As the career of Gonzalo Rubalcaba has progressed, through the trials and tribulations of attempting to move freely from his native Cuba to the U.S. and back, there has never been any doubt as to his monstrous talent. Easily a Top Five pianist in terms of his fleet-fingered ability to stretch the parameters of jazz and Latin musics, he has chosen in recent years to play solo or in trios. Avatar changes that with a long-awaited small-ensemble date, featuring a fellow heavyweight, the saxophonist and composer Yosvany Terry, and the brilliant young drummer Marcus Gilmore. As if Rubalcaba needs any fuse to be lit -- he has that self-contained -- Terry and Gilmore really set sparks flying in this power-packed set of progressive original music. There are instances where New York City neo-bop is heard, with heavy funk rhythms a close second, and echoes of the witty early modern mainstream jazz that established a young Wynton Marsalis. The pianist also ricochets another angular influence, that of Lennie Tristano. The first two pieces, both penned by Terry, reinforce this notion. "Looking in Retrospective" cross-references horn charts of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers juxtaposed against the Brecker Brothers. Heavy modalities merge bright, then heavy, then churning, integrating measured solos. The tour de force "This Is It," likely a killer in concert, is an extended 5/4 funky discourse that is smart, yet deep. Rubalcaba himself is amazing, but inspires his bandmates to join him in fresh phrasings and out-of-body excursions. Though Wynton's sound is somewhat extant in the style of this music, it is also in the trumpet playing of newcomer Mike Rodriguez. But, the band is closer to mid-period Woody Shaw during "Hip Side," as brittle melody lines challenge younger modern and contemporary elements. Terry is lyrical, biting, poetic, and justified in a personalized sound that is in a steep growth curve. Rubalcaba's lone composition, dedicated to John McLaughlin, also has a bounce closely linked to associate Chick Corea, as "Infantil" has the pianist at his most playful, with Terry on soprano sax. There's a serene trio-only (no horns) version of Horace Silver's "Peace," the stairstep chamber-like "Preludio Corto No. 2," and the seaside siren song "Aspiring to Normalcy," an eerie waltz wafting in light waves of color, with a Yoruban rhythm faintly in the distance but very present. It is likely this is the CD Rubalcaba has been yearning to uncork after many years. A fully realized project, inventively played by all, it yields an extraordinarily rewarding listening experience, and is very close to his best work yet. - Michael G. Nastos
Although his sound is as blazing and inspiring as ever, Gonzalo Rubalcaba's new album may mark something of a departure. Recorded at the famed New York studio of the same name, Avatar provides listeners with a unique melting pot of songs and styles, while also implying new freedom and possibility for the renowned Cuban pianist. Only one of the seven tunes on this album is a Rubalcaba original, but the majority are written by his bandmates. The virtuosic turn that was a signature of his younger musical persona has been replaced by an ensemble-mindedness: here, Rubalcaba appears to be turning outward.
Avatar opens with two compositions for the quintet by saxophonist Yosvany Terry, each one a different take on the same angular 5/4 bass melody. Following Rubalcaba's cryptic entry on "Looking in Retrospective," the full band bursts in with a tight, warm sound, hugging every curve in the piece while losing none of their bristling speed. Marcus Gilmore's drumming is particularly responsible for this brilliant unity: he manages to allude to the Latin rhythms that anchor Rubalcaba's brand of jazz, while also giving the ensemble space to experiment in an open, nebulous environment. At certain moments, the quintet sounds like they're making a foray into a very free, boundless kind of jazz. But just as quickly, Gilmore raps out a quick cue on the snare drum and they're back in an intense, dazzling groove.
Beginning on his early albums and even carrying on into the late 1990s, Rubalcaba placed paramount importance on texture. As a younger musician, he played the piano with a full, honeyed tone, even on up- tempo pieces. This sound is still apparent when Avatar slows down for ballads: the trio setting of Horace Silver's "Peace" recalls the hovering rubato of tunes like "I Remember Clifford" from the 1995 release Diz (Blue Note). But now, the Cuban master's pianism is principally concerned with a more complicated set of musical possibilities.
Essentially, time is the core concept for this record. From the three fast tunes by Yosvany Terry, which focus on embracing tight ensemble grooves over an almost-inscrutable downbeat, to the delicacy of "Aspiring to Normalcy" and "Peace," which hover ethereally outside of time, the Rubalcaba band fashions its aesthetic out of a shimmering, ever-changing vision of what meter can be. Yet, even when the sound gets propulsive, abstract, or cutting-edge, filled with the New York City in which they recorded this set, they never lose track of certain essences of the Latin groove: a deep rhythmic pocket and a lyrical virtuosity, even on the most inventive, burning tunes. - Jay Deshpande
Tracks
1. Looking In Retrospective
2. This Is It
3. Aspiring To Normalcy
4. Peace
5. Hip Side
6. Infantil (Dedicated To John McLaughlin)
7. Preludio Corto No.2 For Piano (Tu Amor Era Falso)
MATT BREWER bass
MARCUS GILMORE drums
GONZALO RUBALCABA piano
YOSVANY TERRY saxophone
MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ trumpet, flugelhorn
Recorded May 29 and June 1, 2007 at Avatar Studios, New York City
Blue Note - 0946 84185 2 8