” Rubalcaba himself represents at least three generations of music. I often wonder why this happens. You describe it perfectly and more. I don’t know what happened to my brain, but the minute Gonzalo mentioned the business about going independent, my brain went dead….I should have told Gonzalo right then and there that I was very interested in helping with the independent record label concept. an maybe have lunch, etc….” I was thrilled!… (Gonzalo loves airplanes and cars, and Gonzalo was told by Julian that Gables Engineering was a wonderful, family oriented place and that we actually manufactured great electronic products for the Aviation industry…)A week or so passed and Gonzalo came to Gables with his beautiful wife Maria, and we gave them a tour and had a great lunch in the Gables. I wasn’t believing my ears ……but just went along with it…..The night of the show, we showed up at an unlikely facility known as the EBS Auditorium way out in the middle of Homestead, Florida. I appreciate many great musicians in all Genres. He claimed to have grown up with them in Cuba and was best friends with Gonzalo’s cousin Richard. The pianists played in solo, duo and, as the denoument, a trio. Among the group of invitees was a co-worker by the name of Julian, a Cuban gentleman who quickly pointed out that he knew Gonzalo and his wife Maria personally. The minute I got home, I sat down to my piano and tried in vain to play something intelligent….. No matter, I was happy to have met Gonzalo.The next day, Friday, Julian came up to my office and said, “What Happened? Or maybe gradual and continued development is only graced upon the greats? I openly confess to loving some iconic musicians that go back to my childhood but haven’t done much that you would consider fresh and new. So many people were lined up to greet Gonzalo, hugging , kissing ….. that I felt out of place and that we should split, and leave him in peace with his friends and family.
Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
Chucho Valdez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Michel Camilo spent the evening celebrating the intoxicating and eternally gorgeous music of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.Lovely review of a grand concert. In the midst of our conversations and for a brief moment, Gonzalo mentioned that although he was still under contract with Blue Note Records, that he felt that “going independent” was inevitable. Tickets now on sale…. Most Popular “One of the greatest musicians in jazz” (NY Times), Havana-born piano genius Gonzalo Rubalcaba returns with music from his new album, Viento y Tiempo, recorded in collaboration with his childhood friend, Cuban vocalist Aymée Nuviola, an artist widely known as “La Sonera del Mundo” (singer of the world). I was thrilled, we talked about music ,watches, airplanes , cars and funky shoes and had a great time. There are so many ways to talk about the music – music that continues to swirl about in my head. The next morning I contacted “The Ticket Alternative” and asked them several times if they were sure that this was Gonzalo Rubalcaba we were speaking of.
To my disappointment, he never seemed to be playing anywhere in the states. This quintet carried themselves with the same dignity and demonstrated the same respect for their music as did Miles’ group. But as fate would have it, I was able to shake his hand, he signed a piano key for me from an old Yamaha C7, I told him he was “una bestia”, and then we took off. We checked in at the front counter as instructed by Julian, who sadly couldn’t join us due to minor surgery, but had arranged to get us the backstage passes. Julian said that he would call Maria to see if she could arrange for back-stage passes. He wrote back saying that he was about to leave on tour, and that we should get together for lunch when he came back to talk face-to-face.Upon his return, we had a late lunch at Randazzo’s in the Gables. Luckily a few days later, he sent me a message wishing me a happy birthday. Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca, known artistically as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, was born in Havana, Cuba, May 27, 1963, to a musical family that included his father, pianist Guillermo (who led Charanga Rubalcaba) and his grandfather, danzón composer Jacobo. Chucho Valdés, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Michel Camilo spent the evening celebrating the intoxicating and eternally gorgeous music of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. HOMESTEAD?
We were all fortunate to have been there. Is it a lack of inspiration, discipline, talent or curiosity that causes this? I thanked him and expressed a desire to speak to him about the record label concept. I and my wife were also there and it was the concert of the decade (if not more). The pianists played in solo, duo and, as the denoument, a trio. They confirmed it, so I bought 20 tickets………..and invited some of my co-workers (the ones with “ears”) to the concert, explaining that we were going to see and hear something to remember for a lifetime. For my money, it was just as historic. They all wore suits, and once they started to play, we were all blown away. One of the things that I have always lamented about when listening to certain musicians over time is an eventual end to their development. There are so many ways to talk about the music – music that continues to swirl about in my head. Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quartet: Sept. 21-22, Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Fairgrounds, Monterey.