Gonzalo Rubalcaba Inner Voyage (Blue Note)
Inner Voyage (Blue Note)
Reviewed by Harvey Pekar, Fri., Nov. 12, 1999
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Inner Voyage (Blue Note)
Listeners may be surprised by the introspective nature and delicacy of Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's work on Inner Voyage, as he has tremendous chops and often plays pyrotechnically. Here, though, his lightness of touch, use of the upper octaves, and employment of pauses to open his solos for the rhythm section to be heard evokes early Ahmad Jamal. The Bill Evans Trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian also anticipated this disc, although similarities between Jamal's and Evans' trios and Rubalcaba's may be coincidental. This unhurried, lyrical work on the part of Rubalcaba isn't unprecedented, however; he played pensively on duo recordings with Joe Lovano. Thus, the title Inner Voyage should alert listeners to the fact that this is an introspective disc, Rubalcaba working with drummer Ignacio Berroa and bassist Jeff Chambers. Berroa plays mostly in a jazz rather than Afro-Cuban style, and he too shows sensitivity and unusual restraint. "The Hard One" was influenced by Chick Corea and early 20th-century classical composers, and contrasts much of the material here, being an aggressive, hard-driving selection. Rubalcaba says of it, "I hope 'The Hard One' points me down a sort of formal aesthetic path towards more defined and distinctive musical situations." Be that as it may, Rubalcaba's playing and writing on Inner Voyage are fresh, finely wrought, and deeply moving. He's got such broad musical interests and intense ambitions that, if he continues at his current pace, he'll be pursuing new projects for years to come.