Gonzalo Rubalcaba
The Record

For many boys, finding a father's girlie magazine is an unforgettable surprise. But for Gonzalo
Rubalcaba, finding his father's jazz records was a life-changing moment. “I was around 12 or
13. I found LPs from Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Errol Garner. I went totally
crazy.” The 38-year-old pianist and jazz explorer was born into a Cuban family of known
musicians. His grandfather composed a famous march, “El Cadete Constitutional.” His father
played piano in the orchestra of Enrique Jorrin, creator of the cha cha cha.

“My first references were Cuban. Frank Emilio, Chucho Valdes, Paquito D'Rivera, Bebo Valdes.
I was already at the classical school, and I was very deep in Cuban music.” Many famous
Cuban musicians rehearsed at his father's home. “[At the time] I had no idea how important it
was having those musicians around…talking about music, discussing styles, concepts, form,
harmonies, everything.”

Rubalcaba also discovered the complex genius Keith Jarrett early on. “I first heard 'The
Survivors Suite.' I was really impressed. Cuban pianists didn't listen to him until he began
recording standards, but as soon as I first heard him, I knew he was really big for me.”
Rubalcaba searched for his own voice. “I started to improvise. I put everything together: jazz,
son, danzón, boleros, everything.” Son is a syncopated blend of African and Hispanic elements,
sometimes called rhumba. Danzon is a ballroom dance created in the late 1800s. A Cuban
bolero is a romantic pop song.

But Rubalcaba still had plenty to learn about his country's rich musical heritage. At 18, played
with the famous Orchesta Aragon. “That was a challenge. Beautiful but difficult. I learned a lot,
and I'm [still] using a lot of that experience now.”

Rubalcaba doesn't hesitate to pick danzón as the greatest of the Cuban forms. “It's very
elegant, very pure. Cuban composers extended the French danson. They put Afro-Caribbean
elements together with European elements, but they also developed harmonies and used
instrument combinations that we hadn't heard before in Cuba. They created something like a
chamber music to play popular music.”

“Right now I'm working with Cuban music from the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the
20th. People know Ernesto Lecuona but not Ignacio Cervantes or Leo Brouwer. These
composers made wonderful, difficult, very serious music.” Rubalcaba remembers his father
playing in danzón places on Saturdays in Havana. “Old people came, great dancers.” But he
admits that the form isn't as popular with young Cubans as it once was.

Rubalcaba also sees ahead. “I love keyboards, synthesizers, and technology,” he says. “It all
depends on how you use it, how you apply it. It's to extend the sound of the groove, your
compositions.”

Rubalcaba's veteran trio consists of Cuban-born drummer Ignacio Berroa, and New York
bassist, Carlos Henriquez, who was born to Puerto Rican parents. Like Rubalcaba, both were
also classically trained. “We want it very fresh, organic, and natural.”

Rubalcaba's most recent “Supernova” on Blue Note is a platform for his sensitive, percussive
playing. Two Cuban classics, “El Manicero” and his grandfather's “El Cadete Consitucional,” are
given fluent jazz updates. Both the standard “Manicero” and “Cadete” are at times funky and
cerebral, and add synthesizer solos for effect. The entire record is full of surprises in dynamic
juxtaposition of styles and tempo.

“The main thing for me is to get a balance, something that is unified but not a collage. Cuban
rhythm is the most important element in our music. Cuban musicians think about rhythm first
and then they build everything onto that.”

– download pdf