Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Avatar (Blue Note Records – 2008)

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 The virtuosic turn that was a signature of his younger musical persona has been replaced by an ensemble-mindedness: here, Rubalcaba appears to be turning outward.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.
(All About Jazz)

Tracklist:
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)

Personnel:
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano)
Yosvany Terry (sax)
Mike Rodriguez (trumoet)
Matt Brewer (bass)
Marcus Gilmore (drums)

Original Release Date: 2008 – Label: Blue Note Records

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Pat Martino: Think Tank (2004 – Blue Note)

It’s been nearly twenty years since Pat Martino’s comeback from a near-fatal brain aneurysm. In that time he’s re-established himself as one of the jazz world’s premier guitarists, a technically advanced post bop player who combines forward-thinking musical ideas with native Philly grit; think Pat Metheny with more soul.
Think Tank , as the name suggests, finds Martino at his most cerebral, which has its pros and cons. The title track, for example, is a blues of sorts built on an equation based on the letters of John Coltrane’s name, which may sound like an exercise for a composition class, but manages to hold together pretty well organically. Coltrane, a Philadelphia mentor of Martino’s, is a recurring reference on the album, both indirectly in Martino’s intensely spiritual and intellectual approach to the music, and directly on the funk-based original “Phineas Trane as well as on an extended romp through Coltrane’s “Africa.
Martino is backed by a lineup that includes heavyweights on every instrument: Joe Lovano on tenor sax, Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano, Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. And while many all star lineups fail to live up to their promise, this one mostly comes through. All the musicians have moments of magic, especially Rubalcaba, the Cuban-born virtuoso who seems to have outgrown his youthful habit of simply playing as many notes as he can as quickly as he can. He shows welcome restraint here, especially on the ballad “Sun on My Hands, where he and Martino play off each other with beauty and subtlety. Martino himself is much more subdued than in the past, offering harmonically complex solos that challenge listeners but retain enough recognizable blues and bop roots to be accessible.
If there’s any complaint about Think Tank, it’s that it lacks some of the flat-out fire of Martino’s 2001 Grammy-nominated Live at Yoshi’s , a groove-laden organ trio summit with Joey De Francesco and Billy Hart. Martino may overthink things a bit this time around, but it’s a serious album from a serious artist and well-worth checking out.
Joel Roberts (All About Jazz)

Track List:
The Phineas Trane
2 Think Tank
3 Dozen Down
4 Sun On My Hands
5 Africa
6 Quatessence
7 Before You Ask
8 Earthlings

Personnel:
Pat Martino (guitar)
Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone)
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano)
Christian McBride (bass)
Lewis Nash (drums)

Original Release Date: 2003  –  Label: Blue Note Records
Recorded at the Sony Studios, New York, New York in January 2003. 
THINK TANK was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. “Africa” was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

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