Sunday, October 3, 2021

Rubalcaba’s Latest Release Finally Available

Gonzalo Rubalcaba (photograph by Anna Turayeva, from the JAZZ.FM91 article about the album being discussed)

The latest album from 5Passion Records featuring jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba had been scheduled for release about half a month ago. Unfortunately, the initial release source was through an Apple site that only supported streaming. Only recently did the new album, entitled Skyline, find its way to Amazon.com; and, as of this writing, it is only available for MP3 download with no metadata (such as an accompanying booklet) included in the full-album download. This is more than a little unfortunate, but under pandemic conditions one must take what one can get!

Skyline is the first release in a planned trilogy of albums, all piano trio performances. On Skyline Rubalcaba performs with two of the giants of recent jazz history, Ron Carter on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Composing credits are shared by all three of the performers across the first eight tracks on the album. The final track is entitled “RonJackRuba;” and it is a spontaneous collective improvisation that took place in the studio. Engineer Jim Anderson had to leave his console to deal with a technical issue; but, fortunately, he left his recording tape rolling. The musicians did not know they had been recorded until Anderson returned and played the tape for them.

There is a sense of intimacy that pervades the entire album. All three of the players are clearly focused on the significance of every moment. However, the expressiveness that emerges from their interplay is anything but aridly cerebral. Each track emerges through a process involving just the right balance between playing and listening. As a result, there is so much content that one is likely to encounter new perspectives with each playing of either an individual track or the entire album. In the absence of a booklet, those interested in reading about the album may wish to consult on article by Adam Feibel on the Web page created by the Toronto-based JAZZ.FM91.

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