Gonzalo Rubalcaba - The Blessing (1991)
Front Cover Album Info
Artist/Composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Title The Blessing
Length 57:04 Discs: 1 Tracks: 10
Format LQ <160 kbps Packaging Slim case
Label Blue Note (EMI) Cat. Number CDC 7 97197 2
Style General Jazz Rating N/A
Recorded maj 1991  at  McClear Place, Toronto
Musicians Credits
Gonzalo Rubalcaba piano
Charlie Haden bass
Jack DeJohnette drums
Producer Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Track list
01
Circuito 05:33
02
Sandino 05:00
03
Besame Mucho 07:45
04
Giant Steps 05:28
05
Sin Remedio, El Mar 04:27
06
silver Hollow 06:44
07
The Blessing 07:02
08
Blue in Green 06:52
09
Sinpunto y Contracopa 05:08
10
Mima 03:05
Notes
_Down Beat (12/91): 5 Stars - Excellent - "..all three players edging expertly down a postmodern groove...Rubalcaba's formidable technique is never flashy...Steeped in Cuban soul...

_Amazon.com Review:
This was the first of Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's recordings to appear in the United States, and it's a stunning introduction to his work. He's more than ably supported by Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette, with Haden's fundamentalist approach to the bass acting as a secure anchor to Rubalcaba's frequent flights of virtuosity and DeJohnette's polyrhythmic approach. With his deep roots in the rhythmic language of Cuban music, Rubalcaba brings a subtle and complex pulse to even his most reflective moments at the keyboard. He's also rooted in some of the more adventurous paths that jazz took in the 1960s, as that stellar rhythm section would suggest. It shows in the original approaches that he finds to Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Bill Evans's "Blue in Green," and Ornette Coleman's "The Blessing." --Stuart Broomer

AMG Review by Scott Yanow (5):
The virtuosic Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's first recording to be issued in the U.S. is still one of his best. With strong accompaniment from bassist Charlie Haden (one of his early champions) and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Rubalcaba is in frequently exciting form throughout these performances. Highlights include an outstanding investigation of "Besame Mucho," "Giant Steps," Ornette Coleman's beautiful "The Blessing," and an unusual treatment given to Bill Evans' "Blue in Green."