Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio
(Ladbroke Hall, London. 26/4/2024 Review by Ian Latham)

The palatial splendor of Ladbroke Hall is a delightful setting for Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s first London performance in seven years, in a trio with Matt Brewer on bass and Ernesto Simpson on drums. 

The trio is highly compelling and distinguished by Gonzalo’s blistering, sinewy improvised right hand runs punctuated by arresting, syncopated left hand stabs that have an extraordinary level of rhythmic precision. His “time feel” is unique and exceptional. His piano technique is simply astonishing in its fluency, speed and control. The ensemble playing is outrageously tight, especially in the intricate composed sections. 

This group follows many of the conventions of the classic jazz piano trio form: head, improvised solos, and trading. But this is not a straight-ahead band. Gonzalo’s melodic language is a long way from straight bebop and swing is used sparingly. This is his original musical vocabulary, honed over decades. 

His first three pieces are new to me. It’s challenging to comprehend many of his improvised lines, to hear connections between his phrases. Where’s the clear motivic development that we’ve come to expect in the jazz tradition? The improvisation sounds so slick and fluid but it is not easy to digest straight away. His approach feels unashamedly intellectual, uncompromising.

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By the fourth tune I recognise fragments of melody. Later in the set, he announces this piece as Bill Evans’ “Gloria’s Step”.

His fifth piece quickly reveals itself as “Caravan” and the familiarity is a welcome relief from the intensity of the earlier pieces. This famous tune, steeped in decades of latin jazz infusions, provides an ideal vehicle to showcase his Cuban jazz heritage. Ernesto Simpson’s drum solo brilliantly draws on the sparky language of salsa percussionist timbale masters. This is an exhilarating performance that provides a real climax to the set.

For several decades, jazz piano has been dominated by the trinity of Herbie, Chick, and Keith. And there is a slow motion change of guard occurring right in front of our eyes. I can’t help wondering who will be recognised as the world’s best jazz pianists of the 21st century. Gonzalo Rubalcaba is a serious contender for inclusion into the pantheon. A one-time prodigy, his talent was endorsed at the start of his career by a previous generation of jazz masters including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian. He won a 2022 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental album, for Skyline, and the solo album Borrowed Roses, released six months ago, is superb too (Review by Liam Noble).   

His talents are immense, his musical gifts quite astonishing, but in this Ladbroke Hall performance – and, who knows, maybe there were particular circumstances involved – I missed the ability to connect to us with simple, singable, memorable melodies that we fall in love with, what one might call the popular touch. I would love to see him connect with audiences more deeply and witness his ascent into more widespread recognition as one of the very best pianists alive today.

LINK: Ladbroke Hall Friday Jazz