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Gonzalo Rubalcaba
song sample
Gonzalo Rubalcaba Infantil
artist personnel
gonzalo rubalcaba piano yosvany terry alto saxophone Alex Sipiagin trumpet yunior terry bass ernesto simpson drums
Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet friday, october 23, 8PM herbst theatre
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From awe-inspiring percussive excursions to intricately constructed rhapsodic flights, piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s music travels on an extraordinary arc. The scion of an illustrious Cuban musical family, Rubalcaba gained fame on the American jazz scene in the early 1990s with his relentlessly syncopated performances. But in recent years, he’s developed an intensely lyrical body of compositions marked by his rigorous attention to structure and exquisite dynamic control. He still delivers dazzling passages that seem to span the entire history of Cuban music, but now he also slows down to savor the melodies. After nearly a dozen stellar albums for Blue Note, Rubalcaba released his most captivating CD yet last year with Avatar, a quintet session that marks his first foray with a cast of younger musicians. He brings the same amazing band to San Francisco, featuring Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry, a groundbreaking bandleader in his own right, and rising trumpet star Michael Rodriguez, who made his SFJAZZ debut last year with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra.

“Rubalcaba is one of the preeminent jazz pianists of his generation, always worth hearing.” los angeles times “One of the greatest musicians in jazz” the new york times