Breaking Jazz News & Opinion: October 2009

2009-11-09T23:04:00Z

John Handy honored in San Francisco

Altoist receives the Beacon award from SF jazz fest.

Lew Soloff at Charlie O's

Don Heck...

Tinsley Ellis: Speak No Evil

2009-11-09T15:46:00Z

The title might be a fake-out for jazz fans. No this is not a Wayne Shorter tribute. Tinsley Ellis's Speak No Evil is fervid electric blues with plenty of soul. Then again, given the evolution of the genres, it is sometimes hard to determine the dividing line between electric blues and rock. Often the giveaway is the gray hair of the musicians—rock celebrates youth while blues venerates its elders—and some telltale signs of superior musicianship and maturity. When I hear music of this sort, I sometimes think this is how rock music should sound: raw but real; happening now but built on the tradition; hot but not mindless. If you put it on the radio, people would get the message immediately. But for the tim...

The Anatomy of a Jazz Festival

2009-11-09T15:01:00Z

Below we conclude Stuart Nicholson’s two-part article on the inner workings of the Molde Jazz Festival—a hugely successful event that brings 100,000 visitors to a city with only 25,000 residents. For part one of this piece, click here. T.G.

Certainly, away from the big festival stage it is impossible not to notice the striking diversity of the Molde Festival programme. All genres of jazz are represented, from New Orleans through to futuristic electronic jazz using laptops a...

David Murray & the Gwo Ka Masters (with Taj Mahal and Sista Kee): Southern Skies

2009-11-08T07:23:00Z

David Murray returns to the studio with traditional Guadeloupian gwo-ka percussionists, and this time brings along Taj Mahal and Sista Kee as guest vocalists. As you may know, Taj Mahal comes from a blues perspective and Sista Kee a gospel-rap orientation, but, honestly, there aren't enough genres to go around here. The Caribbean participants deliver a blistering world music beat, while Murray and the rhythm section superimpose their brand of heavy James Brown-ish funk. So this is one occasion when the well-known guests on the date adapt to the hosts rather than the other way around. Murray contributes an aggressive solo over a static harmonic accompaniment, but this isn't the place for fancy chord changes. The rhythm, hot and unrelenting, is the centerpiece here, and David Murray...

In Conversation with Tim Sparks

2009-11-06T15:00:00Z

By Pamela Espeland

Tim Sparks (Photo courtesy of Tim Sparks)

You can approach guitarist Tim Sparks’ music from several directions. You can enter through Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, originally arranged for orchestra, rearranged by ...

Jonathon Haffner: New Year

2009-11-05T15:29:00Z

The review copies of Christmas CDs started arriving in my mailbox around Labor Day, but poor New Year's Day only has this one tribute so far this season. But any smart bandleader would trade five reindeer for one Jonathon Haffner in a heartbeat. Here he works with producer David Binney (who, sad to say, left his horn at home) on a probing project in the company of some like-minded associates. "New Year" starts with a nostalgic theme, more fitting perhaps for throwing out the old rather than bringing in the new, over a medium tempo that always seems on the verge of unwinding into free time. The drums play around the beat rather than push it, and result is an open aural terrain which sets off the soloists all the more vividly. Taborn arpeggiates himself outside conventional harmony,...

Marc Copland & Gary Peacock: Blue in Green

2009-11-04T18:37:00Z

In a more discerning universe, Marc Copland would be far better known. I first encountered his music in the mid-1980s, when an acquaintance sent me an amateur tape of a NY club gig by the pianist. I was deeply impressed then, and expected a grand career from this artist. Copland has not disappointed me—his music-making has repeatedly lived up to the highest expectations—however the jazz audience has surprised me by not embracing his bracing pianism. Copland has recorded extensively, invariably drawing on the finest collaborators, and has proven again and again that his own playing is at the same world class level as his better known associates. Yet, despite his considerable musical achievements, Marc's name recognition, outside of a small, knowledgeable inner circle...

Houston Person: Lester Leaps In

2009-11-03T16:16:00Z

The CD is entitled Mellow, but Houston Person closes it with a track that is anything but. Lester Young's personal take on "I Got Rhythm" changes serves as a platform for hard-swinging at a pace somewhere north of 300 beats per minute. Person may be best known for his soulful tenor stylings and his many years spent accompanying Etta Jones, but this outing is situated at that intersection where bop and Kansas City swing meet. And, frankly, if you plan to hang out at any intersection, you could hardly pick a better one, my friend. Person shows off more technique than usual, and the rhythm section plays with confidence. Drummond sticks to walking lines, even during his solo, but he is a major source of swing here. But at a little over three minutes, the track is all too shor...

Inside View of a Jazz Success Story

2009-11-03T15:18:00Z

Stuart Nicholson looks at the inner workings of one of the most successful jazz events in the world—the annual Molde Jazz Festival. Now in its 50th year, the festival draws 100,000 fans to a city with a population of only 25,000. Below is the first installment of Nicholson’s two-part article. T.G.

From the early 20th century until his death in 1961, conductor Sir Thomas Beecham transformed musical life in the United Kingdom. And while London still has two symphony orchestras that were founded by him, The London Philharmon...

Stefano Bollani: Orvieto

2009-11-02T16:28:00Z

The Italian jazz piano tradition is especially distinguished, with artists such as Enrico Pieranunzi, Franco D’Andrea, Dado Moroni, and Giorgio Gaslini having set the standard, over a period of years, with an impressive body of work. Despite the quality of their music, however, these artists are still mostly forgotten when American critics vote in their various polls and hand out "best of year" honors. But Stefano Bollani, the relative youngster here, is proving harder to ignore, and even the jingoistic reviewers who seem to root invariably for home town talent need to pay attention to this exemplary pianist from Milan, whose improvisations are so fresh and untethered to the conventional. Once again on this track from his 2009 CD Stone in the Water, Bollani puts together the...

Komeda Project: Ballad for Bernt

2009-11-01T15:51:00Z

Tribute bands, for better or worse, are increasingly setting the tone for the jazz scene. But a tribute band dedicated to an artist outside the American hegemonic sphere is unusual, and even more so when the focus is on a musician best known as a film composer. Yet Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) is a deserving figure, and his work back in the 1960s played an important role in establishing the European jazz aesthetic that has spawned so many later bands and recordings. As a follow-up to their 2007 CD Crazy Girl the Komeda Project has returned with Requiem, and here they present a composition drawn from the score for the Roman Polanski film Knife in the Water. The piece is a languorous ballad in a Strayhorn-esque vein, and Russ Johnson steps to the fore on this tra...

In Conversation with Terence Blanchard

2009-11-01T14:38:00Z

By Ted Panken

Terence Blanchard, by Jenny Bagert
.

About twenty years ago, when he was writing the music for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, his first film score, trumpeter Terence Blanchard took a hiatus from a successful...

The Best Tracks of the Month

2009-10-31T20:23:00Z

Five days per week, jazz.com highlights an oustanding recent track as part of its Song of the Day feature. The aim is to guide listeners through the confusing array of new CDs on the market, and direct them to superior music they might otherwise miss.

Some of the names below will be familiar, and a few—Hank Jones, Gerald Wilson—are famous veterans who were gigging back in the Swing Era. Yet many of the tracks highlighted come from new or little-known artists who have released self-produced disks or are working with small indie labels.

This week marks the publication of my new book, The Birth (and Death) of the Cool. With the permission of the publisher, I am sharing an extract below. Also, note that I will be making an appearance in the Los Angeles area this Friday, October 30, at Book Soup—on 8818 Sunset Boulevard—at 7 PM. T.G.

Tim Wilkins, a regular contributor here, recently attended the Brooklyn Big Band Bonanza, a blowout event with so many large jazz ensembles on hand that the musicians almost outnumbered the audience. His report is below. T.G.

The Industrial Jazz Group

Are big bands cool? Darcy James Argue doesn't think so. "It's a dorky way to make m...

Hank Jones & Oliver Jones: What Am I Here For?

2009-10-26T14:14:00Z

I am just pleased that the label didn't go for a cornier joke in the title. Have You Met Mr. Jones? Me and Mr. Jones? Keeping Up with the Joneses? After all, these are serious artists and among the eldest of the elder statesmen, the venerable Hank, a month shy of his 90th birthday when he made this recording, and the relative youngster Oliver, a spry 74-years-old at the time. The newcomer here is the song, a fine Ellington composition from his great early 1940s band which deserves to be heard more often. Matching up two jazz pianists is not always a smart idea. Twenty fingers can stir up plenty of commotion, and create murky new chord voicings that, like the sweet melodies in Keats's poem, are better left unheard. But when two gentlemen of the keys with such tast...

Guitar Hero, Jazz Style

2009-10-24T14:18:00Z

Bill Barnes concludes his three-part article on the role of guitar in jazz below. Click here for parts one and two. T.G.

The “audience factor” can no longer be ignored. We are fast approaching a period in which jazz musicians may outnumber the people who want to hear them play. When that happens, we will no longer have a living, breathing art; we will be left with a hobbyist-driven artifact, the musical equivalent of Latin, a dead language spoken only in lecture halls and courtrooms.

Wardell, Anita

2009-10-23T00:06:00Z

Wardell, Anita, vocals (b. Guildford, Surrey, England, August 23, 1961). One of the world's finest scat singers, Anita Wardell is virtually unknown outside of Europe and Australia. Although born in England, her family moved to Australia when she was a child and she spent her formative years there. She was first exposed to jazz through her father's collection of big band recordings, but it wasn't until her high school years that she first considered singing jazz and not until college that she first learned to scat. Unlike most vocalists who improvise by ear, Wardell has a thorough knowledge of chords and scales, and thus can incorporate chromatic harmony into her improvisations with ease. Her recording of "My Shining Hour" includes one of her best scat solos on record. A revi...

Bolton, Dupree

2009-10-22T23:35:00Z

Bolton, Dupree, trumpet (b. Oklahoma City, March 3, 1929, d. June 5, 1993, Oakland, California). Dupree Bolton is one of the most obscure performers in the history of jazz. His turbulent personal life nearly sidelined his entire career. His entire recorded legacy consists of a solo on a 1944 Buddy Johnson 78 (and it may not be Bolton soloing), the 1959 Harold Land LP, The Fox, the 1963 Curtis Amy LP, Katanga, an appearance with Amy on a Los Angeles TV show, an aborted 2-song session with alto saxophonist Earl Anzera, a session with the Onzy Matthews band and four virtually unknown recordings from 1980 with the Oklahoma Correctional Institute Jazz Ensemble (Of these, only the Johnson, Land & Amy recordings were on major labels, the prison recording had limited di...

THE DOZENS: BILL FRISELL

2009-10-22T22:47:42Z

As unassumingly as Bill Frisell presents himself in his everyday life is as fiery and unabashedly bold he is with his musical choices. A stylistic chameleon once all-too-appropriately deemed the “Clark Kent of jazz,” his fascination with and dedication to collective improvisation and his early training with Dale Bruning and Jim Hall imparts a jazz approach to most everything Frisell does – regardless of whether it sounds like jazz, or country, or folk, or rock, or a fusion of all, or none of the above. But the truth of the matter is that stylistic categorization hardly mat...

Amy, Curtis

2009-10-22T21:54:00Z

Amy, Curtis, tenor sax, soprano sax (b. Houston, Texas, October 11, 1929, d. June 5, 2002, Los Angeles). A soulful player in the "Texas tenor" tradition, Curtis Amy was a fixture on the early 1960s LA jazz scene before turning his attention to pop music. While he recorded two sides in Houston with his own group in 1948, and recorded a 1955 session with Dizzy Gillespie, Amy's true breakthrough came in a series of 6 albums for Pacific Jazz (all collected on a Mosaic Select set bearing Amy's name). The albums display Amy's range from funky tenor with organ on Meetin' Here to the burning hard bop of Katanga (the latter co-led with the brilliant, but forgotten trumpeter Dupree Bolton). Amy was also a star soloist for the Onzy Mathews big band, appearing with that gro...

Paich, Marty

2009-10-22T21:20:00Z

Paich, Marty (Martin Louis Paich), composer, arranger, piano, accordion (b. Oakland, California, January 23, 1925, d. August 12, 1995, Santa Ynez, California). One of the most prolific arrangers in jazz and pop music, Marty Paich arranged and/or conducted on over 1000 albums. Among the singers he accompanied were Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Mel Tormé, Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson. He led bands in Oakland from the age of 10, and attended several California colleges before graduating magna cum laude with a Master's in Music from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Like many of the West Coast jazz players, he was an avid student of composition, with his primary studies with the classical composer Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco. Paich played ...

Hope, Elmo

2009-10-22T20:36:00Z

Hope, Elmo (St. Elmo Sylvester Hope), piano, composer (b. New York City, June 27, 1923, d. May 19, 1967, New York City). Elmo Hope was a childhood friend of Bud Powell. Although it has been said that Hope was the equal of Powell as a pianist, his recordings do not bear out that assessment. In fact, his recordings as a pianist are quite uneven, which doubtlessly was a result of his ongoing addiction to heroin. His first recordings were with the Joe Morris rhythm and blues band, but his first jazz recording was with the Clifford Brown-Lou Donaldson Sextet on a 1953 Blue Note date, which was also the trumpeter's jazz debut. Hope provided three fine compositions to the date: "Bellarosa", "De-Dah" and "Carvin' The Rock" (the last co-composed by Sonny Rollins). Nine days later, Hop...

Counce, Curtis

2009-10-22T20:05:00Z

Counce, Curtis, bass (b. Kansas City, Missouri, January 23, 1926, d. July 31, 1963, Los Angeles). One of the first African-Americans to embrace West Coast jazz, Curtis Counce recorded prolifically from 1945-1960. His first recordings were with Johnny Otis, but his first important jazz recording was with Lester Young. He played on Shorty Rogers' big band LPCool and Crazy and on classic California recordings by Shelly Manne, Herb Geller, Red Norvo, Jimmy Giuffre, Clifford Brown and Teddy Charles. He played in the Stan Kenton orchestra for a 1956 European tour, and later that year, started his own band, the Curtis Counce Group. On its first recordings, the group comprised Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Harold Land (recently departed from the Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet) o...

Smith, Johnny

2009-10-22T19:38:00Z

Smith, Johnny (John Henry Smith, Jr), guitar (b. Birmingham, Alabama, June 25, 1922). Johnny Smith may be the ultimate “musician’s musician”. Entirely self-taught on guitar, his brilliant yet understated technique has been the envy of many aspiring musicians. His first professional job was with a hillbilly band, Uncle Lem and the Mountain Boys, but he soon heard jazz on the radio and taught himself to play in that style. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and after being rejected as a pilot due to imperfect vision, he joined the military band. When he left the military, he was a seasoned professional musician and sought his fame in New York City. He was the first choice of conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos to play on recordings of Schoenberg’s “Serenade” and Berg’s opera “Wozzeck...

Mooney, Joe

2009-10-22T19:10:00Z

Mooney, Joe, vocals, accordion, piano, organ (b. Paterson, New Jersey, March 14, 1911, d. May 12, 1975, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). While he achieved temporary popularity during three different periods of his life, Joe Mooney never found lasting success in music. Between 1929-1931, he recorded with his brother Dan as "The Sunshine Boys" (an ironic title as both were blind). On the total of 20 sides recorded, the accompaniment included Tommy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Dick McDonough and Benny Goodman. Joe played piano and accordion on several of the sides. Joe and Dan also did some radio work, but by 1936, the pair split and Dan faded into obscurity. Joe arranged for the Frank Dailey Orchestra, a group later led by Buddy Rogers. Mooney also did free-lance arranging for Vincent Lopez, L...

Loren Stillman: Man of Mystery

2009-10-22T16:26:00Z

In the hands of Loren Stillman, jazz is an austere art. His music is purged of licks and thrives in a funk-free zone. Melodic lines from various members of the band meet and participate in an uneasy dance, but never embrace. Phrases are angular and prefer to ask questions rather than resolve them. Instead of navigating through chord changes, the band delivers a shifting array of textures. The musicians sometimes hint coyly at a pulse, but like a prim first date, won't let you feel it for a more than a moment. Stillman doesn't look to his bandmates for support, but rather as a maze through which he works his own intricate path. His labyrinthine solo is the highlight here. No, you won't hear this music on the smooth jazz station, and maybe not on any radio station at all. Bu...

Samuel Blaser: Red Hook

2009-10-22T10:50:00Z

It’s free and a little out there, but “Red Hook” does have a definable head that quickly afterwards probes deeply into the harmonic possibilities introduced by the dissonant theme. Morgan suggests the main lines before stating them outright in his solo, and then Blaser slows down the proceedings to ruminate for a while. The oddity---and indeed, the special allure of this song---is derived from Neufeld; juxtaposing his modern rock-ish guitar against sixties “new thing” jazz creates a tonal footprint like no other. He spars with Blaser and prod Sorey, using the forceful, amped sound of his guitar as an instigator as much as he does with his phrasing.

After a sudden signal by the leader, the wickedly tricky theme is played faster to take the song out. “Red Hook” is undeniabl...

Sims, Peter “La Roca”

2009-10-20T17:42:00Z

Drummer Pete “La Roca” Sims' smooth groove, sense of swing and fantastic four-limb coordination made him ideally suited to the small-group explorations of the 1950s and 1960s. He performed with Joe Henderson, John Coltrane and Paul Bley during a transitional period for jazz, when elements of bop, hard bop, and free jazz were being experimentally combined.

Sims thrived when providing a clean, swinging groove, but he was openly uncomfortable in the worlds of outright free jazz and fusion, and was absent from jazz hroughout much of the 1970s, 1980s, through the mid 1990s. His return to the jazz scene sparked a revival of interest in his work has ...

Egberto Gismonti: Sertões Veredas

2009-10-20T16:39:00Z

When jazz musicians compose orchestral works, so many things can go wrong. Often the artist's distinctive personality disappears in the translation into complex scores; or the influence of models from classical music overwhelms the jazz ingredients; or—perhaps the most common problem—the rhythmic vitality, so essential to jazz music, is missing in action, either because it never made its way into the notation or due to the inherent difficulty in getting symphonic players to assimilate a groove outside their previous experience. "Symphonic jazz" may not be a oxymoron, but its success stories are as rare as steak tartare.

But Egberto Gismonti's Sertões Veredas avoids the pitfalls, and emerges as a masterpiece of classical-jazz cross-fertilization. I'm not sure if thi...

Catlett, Big Sid (Sidney)

2009-10-20T02:31:00Z

Drummer “Big” Sid Catlett's beat was steady and infectious, and made him one of the more complete drummers of the Swing Era. His concentration on interacting and locking in with others in the rhythm section created an uncommonly high level of communication. His use of dynamics greatly enhanced drama on the bandstand, and his consummate showmanship as a big man with a gentle touch and smooth technical finesse made him a favorite of fans and musicians alike.

Catlett was also one of the few pre-bop drummers who comfortably transitioned from big bands into the small combos of postwar jazz, which makes his discography a complete historical representation of one of the most significant evolutionary periods in jazz history.

Catlett, along with Benny Carter and Stan Kenton in his teens, but his career was frequently interrupted by drug abuse. In the 1970s, he reemerged with an invigorated style that could still sound fresh in an ever-changing musical landscape.

Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. was born on September 1, 1926 in Gardena, California to Arthur Sr. and Mildred Bartold. Pepper’s father Arthur Sr. was a longshoreman and machinist. Both parents were alcoholics, which created ...

Dodds, Baby (Warren)

2009-10-20T01:44:00Z

"We played for the comfort of the people," said drummer Baby Dodds, recalling the way he spread the joys of New Orleans rhythm around the United States in the 1920s in the bands of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong. Everywhere he went, young drummers paid attention. His rolls and off-kilter accents on the snare drum inspired, among others, Gene Krupa and and "Big" Sid Catlett in Chicago, and Chick Webb in New York. Even his drum kit became the model for aspiring jazz drummers to follow.

Harris, Gene (Haire, Eugene)

2009-10-20T00:59:00Z

Pianist Gene Harris combined the blues with bebop, gospel and soul in a tasteful mix which contained a wealth of melodic intellect. A founder of the successful soul-jazz trio The Three Sounds, Harris settled in Boise, Idaho, where he was an active educator and festival organizer as well as musician.

Gene Harris was born Eugene Haire on September 1, 1933 in Benton Harbor, Michigan. As a child, Harris enjoyed the music of local bandleader Charles Metcalf and was inspired to teach himself the piano. At the age of nine, Gene would pick out songs on the piano by ear and slowly built his repertory of popular songs of the day. He further found inspiration in the boogie-woogie style of pianists Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons.

In 1951, Harris joined the United States Army and bega...

Mraz, George (Jiri)

2009-10-20T00:56:00Z

Bassist George Mraz has dedicated his career to developing the melodic potential the bass in the modern jazz ensemble. From his early days with trumpeter Benny Bailey through his recent efforts as a leader, Mraz has created a lyrical style with an almost piano-like sense of phrasing.

George Mraz was born Jiri Mraz on September 9, 1944 in Pisek, Czechoslovakia. Growing up in Tabor, Czechoslovakia, Mraz began his musical education at the age of seven when he began to study the violin. During his high school years, George began to perform on the alto saxophone. Beginning in 1961, George studied at the Prague Conservatory where he concentrated his efforts on the upright bass. While a student at the conservatory, Mraz recorded his first sessions as a sideman with pianist/vibraphoni...

Callender, Red (George Sylvester)

2009-10-20T00:54:00Z

Red Callender could lay down a huge walking bass line as easily as he made his upright sing like a violin. An incredibly talented performer on both string bass and tuba, he was also a gifted arranger and composer. Callender’s diverse talents and sensitive accompaniment meant that he was always working, from his first recording session at the age of twenty, until his death at the age of eighty-six.

George Sylvester Callender was born March 6th, 1916 in Haynesville, Virginia. Callender’s father was from Barbados, and while primarily of African descent, he also traced his ancestry back to Scotland. Red Callender attributed his “red hair, freckles and light-brown eyes” to this lineage.

Callender grew up with music in the house, as his mother was an amateur singer and guitarist. By...

Preston, Don (Donald Ward)

2009-10-20T00:54:00Z

Don Preston may be best known as the keyboard player with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention band, but is first and foremost a fine jazz pianist who has worked with, among others, Gil Evans, Nat Cole, Charlie Haden John Carter and Carla Bley. A electronic synthesizer pioneer, he built his own instrument in 1965, and has worked an extraordinarily diverse series of musical situations over the years, encompassing pop, electronic, contemporary classi...

Lewis, Mel (Sokoloff, Melvin)

2009-10-20T00:48:00Z

Drummer Mel Lewis set a new standard for the modern big band as co-leader of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in the 1970s. From his early years with bandleader Stan Kenton through his hundreds of sessions as a sideman, Lewis's sophisticated ear made him both a flawless timekeeper and an attentive accompanist.

Melvin Sokoloff was born on May 10, 1929 in Buffalo, New York. Born to Russian immigrants, Mel’s father was a drummer who performed around the Buffalo area. At the age of three, Lewis began to play the drums after his father showed him how to properly hold the sticks. Lewis played drums through elementary school, then switched to the baritone horn in high school. He later credited his experience learning the bari...

Wesley, Fred (Jr.)

2009-10-20T00:47:00Z

One of the most in-the-pocket practitioners of jazz trombone, Fred Wesley has enjoyed a broad and successful career in popular music. Best known for his pioneering work in the funk groups of Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and Parliament, Wesley has also worked as a producer and leader of jazz projects. Wesley's style borrows heavily from the blues, often juxtaposing riffs against one another in two-measure phrases. His ability to create a high-energy groove in this context is unparalleled.

Wesley was born on July 4, 1943, to parents Fred Wesley, Sr. and Vetta S. Wesley in Columbus, Georgia. The family moved to Mobile, Alabama shortly thereafter. His first musical memories were of his grandmother, wh...

Rubalcaba, Gonzalo (Gonzalo Julio Gonzalez Fonseca)

2009-10-20T00:44:00Z

Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba has built a career, and with it, a musical bridge, to span the rich musical traditions of his native Cuba with North American jazz. Grounded in a deep command of classical technique, his playing can go from silent to explosive, and from subdued to mind-boggling, in a flash.

Gonzalo Julio Gonzalez Fonseca was born on May 27th, 1963 in Havana, Cuba. Rubalcaba was born into an extremely rich musical family. He is the grandson of Cuban trombonist Jacobo Gonzalez Rubalcaba, who composed a number of famous danzones including El cadete constitucional and Linda Mercedes. His father was pianist Guillermo Rubalcaba and his two brothers were also musicians, Jesús a pianist and William a bassist.

Gonzalo grew up immersing himself in the m...

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