Gonzalo Rubalcaba, a planetary icon of jazz and one of the best contemporary jazz pianists, a four-time winner of the Grammy award in the Latin Jazz category for which he was nominated as many as 15 times, will present the album "Turning Point", published by his Trio D'été.
Rubalcaba, who turned 60 last year, was born in Havana, into a family that has been involved in music for generations: his grandfather, Jacobo Rubalcaba, was a composer and band leader who played danzón, a typical Cuban dance music, and his father, pianist Guillermo Gonzalez , played with Enrique Jorrino, the violinist credited with inventing the cha-cha-cha. Gonzalo's brothers are also musicians, and he himself started playing the drums at the age of six, and the piano two years later: he played with his father's band in cafes, clubs and Havana until he was in his mid-teens. although he was raised and trained in traditional Cuban music, he was formally educated as a classical musician. He is an extremely versatile pianist of impressive technical skill, and has combined Cuban tradition and American jazz into a fresh, modern musical expression.
In the same year that he founded his band Grupo Proyecto, in 1985, Rubalcaba was noticed in Havana by one of the most famous names in jazz of all time, Dizzie Gillespie. Gillespie approached Rubalcaba in one of the Cuban hotels, after hearing him play, and asked if he would play with him the next day. In a moment that in a way determined his future fate, the pianist first thought that Gillespie was joking. But the legendary trumpet player was not kidding, and the doors of the American and world music scene soon opened wide for Rubalcaba. He moved to the Dominican Republic in 1991, and to Miami in 1996. As a leading musician, Rubalcaba released close to 40 albums, many of which were released by the famous Blue Notes Records. These include "Inner Voyage", "The Blessing", "Solo", and his latest album, "Borrowed Roses" - 12 masterful interpretations of popular songs, from "Chelsea Bridge" to "Shape of My Heart".
"The music I create is not jazz, not according to the usual standards of jazz. Many journalists from specialized media consider me a jazz musician. I never considered myself as such. I play music, I am a musician with Cuban roots and influenced by international styles, which do not only come from jazz," said Rubalcaba in an interview with NBC.
Gonzalo Rubalcaba's concert in the Small Roman Theater will be a universal musical experience that is not often experienced.
