Artist: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Album: Avatar
Genre: Afro-Cuban Jazz
Label: Blue Note
Released: 2008
Quality: APE (image+.cue)
Tracklist:
- Looking in Retrospective (9:43)
- This Is It (12:32)
- Aspiring to Normalcy (13:07)
- Peace (4:09)
- Hip Side (8:34)
- Infantil (7:07)
- Preludio Corto No.2 For Piano (Tu Amor Era Falso) (10:07)
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I’ll admit it at the outset: The bassist on this recording is my son, 24 year-old, Matt Brewer. So, I’m sure, to a certain degree, I’m guilty of confirmation bias. However, I also believe that my many years as a jazz musician and music educator (I hold a doctorate in music composition and jazz pedagogy), act as an effective filter for my biases here.
With that qualification, I can say unequivocally that this music is great. All facets of composition, arranging, and improvising on the recording are extremely creative and brilliantly performed.
The deep and sometimes curiously convoluted grooves created by these players are compelling, indeed. And the Afro-Cuban rhythmic and melodic facets combined with contemporary swinging sensibilities are intertwined in what I would characterize as a “hip confluence”. Or, if you will, a seamless unity of form, harmony, rhythm, and line.
Ethnic musical sources deeply suffuse the compositions on this recording. Yosvany Terry’s compositions (he has three on this CD) are particularly diverse and inspiring in this regard. His efforts to hybridize those sources with the lineage of styles in the jazz “family tree” succeeds brilliantly.
But, unlike the more mannered efforts of lesser composers, Terry’s compositions - from the fertile womb of his imagination - yield musical creations that emerge whole and free of contrivances. And that’s not all: His saxophone playing is extremely engaging, too.
Alternatively, Matt Brewer’s poignant composition (paradoxically titled, “Aspiring To Normalcy") expresses the inspiration of Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock (with carefully and consciously blended influences from Chopin, Stravinsky, Ravel, and other composers). Plus, Matt’s bass lines and solos support and help to drive the music all at once. A great player by any standard, especially for one so young.
Trumpeter, Mike Rodriguez, plays with a beautiful sound. Gorgeous, really. And he uses that sound to light up the very hip melodic contours of his superb solos. And his time is great, too. Way deep in the pocket.
Of course, Gonzalo is brilliant, as usual. He is clearly one of the leading pianists in the world - in any style of music. His touch and his ability to shape dynamics on the instrument are inimitable - even uncanny at times. And his time? The best. Just great.
Ganzalo’s one composition on this CD (Infantil) is a quirky and extremely clever piece of music that I’m sure Monk would have loved. I found myself grinning and chuckling as I listened. It’s such a delight.
Gonzalo’s gifts as an arranger are well-represented here, too, in his exquiste adaptation of Alejandro Garcia Cartula’s Preludio Corto No. 2 for Piano (Tu Amor Era Falso). And the spirit of the original piece remains ever-present as the players interpret Ganzolo’s re-conception of it with loving care and deep affection.
All the players on this CD are a joy to hear. Buy this CD and hear them soon. I believe you’ll be listening repeatedly to these performances because they offer an abundance of musical ideas rich in implication and expressiveness.
Review by Paul S. Brewer