Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Supernova : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Sometimes you almost want to pity Gonzalo Rubalcaba's poor piano. The jazzman's hands can work the thing over like a NYPD Blue good cop-bad cop routine, one fist pounding the rhythms, the other gently teasing out the melodies. But the thirty-seven-year-old's latest album (as well as his beautifully restrained work on Charlie Haden's recent Nocturne) finds him in a more subdued mood, in which he's even more impressive than when he's shooting sparks off the keys. Lean, clean trio arrangements of Cuban tunes like "El Manicero" (a crossover hit in the States back in the Thirties) and "Alma Mia" highlight not only his jaunty percussive style but also his ability to re-imagine and recombine jazz with traditional Cuban music. To his credit, Rubalcaba doesn't try to play off his heritage to cash in on the Buena Vista phenomenon, which would make this a much easier sell. Rather he's made a disc that requires an investment of time and attention to fully appreciate. Should you give in to it, you'll find that it's well worth the price.

ERIK PEDERSEN
(July 16, 2001)